“Teen Mom OG” star Mackenzie McKee confirmed that she and her husband, Josh McKee, have split after nearly nine years of marriage.
“With all the messages I’m getting and articles coming out, I just wanted you to hear from me just what’s going on,” Mackenzie, 27, captioned two photos of her and Josh, 29, on Instagram Tuesday.
“sometimes” [sic] things work and sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, it just doesn’t work. I break my silence on Josh and I’m done. I will always respect him as the father of my children, but it is time for me to find my happy 🙏.”
The reality star also spoke to Celebuzz, saying that she “stepped into a whole new life and a new me”.
Mackenzie, who acknowledged that their “whole lives were in the spotlight,” explained that she was “grateful” for her 12-year relationship with Josh, but decided it was time to move on.
“Josh and I are both young and have a whole life ahead of us,” said the former cheerleader. “And I wish him and his future nothing but peace and happiness. Everyone has their own story and this is mine.”
The MTV personality — who shares sons Gannon (10) and Broncs (5) and daughter Jaxie (8) with her now-estranged husband — declined to explain the details behind their split, but did note that she was the one who decided to leave.
“We women don’t leave until we’re ready, until we can wake up and notice that the coffee doesn’t smell good and that something isn’t right. That was my marriage,” she said. “But my marriage is all I’ve known since I was a young teenager.
“I wasn’t sad, I wasn’t sad about anything, I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t depressed. I regained my strength as a woman who finally knows her self-worth. And I was finally so exhausted that I was done, and everything that had hurt me for the past five years was gone. It does not interest me anymore.”
Despite her decision to become a “single mother,” Mackenzie insisted she didn’t regret her choice to end her marriage.
Mackenzie and Josh — who started dating when they were both in high school and got married in August 2013 — certainly had a lot of ups and downs in their relationship.
The couple split in August 2019 after Mackenzie claimed Josh cheated while grieving for her mother, who died of cancer in December of that year.
Mackenzie, who described their marriage as open, then admitted that she had had an affair of her own for more than six months.
Shortly afterwards, the two decided to give their relationship a second chance.