Amber Portwood details meeting her daughter Leah after not seeing each other for “months”

Amber Portwood is taking “baby steps” when it comes to mending her relationship with her daughter, Leah.

In Tuesday’s new episode of “Teen Mom OG”, Portwood first revealed that she hadn’t heard from her child after sending her an emotional apology video on last week’s show. The apology sparked conversations with her ex (and Leah’s father) Gary Shirley, however.

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m still trying, but it’s very unwelcoming, that’s all I can say,” Portwood told his producer when asked how things went between her and her daughter. “I uploaded an apology video and got no response. I got something from Gary that day saying they watched him.”

When asked what she hoped to accomplish by submitting the video, she replied, “They would see the raw emotion of a human being pouring out. I just want my relationship with my daughter. She’s wasting time. with her mom and she’s not wanting time with her mom. “

At Gary’s house, he and his wife Kristina spoke about Leah’s reaction to the video. In last week’s episode, Leah made it clear that she still doesn’t want a relationship with her mother, who she says abandoned her when she was growing up going to rehab and spending five years. in prison.

“So Amber called me, she apologized to me for everything, and then I let her know that Leah saw the video,” Gary explained to his wife. “She said, ‘Did she say something?’ [I said] ‘Not really. She said she didn’t want to answer. ‘”

While Gary said the video didn’t move Leah because Amber had “just racked up so much that it’s hard to forget,” he still felt like “it’s a start” for repair fences. Kristina agreed, saying she had already forgiven Amber for the nasty things she said about her and adding, “There just comes a time when you step forward.”

Gary decided it would be okay to invite Amber and her son James over to see Leah. He admitted that his daughter might “still need some time,” before worrying that even if they made progress, Portwood would just ruin everything again.

“My biggest fear is that we’ll fix this and it’s only a matter of time, because if her relationship isn’t mended with Leah, it’s going to be like, ‘Okay, you’re still angry. against everything and you’re going to take it upon us, ”he added.“ If I could do it my way, I’d be done with it, but I’m not. We have a child together and we need to make sure he is happy and healthy. “

Speaking to her producer later, Amber said she was surprised to get a call from her ex inviting her and little James. She said she was glad he reached out, because that’s what she “expected” and “what I wanted”.

“I can’t wait to see Leah,” she added. “I don’t care if she looks at me, roll her eyes and walk up the stairs. I don’t care, as long as I see her and say, ‘I love you, bye. “We’re always moving somewhere. It’s just taking time. She’s not going to hate me forever.

When asked if she really believes Leah “hated” her, Amber admitted that there was a lot of “pain” there and “a lot of not understanding” on Leah’s part. She claimed she was there, but she was just “not the best” version of herself, a version who “self-treated” with drugs. “But you can’t explain that to a child,” she added.

Saying that it had been “months” since last seen each other, Amber was delighted to hopefully “move on” with Gary, Kristina and Leah. She knew these were “baby steps”, but hoped that their three children could still come together and prove “you can get over things”.

“You just have to move on and it is our duty to stop talking about each other at the end, even if there is a lot to say,” she added. .

Unfortunately for viewers, the visit to Gary’s house must have happened off-camera, as Amber is not allowed to film with her son James and he was present. In a confessional, she said she enjoyed seeing Leah with her brother and again expressed her desire to “work to rebuild our relationship”.

The episode ended with Amber calling her own mother after the visit, saying that, overall, “it went really well.”

“With Leah, it was a bit embarrassing for her that I was there. But I think over time it will get a little better,” she added, before explaining how she tried to s ‘identify with his daughter by explaining his own problems with her. mom.

“I just tried to explain to her, I’ve been there before, but now my mom is my best friend. You can hate me now, it’s okay. I told her it’s okay”, a- she added. “I get it. She tried to say some things, again, I haven’t been here for 12 years. And I think back, ugh. I told her there was no excuse. still love, I think about you all the time. “

To say that things with Gary and Kristina were also “good”, she thought “if we stay on track” things will start to stabilize.

“Teen Mom OG” airs Tuesdays on MTV.