Maci Bookout can breathe easier now that her ex Ryan Edwards is no longer part of the “Teen Mom” family.
“I think being on TV and doing this show wasn’t the main reason our relationship was always so toxic,” the 31-year-old tells Vidak For Congress exclusively while promoting the network’s latest franchise, “Teen Mom : The Next Chapter.”
“But…there was no way to create space or space for us to heal or move on or get over some things because we have to constantly talk about each other when we’re not even talking until each other,” she explains.
“What’s the point? So yes, we can safely say that it is a huge relief.”
Edwards, 34 – who shares son Bentley, 13, with Bookout – was fired from “Teen Mom OG” in March 2021.
His wife, Mackenzie Standifer, and parents, Jen and Larry Edwards, were also circumcised. Their group exodus came on the heels of an explosive reunion fight involving Bookout, her husband, Taylor McKinney, and Bentley’s paternal grandparents, which aired a month later.
Bookout says it became increasingly difficult to maintain a “TV relationship” with Edwards and his loved ones.
The former couple, who made their reality debut on “16 & Pregnant” in 2009, have faced a series of obstacles in the past decade, plus the public eye, including a broken engagement, Ryan’s apparent disinterest in fatherhood and his eventual struggle with addiction.
Currently, Bookout says she and Ryan are “not in a relationship” — and haven’t for years.
“We don’t talk to each other. I don’t have his phone number. We don’t see each other,” she explains. “So it got to a point where it felt like it wasn’t very authentic because I’d never really co-parented with him. I always just had co-parenting with his parents.”
The author of “Bulletproof” grew tired of having on-camera conversations suggesting that a future co-parenting dynamic with Ryan was possible.
“We discussed things that weren’t really a factor in my day-to-day life for me. That part was the one, like, “Why are we talking about this?” Because every day is a non-factor. I feel like that’s a relief,” Bookout says, adding that she’s at peace with the current situation.
“I’m really trying not to be mean, but in my mind you really should show up and be a co-parent parent,” claims the mother of three, who also shares daughter Jayde (7) and Maverick (6) with McKinney , 33. .
Bookout says she realized “years ago” that any optimism she had for Ryan to take a more active role in Bentley’s life was futile.
“What I hoped or wished would happen will probably never happen,” she admits. “It’s up to no one but Ryan, so I don’t envision a world where we actually co-parent.”
However, Bookout has repaired her relationship with Ryan’s mother and father more than a year after their reunion feud.
“[Bentley] goes to their house and will spend a weekend here and there with them,” she says of Jen and Larry, who will facilitate frequent visits to Bentley and Ryan. “Our relationship right now is definitely not what it used to be. We are in a place where we are genuinely cordial. It’s not fake.
The Tennessee native continues, “Which I think is a solid place to be because it’s not uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel forced, but we also still give ourselves the space and the space to sort out our own mess.”
While Bookout enjoys solving her problems with Jen and Larry off-camera, she’s excited to film alongside more women in the “Teen Mom” circle as “The Next Chapter” combines “OG” and “Teen Mom 2” in a series .
“Bentley is turning 14 and…some of the younger girls are girls who were on ‘Teen Mom 2’ and even Catelynn [Lowell] and [Cheyenne Floyd]it’s raising kids who are still in diapers,” she says of the updated format.
“I feel like with all of us together, the audience has a better chance of relating to someone or their story. I think it’s going to be something great.”
“Teen Mom: The Next Chapter” — starring Bookout, Lowell, Floyd, Amber Portwood, Leah Messer, Jade Cline, Briana DeJesus and Ashley Jones — airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.