Maci Bookout opened up about her decision to attend Ryan Edwards‘ court hearing on Wednesday, June 7.
“As Bentley’s mom, it was important for me to show up for not only Ryan, but Bentley as well,” the Teen Mom alum, 31, who shares 14-year-old son Bentley with Edwards, 35, told The Ashley after making an appearance in the courtroom.
Bookout’s unexpected show of support comes after Edwards made several headlines for his legal woes. The Tennessee native was arrested in February for violating an Order of Protection, which was sought by his ex-wife, Mackenzie Edwards. Ryan was subsequently booked on several charges, including harassment, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.
The former reality star, who shares son Jagger, 4, and daughter Stella, 3, with Mackenzie, 26, was arrested again in April for possession of a controlled substance and a DUI. Us Weekly confirmed that same month that Ryan was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail after pleading guilty to harassing Mackenzie.
The conditions of his guilty plea also included him wearing a GPS monitor and completing “rehab treatment,” according to court docs obtained by Us. The former MTV personality is not allowed to have “contact with [Mackenzie] except as allowed by circuit court” and is not to post anything on social media “relating to [Mackenzie].”
Mackenzie seemingly hinted at her state of mind one month after Ryan’s jail sentence. “Mack’s back 🖤,” she shared via Instagram in May. “Thank you so much for your sweet messages! I really have appreciated them and read as many as possible. Let’s do this!”
That same month, Mackenzie reflected on the next chapter of her life, writing via Instagram, “Sometimes you just gotta let people know – I realize I tolerated that in the past, but that’s not gonna work for me in this new season. Or ever again.”
Bookout, for her part, didn’t directly comment on the news. Eagle-eyed followers, however, pointed out several cryptic messages that potentially referred to her ex-boyfriend’s challenges.
The I Wasn’t Born Bulletproof author reposted a video from The Quote Bibles social media page in April, which stated, “Do you ever give up on someone? It’s not about giving up on people. It’s about accountability to take responsibility for one’s self. I cannot help you if you cannot be involved to to help yourself.”
Bookout, who shares daughter Jayde, 7, and son Maverick, 6, with husband Taylor McKinney, went on to reshare a tweet from Daniel Chidiac as well that read: “Be careful what you hear about somebody. You might be hearing it from the problem.”
The TV personality previously discussed how she dealt with coparenting drama involving Edwards.
“I feel like I was able to work through some of the anger and pinpoint some of the things that I carry around because of how the past has gone down,” Bookout exclusively told Us in December 2022. “I felt like I was more prepared and in a healthy spot on my own to move forward and figure out how to transition things and be just a better parent that can deal with the emotions that come up in trying to put things back together.”
