'Teen Mom' star Maci Bookout said she felt better when ex Ryan Edwards was in jail 'because I know he's safe'
Maci Bookout, from Teen Mom OG, split from Ryan Edwards, the father of her 9-year-old son, Bentley, years ago, but she’s still concerned about him.
She told Kailyn Lowry, another member of the Teen Mom family, and Lindsie Chrisley, of Chrisley Knows Best on a prerecorded episode of their podcast, Coffee Convos, that she has “no idea what state he’s in” following his arrest last month, mostly because he’s “not allowed to be around.”
“He can’t just be in the same location as me and the family,” Bookout said. “So I have no idea. He’s not allowed to contact us or anything like that. But I mean, he did get arrested, I don’t know … I mean, I do know why, but I just don’t want to say.”
Edwards was arrested July 23 for allegedly breaking probation on a 2017 charge of simple possession of heroin in Red Bank, Tenn, according to E News. Eight days later, on July 31, he was released from the Hamilton (Tenn.) County Jail on a suspended sentence. Bookout’s latest podcast interview appears to have been recorded while Edwards was behind bars.
“But, to be honest with you, I think I feel better that he is in jail because I know he’s safe there, if that makes sense,” Bookout said on the podcast. “I know he’s not driving around; he’s not doing something that could potentially really hurt him or an innocent person. So it sucks, it’s a crappy situation for everyone.”
Edwards has been in legal trouble before. In March, he was arrested for violating his probation on a prior charge of heroin possession, and Bookout and her family were granted a restraining order against Edwards shortly thereafter.
On Wednesday, Edwards, who left the MTV show, said his latest arrest was not drug related. He went to rehab following his March 2017 arrest.
“I got a speeding ticket, and while I was pulled over, it came up that I was in violation of my probation because the community service had not been completed,” he told E! News. “I didn’t do all of it. I went to jail for not doing all of my community service. It’s not that I wasn’t taking the community service seriously, it’s just that we have so much going on, I didn’t realize the deadline had passed. It was just a misunderstanding. I thought I had more time.”
Both Bookout and Edwards have long moved on from their relationship. He married Mackenzie Standifer last year, and they’re expecting a baby. As for Bookout, she tied the knot with Taylor McKinney in 2016. In addition to Bentley, their family includes daughter Jayde, 3, and 2-year-old son, Maverick.
A post shared by Maci Bookout McKinney (@macideshanebookout) on Aug 8, 2018 at 6:39am PDT
Of course, Edwards and Bookout’s connection through Bentley means they’re still part of each other’s lives. She insisted that she doesn’t wish Edwards any ill will.
“No, not at all,” Bookout said on Coffee Convos. “I mean, it’s Bentley’s dad and — although, Bentley’s about to be 10, I’m not sure how much time he can make up now — but still, I mean, no one ever wants to tell their child that something terrible has happened to their parent.”
When asked if Bentley knows what’s going on, Bookout responded, “He understands, he doesn’t ever ask questions. We fill him in on what’s going on and, as sad as it is, the reason he doesn’t ask questions is because it’s kind of just always been this way.”
Bookout complimented Edwards’s parents for their support on that front.
“Anytime anything has ever gone on that’s really bad, his main concern is being able to spend time with his Mimi and Papa,” she said of Bentley. “And so Taylor and I and Jen and Larry always just make sure for us to always be [on the same page]. We’re not always going to get along or agree with each other, but the four of us do a really good job of making sure that everything is good for Bentley and that Bentley still gets to spend time with them and, in that aspect everything is normal for Bentley, because, again, that is what he’s used to, is being able to see Jen and Larry.”
However, Bookout was quick to answer a question about whether she has a relationship with Edwards’s wife.
“No. Negative. I’m not really interested,” Bookout said. “In my situation, somebody shows you who they are, believe them the first time. So, I’m keeping a good distance from that one. But me and Taylor have talked about this, it’s gonna be tough when the baby is born because just like Jayde and Maverick, [Standifer’s son from a previous relationship] Hudson is [Bentley’s] stepbrother. The baby is going to be his half brother. And we don’t like to say step or half. It’s brother-sister, brother-sister, no matter what. So it will be a struggle to find a way to make sure that no matter what’s going on with Ryan that Bentley has a relationship with his brother, both brothers really, Hudson and the new baby.”
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