Original subtitles

- ♪ MTV ♪

- Previously on "Teen Mom: The Next Chapter."

- You're turning 16. What do you want to do?

We got to celebrate it.

- Family and a couple of friends?

- Yeah.

- So Bentley's been asking me just to give him my Jeep,

and that's never going to happen.

So I found one that I think he'll really like.

Y'all want to go look at it with us?

- Tell your son, happy birthday.

- I will.

- So are we giving it to him on a golf party?

- Yeah.

- I really don't care about anything else

except for maintaining the surprise of the Jeep.

- So crazy to even think in a few short months, Leah,

she'll be 16.

Do we have Amber a part of that?

- Fuck no. - Oh.

- She might think everything's perfect

and want things to be a certain way, like oh,

I really am sorry.

But now I want you to instantly forgive me for years

and years and years of abandonment.

It don't work that way.

[car horn honks]

- You need to keep walking. - [laughs]

- It's all yours. Bye.

- Mom, why aren't you with me?

- We're a pair.

Whoa, not so fast, killer.

- How does the birth parent navigate

going from open to closed?

- Because it does feel very closed.

This has brought up so much PTSD.

I feel like I'm going through it all over again.

- You got a tattoo of your kid you don't even have!

- I wouldn't want her here with you

because you're a piece of [bleep] [bleep]!

- Just allow yourself to take a pause.

- Have you guys ever put yourself in my shoes

and what it's like?

You've never had to give a child to somebody

and then live with that for the rest of your life.

[somber music]

- My dad, an arrow went through his arm.

And I'm just happy he's alive.

- Guess who has a school dance on Friday?

- Oh, that's when you should ask that girl,

do you want to to the dance? - What girl?

- Shush. You know what to do.

- You told Khes about it and not me?

- So I gave him an advice.

- The moment I found out

I was having sons, like, I'm like,

I'm going to teach them to respect their partners.

[soft dramatic music]

- His friends talk about getting blow jobs.

Has he done any of these things?

I don't know, but it's time to have the talk.

[upbeat rock music]

♪ ♪

- ♪ I like standing in the spotlight ♪

♪ In the right place at the right time ♪

♪ And we're just getting started ♪

- All right, 16th birthday height check.

- OK.

So there's Ryan at 16.

- Holy crap, are you taller than your dad?

- Damn.

- So what is this game you guys are playing tomorrow?

- Hit the candy out of-- - Piñata.

- Piñatas. - What is it?

- We're doing a piñata? - For you.

- Heck, yeah.

- It's going to have baby protectors in it

instead of candy. - [laughs]

- Oh, Lord, we're not going there.

- That's something that, yes, this is a conversation that--

- That's between him and his mother.

- You and Maci need to have.

♪ ♪

- ♪ And we're just getting started ♪

♪ ♪

- How are you? - Good.

So how are the kids?

- I get them from school, and it's like, we don't stop.

- Yeah.

- This year is going to be a little different

because Bentley's turning 16,

so he's going to have a driver's license.

And it's like, I moved out at 16.

- Yeah.

- I asked Bentley, I'm like, could you imagine moving out?

And he was like, no.

I'm like, yeah, OK, so don't-- don't make decisions that--

- Keep it in your pants.

- Put you in situations where all you have

to do is make more decisions.

- He appears to have that figured out pretty darn well

for a 15, 16-year-old.

- I know. It's wild.

- ♪ Times and places ♪

♪ Are all in

- Give me a kiss. [smooches]

- ♪ Who you share them with ♪

- Thank you.

- ♪ And this life ♪

♪ And the point is

- Good job. - Whoo-hoo.

- ♪ Enjoy it

- He's going to be a handful now.

♪ ♪

all: Happy birthday.

- Now blow it out. Make a wish.

- [sputtering] [laughter]

- Whoo-hoo.

Happy birthday, Bentley. Hope you enjoy your present.

Can't wait to meet you in June. Love, the baby.

- What baby? - We're having a baby.

- How do you know? - 'Cause it's in my belly.

- No. - Yes, you are.

- It's not in there.

- Did you say happy birthday to your brother?

He is seven years old.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

- ♪ Oh, oh ♪

♪ ♪

- [sighing] Ooh.

- So are we having a party?

What--I mean, we have to do something.

- We are having a party.

He's like, let's just do something small,

whatever, at this golf course, do, like,

a glow golf on the range.

But the most important thing is the Jeep surprise.

- Fun.

- I'm going to have a heart attack with all the anxiety.

Yeah, 16.

[upbeat rock music]

- ♪ One step from the last time ♪

♪ Looking for a good time ♪

♪ ♪

- I'm just making noise.

- No, you're going to school already.

How is that possible?

- ♪ Is it always how it feels? ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Moments I never thought ♪

♪ I'd steal ♪

- What are you doing?

- Fixing my two nails that fell off.

- You're fixing your nails? - Yeah.

- Rya's going to school tomorrow.

- Yeah, I know.

- She's only going four hours. - Four hours. I understand.

- But if she does really like it,

I think I might move her to three days a week.

- Why? - Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

- What's the--why?

I think two days is more than enough.

- What do you mean? We're getting to the--

the spot where we'll be a kid-less home for most days.

- I don't know if I like this. - Why?

You're not thinking about having more, are you?

- I'm think about having more all the time.

- So if I were to say, yes,

let's have one more, you would do it?

- Oh, in a heart-- yeah, in a heartbeat.

- All right, let's do it.

[upbeat music]

- What? - He says no.

- No, cause I know you're just fucking around.

Don't be stupid. - Sometimes I think crazy.

- ♪ I've already let you in ♪

♪ I can't let you win ♪

♪ I wish I ♪

- Having fun?

- Yeah, you know, just get in my pool.

♪ ♪

[both chuckle]

Oh, Lord.

- At least it's nice today.

- Oh, it's gorgeous outside.

- Yeah. - Rya's going to school.

- I know. I almost don't want her to go.

It's sad. - No, I get it.

I get it. But--

- No, you don't.

You were so happy when I went to school.

- I loved it.

I was ecstatic.

- I just think because you didn't

get the luxury to enjoy-- - Right.

It was survival.

- The babies, yeah, the baby stuff.

- Yeah. But that's because I didn't have any help.

- No, I know. - You know what I mean?

- I don't--I don't remember Dad ever being there.

He was never there for my first day of school or--

- Oh, God, no. No, because he was in prison.

- You start thinking about stuff when

you get older and have kids. You're like, how? How?

I knew the huge amount of, like, importance

that this role has.

And I was just so scared to screw it up

because I knew I wasn't in a position

to really change too much stuff because I was so young.

- Your dad wasn't emotionally involved.

- It's so weird, man.

His attitude, character-- I call it his character

because it's like he--

he starts using, and then it creates

this--he gets back right into his prison character,

I swear to God.

- I'm far from a drinker.

I mean, I have a few beers here and there,

but I'm no juice head.

If anything, I said, I like cocaine.

[dramatic music]

- I gotta go do rehab.

- Well, at least you're going to rehab and not jail.

- So Butch, this isn't your first time doing this, is it?

- No, it's probably my ninth or tenth time.

[somber music]

Thank you. - [sniffles]

I love you. - I love you.

- You haven't seen your dad in a long time, have you?

- Yeah, about five years.

- So he hasn't even met Rya? - Yeah, exactly.

♪ ♪

- I mean, obviously, you miss him?

- Yeah, I always miss him.

- Well, you should try to reach out to him

and see about sending him out, see if he'll come.

- Yeah, I might see what he says.

I don't know.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

- ♪ No, no, no

♪ I'll never know ♪

♪ What you've done to me ♪

♪ ♪

[phone ringing]

- Hi, Dad. - Hey, baby. How's it going?

- I wanted to check on your hand.

- Can you see that?

I mean-- - Oh, my gosh.

- Yeah, it hurts too.

- Oh, gosh. I'm so glad you're alive.

I know that sounds so, like, weird to just come out and say.

But, Dad, I have a teenager.

- Yep. How's Gannon?

- We celebrated his birthday

and then he went to the school dance.

Like, I don't know how you guys went through that.

- You blink, and he's going to be having--

married and having babies.

- Hopefully, I don't blink and I'm a grandparent

while he's a teenager because I went through his phone,

and it's pretty bad.

He's literally talking about blow jobs with his friends.

And I'm like, this is not the kid I know.

This is not the same kid.

Like, it shook me to my core to be reading these messages.

- You think it's wrong to talk about sex with your teenagers?

- Don't get me wrong.

When they get, like, 16, maybe?

- Right, but then, like, that was too late for me

because no one had that conversation,

and my first conversation was I'm pregnant.

- Well--

- And so telling a teenager

if you're going to be doing this, respect your body,

please have boundaries.

You are not ready to have a baby, so be smart.

- Yeah.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- This is so fun. They could do this all day.

- I know.

- They love it.

It's been a while since we've had a family day.

I'm needing to spend more time with Gannon too.

I was talking to my dad about, like, Gannon being a teenager,

and that was like my very first conversation about sex

that I've ever had with my dad.

My family doesn't talk about sex.

- Why? - I don't know.

- It's just not a bad thing.

- It's unhealthy not to talk about it,

especially with teenagers.

- Well, do you know if Gannon has had sex yet?

I mean, he's 13. - He hasn't.

- He's 13, but, like-- - He's 13.

But think about when you were 13.

- [chuckles] - How many of your--exactly.

I want to be ten steps ahead.

- Which is good.

- If I go to him

and just ground him or get onto him,

he's just going to never talk to me about it.

And that's what happened to me.

- That's why guiding

is more effective than just

saying, no, don't do this.

And let him know the consequences.

That's the best you can do.

And just, like, use yourself as an example.

- Right.

But looking at the child that I got pregnant with at 16

and saying, I don't want you to end up like me,

I just don't want to be like, yeah,

I ruined my life by having you, you ruined my life.

- You don't have to word it that way, though.

- Yeah. I just want to wait for the right moment.

I don't want to come in harsh, like I'm coming to, you know,

use it as an opportunity to connect with him more.

- Yeah. I think that's a good idea.

- It's definitely time to start having

those conversations with Gannon.

[dramatic music]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- You ready?

- I'm ready. Are you ready?

- Ready as I'll ever be.

All right, real quick.

Bentley's birthday party is today.

Bentley's golfing right now with his friends.

We're going to take my car to my parents

and get Bentley's car.

- Yeah.

- I'll drive it.

You drive my Jeep to the golf course.

[sighs]

I literally don't care about anything else

except for this big maintaining the surprise of the Jeep.

- Yeah.

- It has to go well. - Mm-hmm.

- I feel very excited, very nervous.

♪ ♪

I don't know, it's like the next step.

- ♪ It's about to get wild ♪

♪ About to get wild ♪

- ♪ Where I go, where I run ♪

♪ I'll keep on smiling, spread that sun ♪

[phone ringing]

- Gary.

- What's up, man? [clears throat]

- What the hell are you doing, man?

- Oh, you know, just hanging out. You?

- Yeah, no, living the dream.

- Yeah. Looking good.

Hi, honey.

- Hi. - She'll be 16 in November.

- Wow, Gary, oh, my God.

Isn't that crazy?

God, Jesus. Is she driving?

- She drives. She got her-- she got her permit.

She has to get her license.

- I do have my permit.

How do you go into drive? Where's that at?

I just really like driving.

- Straighten out. Straighten out.

- [chuckles]

- I think I'm actually getting better at it.

- But yeah, so she has a team she's a part of,

and she absolutely loves it.

And that's another outlet.

- ♪ I, I, I love a little higher ♪

♪ I want to feel a little higher ♪

- She puts her body through hell.

She has, like, some asthma stuff going on

and, you know, the blisters on her feet,

and she just keeps running.

- She's tenacious. Good job, Leah.

[laughs] - Thank you.

- You OK?

- We're talking about you now. - She's like, yeah.

[chuckles] So yeah, no, she's a good kid.

And she's got the great head on her shoulder.

And Leah's going through a lot, you know, with the Amber stuff,

with, you know, her mom in and out,

which unfortunately, it's a thing.

- Having a parent come in and come out,

come in and come out, it's exhausting.

- That's right.

- Yeah.

- ♪ Let the adventure begin

♪ Whoa oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh ♪

- What's up, baby? - Hi.

- Oh, a cake pop, huh?

[grunts]

[sighs]

I'm going to put my feet up here.

- ♪ Let the adventure begin ♪

Whee.

- [chuckles] - How was school today?

- Good.

My friend messaged me, and she was like, are you on a TV show?

And I was like, yeah.

And she was like, a video just popped up on my TikTok.

And I was like, oh.

And she was like, wow, I never knew that.

- Do you feel like there's a lot of pressure on you

at school from being on TV?

- It's just weird.

I've been seeing a lot of TikTok videos

with, like, old clips and stuff.

- Is there times when you watch any of the TikTok clips

that are painful to watch?

- I see, like, the older ones, like,

from when I was, like, two. - Mm-hmm, a baby.

- And it's just weird to watch because it's always

like, Amber, like screaming at you and then, like, you leave.

[tense music]

- Then stay here.

[overlapping chatter]

- Let me [...] tell you something.

You don't [...] talk to my [...] dad like that!

[...], you hear me?

You apologize to him! - Amber.

- There's one clip where she's, like, yelling, like,

why is Leah crying, when she's in,

like, a complete opposite room, like, just leaving me.

And it's just weird, like, I think those ones are

kind of painful to watch

because, like, it's little old me.

[crying]

- Why is she crying like that, Gary?

- Why don't you quit yelling, Amber?

- She's lacking discipline.

You didn't discipline her when you were watching her.

- For what? She didn't do anything wrong.

- You let her get away with too much stuff.

- She don't do a lot of stuff. - [crying]

- Quit with the yelling all day long.

- Jeez, you're yelling.

- Get out of my house!

- Let's do it. - Get out! Get out!

- [sobs] - Daddy left you again.

- [crying]

♪ ♪

I just think I have a lot of, like,

issues because of Amber.

And, like, the experiences that I've had, so.

- I know.

Honestly, Leah, no joke, I wish I would have done more.

Like, I wish I would have just, like,

took you and left instantly and not, like, left you there.

Like, it wasn't like she technically had custody.

Like, that's kind of the thing, like, in Indiana.

- It's OK. I don't remember it.

- Yeah. Watching those videos, that has got to be hard.

And then you don't remember it.

And I don't know if that's like a trauma thing,

like, where you automatically say,

you know what, your brain shuts off the bad stuff.

You know, like, do you want talk to somebody

and get into, like, going to therapy?

- Yeah.

I want to, like, overcome that

so I can, like, be able to forgive her and just move on.

[somber music]

- Yeah.

- And I think it would help to have someone to, like,

guide me on how to forgive someone

because it's hard for me to do that.

- The way it is, and the way it works is you can go in there,

and you can talk to them about anything

you want to talk about.

I just want you to have somebody you can talk to.

A safe place, someone that it's not Mom, it's not Dad.

Maybe they can kind of give you names

for certain things you feel.

You know, I want you to be happy.

♪ ♪

I love you. - I love you, too.

♪ ♪

I'm not really sure, like, when I realized, like,

when she, like, wasn't there.

But I know, like, I do have, like, abandonment issues

from her not being around.

But I do know, like, there's a lot of things going on

that makes it difficult for her to be able to be there for me.

And I feel like it does affect me every day

because I'm always scared that Kristina is going to leave me.

Like, I'm always scared that people are, like,

just going to leave me for no reason.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

- ♪ Hush, baby, shut your mouth ♪

♪ Don't you go talking about it ♪

♪ Hush, if the secret's out ♪

♪ Hush, don't you say a word ♪

♪ Nothing seen and nothing heard ♪

♪ ♪

- Hello. - Hello.

♪

Party is here.

- Yeah, I'm cleaning up all the mats to get ready for class.

- Classes, lots of classes. - Yes.

- Oh, my gosh, it's going to be comp season before we know it.

And will I be pregnant by comp season?

Who knows?

Because my A1C was so high,

I don't get to be on this round of IVF, so I have to wait.

Yeah, I have to do another round of those meds.

[groans]

But I hope I have a girl because

I am raising a teenage son and

that's been interesting.

- I've heard some things. - Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, we have teenage girls with us all the time.

And you know, first he was dating your daughter.

And that was fine. - [chuckles]

- And then they broke up.

And as all these teenage girls are at my house, it's like,

is it my fault?

Because they're like almost telling me not to tattletale,

but like, did you know Gannon said this?

And I'm like, Gannon don't even know what that is yet.

And then I'm going through his phone.

And it put me down a whole rabbit hole,

and I'm like, oh, my gosh.

I haven't even had--

what do they call it?

The birds and the bees talk? - [chuckles]

- Yeah.

- So I don't know if I've told you yet

because it's been crazy busy.

Chloe came to me the other night and said that

she was really upset because, you know,

they've been broken up for a while.

And she's like, Mom.

Gannon is now interested in one of her friends,

and they're best friends.

And--

- So he's causing problems with--

- Chloe's-- - Friendships.

- Right.

- He is behaving like all of this stuff

he's doing with girls screams, I am raising Josh.

And I'm like--[groans]

You would never cheat on me, would you?

- No.

- He had girlfriends when he was with me?

- I guess.

- Did he tell you? - Oh, yeah.

I knew about one of them.

[dramatic music]

- So you knew about

a girlfriend he had while we were dating?

- Yeah. I think it was, like, Kennedy.

- While we were married? - Yeah.

- I know he knows more and has done more than I thought.

And he's trying to be cool.

- A lot of it, too, you have to teach them,

you need to respect boundaries and make it clear and firm.

You know, we went from teaching them how to play Hot Wheels

and how to, you know--

- To now having sex talks?

- Yeah. It's--it's crazy.

- Yeah.

- ♪ I've got a feeling ♪

♪ I've got a feeling ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I've got a feeling ♪

[overlapping chatter]

- Vaeda. - Ow!

- Thank you, thank you. Too early for that shit.

- Vaeda, come on.

- All right, about ready to go?

♪ ♪

- ♪ Yeah

- [sneezes] - [chuckles]

- Are we going to go to school? - Are you going to school now?

♪ ♪

So how do you feel? How do you feel?

- I feel good so far.

- Me too. Do you? - It's just sad.

- I know. - [shouts]

- [sighs]

[soft dramatic music]

- [sighs]

Are you going to go to school?

- Remember, we came here? - Yeah.

- Yeah.

[both sigh]

- I don't know. I feel sad. [laughs]

♪ ♪

It's one of those things where

you don't realize how precious it is until you don't have it.

- [laughing] Are you all right, honey?

- [sighs] - [laughs and sighs]

- If I could just, like, pause life right now

and just--[chuckles]

Like, stay here for as long as I can, I would do it.

[sighs]

[sniffles]

With just not having my dad around has a lot to do

with why I even placed Karly in the first place.

I was just so scared to screw it up.

And I think that was a catalyst for me and Cate wanting to heal

our stuff before we brought more kids into the world.

[sighs] - It's OK, Daddy.

[both chuckle] - It's stupid.

- It's not stupid. - [sighs]

- It's our baby.

The role you play in our daughters' lives

is so important, so important.

It's just something about girls and their dads, man.

- The older I get, the more love I actually have

for my dad because I have my own kids,

and I just know that, like,

he was younger than me.

Like, and he didn't have half of the resources that I had.

So you can't hold too much, you know, against him.

- Well, you're a great daddy, honey.

- That's the highest honor, I feel.

- Mm.

[soft dramatic music]

[upbeat music]

- ♪ Somehow, somehow, we slow it all down ♪

♪ Lay your head back ♪

- Rya seemed like she had fun at school.

- Yeah. It's a good sign.

- ♪ Running, running out of time ♪

♪ But with you now, maybe that's fine ♪

♪ ♪

- I was talking to my mom.

I feel like I need to reach out to my dad, and just like,

I don't know, extend the olive branch, I guess.

- So what makes you think that you want to do it now?

- I mean, she just started school this week.

He missed that.

All the stuff that he's missing.

- Yeah? - Life is just too short.

I just don't want to have any regrets.

You know what I'm saying?

- Do you want him to stay here with us?

- Oh, yeah, for sure. - OK.

Cause, like, what if he comes up here and then he wants

to go see, like, all his messed-up friends and stuff?

- I'm not-- - Or do you think--

- I'm not his keeper. I think it puts too much--

it's much stress on my end

to be like, all right, are you using?

Are you not using? Are you good enough?

Are you not? I'm not doing all that.

- It's unnecessary drama.

So what if you were to get here and you

could tell that he still is, like, in his using mindset?

- No, no, no. I'd talk to him first.

Do you know what I'm saying? - Uh-huh, yeah.

- Like, I gotta, like, feel him out.

I'll be able to tell in a minute if he's using or not.

And that's where I'm at.

- I mean, the only worry I can think of

is, like, him coming around,

our kids getting really close to him,

and then him just disappearing.

And then our kids being, like, why doesn't he talk to me?

Why doesn't he--you know, why don't we see him anymore?

That's the only thing I can think of, really.

- And I understand what you're saying.

But at the same time, I didn't have me when I was their age.

- Yeah.

- I'm not worried about having to tell

my children the truth of life.

And this is what it is.

♪ ♪

- ♪ So your imagination ♪

- Got it. - Yay. Thank you.

All right, buddy, have fun.

- ♪ Guess you haven't heard I'm an original creation ♪

♪ Wow, la, la, la, la, la ♪

- How are you? - Good.

How are you? - Good.

- Do you think he's going to be surprised with that truck?

- God, you know he is.

[upbeat music]

- So the guy that's running the glow golf thing said at 7:45,

he's going to make an announcement.

- Right. - But I think, like, y'all--

you and Amanda, your parents, my parents,

Jean and Sharon, everybody, Maci, go over there.

I'm going to tell him,

hey, come help me get these clubs out of your mom's car.

I'm going to walk out with him.

And then as we get close to it,

we're going to park it by her Jeep.

And then I'm going to hit the unlock

and let the blue one light up.

- I gotcha. - It'll be good.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

- Are you excited to be 16?

- Yes. I can't wait. Can't wait to drive.

- What car do you think you're going to get?

- I don't know.

I think--I'm going to drive my mom's for now.

It's kind of weird, but I mean, I was the same age

my mom is when she got pregnant,

so it's scary to think about.

♪ ♪

- Perfect.

- ♪ Don't take your mind off me ♪

- Oh, the big thing's about to happen.

Oh, God, I'm going to shit my pants.

- [laughs]

- ♪ I never felt like this, like this before ♪

♪ I'm taking all my rock and soul ♪

♪ There ain't nothing I can't do ♪

- Party's going well.

Did y'all ever think that this day would come,

that it would turn out like this?

- I did not think would ever happen.

- Hard to deal with, you know? - I am.

I am, man. - I'm just kidding.

- No, I am. - I'm just kidding.

- Hey, I wouldn't want to deal with me either, dude.

- I'm kidding, I'm kidding. - All right, ready?

♪ ♪

Oh, my gosh, it's time for his big surprise.

Whoo!

♪ ♪

- Hey, come help me grab this out

of your mom's car real quick.

♪ ♪

- OK, we're currently hiding behind Bentley's truck.

Whoo.

And we're all going to jump out and scare him.

♪ ♪

- Gosh, I'm so excited.

[all cheering]

- ♪ We could dance, you and I ♪

♪ You can let your guard down ♪

♪ No need to try to make new rules ♪

♪ Or tell me what to do ♪

- Gannon, what are you doing? - Upstairs.

- Hi.

- Hello. - Can we talk?

- Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪

- All right.

Oh, look how cute and cuddly it is in here, Gannon.

I used to love decorating your room.

Aw, you're, like, a teenager.

Do you have hairy armpits?

- Oh! No, I don't, but they stink like crap.

- OK, well, maybe let's wash them.

- Oh, I do. - OK.

So I was talking to Megan, and I know

some of the people you dated.

And they've kind of told me, like,

ways you've broken their heart.

- Me? - And that's not cool.

And it kind of, like, took me back to memory lane of, like--

- Like what?

- Um...

I really, really, really wished my mom would have came

and had this conversation with me.

Why do you always get so uncomfortable?

- Because--[laughs] - I'm your mom.

I don't want you to be uncomfortable, though.

Is it uncomfortable when I have talks with you?

Because I know that when you're around your friends,

or when you're texting...

- Oh, texting?

- You're definitely very comfortable.

Your mom comes around and says the word sex, and oh, my gosh,

let's get awkward and pretend like I'm dumb

and don't know any of this stuff, when you're off.

- [giggles] - See?

OK. - What?

- Does your dad have conversations with you?

- Heck, yeah.

He already--he already told me the birds

and the bees talk a long time ago.

What do you expect?

- What else did he tell you?

- He told me whenever he lost his virginity.

- OK.

So are you more comfortable talking--

- Yeah, totally because boys get it.

Girls don't.

- Gannon, you can come ask me anything.

- No because--

- You can change your whole life

just by sleeping with someone one time.

You need to be careful.

I want you to respect girls.

And I want you to be a good husband

to someone one day or whatever.

- [giggles] - Well, you know what, Gannon?

You can laugh at me all you want.

- I'm not laughing at you. I'm laugh--

- You can laugh at me all you want.

- I'm not laughing at you, Mom. - OK.

- Hey, I wasn't asked to be here, OK?

- Well, you're here, and you're special.

- And I'm very happy. - Good.

- And I'm a dad also.

Look right there. Them are my babies.

[laughs] I'm a teenage boy

hatching chickens in my room all the time.

- Yeah, we're hatching chickens.

- I've hatched a lot of things in there.

- OK, well--

[soft dramatic music]

- What? What do I say?

- That's that.

- OK.

♪ ♪

- I do think dads should talk with their kids about sex.

But that talk did not go anything how I think

a birds and bee talk should go.

But it is his dad

and he's going to have that sex conversation

with his kids in a way he feels is needed.

♪ ♪

I just thought that I had beat him to it.

This is my first teenager to raise,

so this is my first experience with it.

And I think I did as best as I could.

But maybe I should have had this before

he went on to middle school.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- ♪ Hey ♪

♪ ♪

- I did talk with Leah. - Mm-hmm?

- About how the therapist has an opening.

- Yes, great.

So do you have to fill out

any kind of paperwork and stuff for me to take her?

- So I will have to fill out paperwork for you

to be a part of it.

But just like with that, I don't like--

Amber doesn't need to be brought into it.

Like, I already know she doesn't want

to share anything with Amber. - Mm-hmm.

We're at four months again with no contact.

- Mm-hmm, I know.

- So I mean, that just plays with her emotions and--

- And I can't do it.

- I think moving forward,

I think you and I just have to go with what Leah wants.

- Leah is about to be 16.

And she can go to her therapist and say whatever she wants.

So if she doesn't want her mom to know, that's final.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

Oh, my back.

♪ ♪

How do you feel right now with going to therapy?

- Feels good.

- What do you feel--like, what makes it feel good?

- I don't know, to go talk to somebody.

- I just want you to go in there

and anything you feel like talking about, you know.

That's kind of your space, so I want

you to have a bond and a trust with your therapist.

♪ ♪

- Will you walk me in? - Walk you in?

- Yeah. - Yeah, I'll walk you in.

♪ ♪

- How did Leah's therapy go?

- She didn't really talk much about anything.

I said, like, how was it? I didn't want to pry too much.

- She texted me after she got to school

and just told me a few things. - Mm-hmm.

- And I just told her, you know,

I'm here for you, as always, and that I loved her.

She'll be OK.

- I know they talked a little about her mom, I think.

- Yes, yeah. - So--

- Do you think it would ever be helpful

for Leah and Amber to ever do therapy together?

- No. - Mm-hmm.

- Now, it's to a point where you're giving up on somebody

that's given up on you. - Yeah.

- You know, there's a difference there.

Like, she built a boundary where, you know,

I'm not going to allow myself to continue getting hurt

because it's hurting me. - Yeah.

- It's messing with me.

And good luck to Amber if she ever wanted to go to court

and say, I can't see my daughter.

I'll be like, good luck.

It'll get worse for you the moment you do that,

because it will 100% change. Everything will change.

- Leah said if she was ever forced to go there,

she would run away. - [chuckles]

Well, she ain't going to run away,

but she would tell the judge what she wanted

and it would be done. - Yeah.

♪ ♪

- Whenever dealing with Leah,

you know, I want it to be her thoughts, her feelings.

- Right.

- I think that makes it--

it kind of puts a lot of those hard questions out of my hands

and into someone else's hands that's a professional.

It's only Leah that matters.

So I put aside my feelings, my wants, and I put Leah first.

♪ ♪

- ♪ It's called wandering home ♪

♪ I belong, I feel it ♪

♪ Words that they told me really my own ♪

- Whoo-hoo!

- Have you put any more thought into inviting

your dad to come out?

- Who? - My dad.

- Oh, your dad. - Do you remember my dad?

- No, I do not. - No? [laughs] Yeah, it's OK.

- So what is your dad like?

- Oh, that's a good question.

- [babbling] - He's been in prison a lot.

- Why did he go to prison? - He has a sickness.

He's got addiction problems.

So he would steal stuff to pay for the drugs.

- Well, now, you know it's not really his fault.

Like, I bet if he didn't have a disease,

he wouldn't do it again.

- I agree with you.

- Do you think that he'll come visit if you invite him?

- I think her will, yeah.

- Could we all possibly take a picture

and send it to your dad?

- Yeah. I don't see why not.

[upbeat music]

Why not?

- ♪ One, two, one, I made it again ♪

♪ ♪

- Are you ready? - Karly, don't look stupid.

There you go. - Yay.

[camera shutter clicks]

- ♪ Oh, yeah

- I'm going to send it to my dad.

- Yeah, and just say, like-- - Like, hey.

- Do you want to come up? - Want to come visit?

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

- ♪ Whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh ♪

♪ Whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh

- Hey, come help me grab this out

of your mom's car real quick.

♪ ♪

- [laughs] - Gosh, I'm so excited.

[upbeat music]

all: Surprise!

[laughter and applause]

[cheers and applause]

- Hey, buddy.

- ♪ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you ♪

- That's yours. - I know. Thank you.

- ♪ Happy birthday, dear Bentley ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

- Yeah.

- You want to get in? - Yeah.

- Give him his keys. Give him his keys.

Oh, you got them. There you go.

Were you surprised?

- Oh, yeah. [laughter]

- He's gonna get in. He's a man of few words.

Where does that come from? - Hey.

I look good?

- You look perfect.

- Yes, you do, Bentley.

- Hey, you want to drive it

around the parking lot for a second?

Anybody want to get in the back seat?

You want to get in, Ryan?

You want to get in, Amanda? [engine turns over]

- ♪ It's been coming for a long time ♪

♪ Won't you come along with me? ♪

- Do you like it? - Oh, I love it.

[car horn honks] - Oh, my goodness.

[laughter]

- Hey, you want to know something really cool?

- What?

- Last week, all four of us

drove, like, two hours away to pick this puppy up.

- Are you serious? - Yeah.

All four of us, we went and got this puppy.

It was fun.

And then we had to sweat it out for over a week.

- I had no idea. - You didn't?

- I had no idea. - Yay.

[laughter] - I was late for work.

♪ ♪

Pull it up right there in the middle.

Let you and your buddies go look at it.

[car door shuts]

♪ ♪

- Thank you.

- You like it? - Yeah. Thank you.

- You're very welcome. It wasn't just me.

- Thank you.

- Look, guys, we did a good job.

- Y'all did that. - We did.

- Hey, T, we did that.

Isn't that cool? It worked.

When I got pregnant at 16...

everything became a challenge, everything.

That's what I gave up, is...

being able to be a kid.

[car horn honks]

And that's a big price to pay.

I hope that I have given Bentley

the tools to make different decisions for himself.

And I hope he has,

like, a whole handful, at least,

of years to be completely selfish.

That's what I hope for him.

♪ ♪

- ♪ I'm starting to see the pieces of me ♪

♪ They wait in the darkness for me to set free ♪

♪ So I let my ♪

♪ Guard down ♪

♪ I'm ready to love me ♪

♪ Even when the road gets so lonely ♪

♪ I'm ready to trust me ♪

♪ I'm starting to find myself slowly ♪

- All right, I'm glad you had a good day.

Love you. - Love you too.

♪ ♪

- ♪ I'm ready, I'm ready ♪

♪ I'm starting to find myself slowly ♪

- Hands above the waist.

- It's the twins' homecoming dance.

Aleeah, your boyfriend is here!

- Who all do you want to invite to your birthday party?

- I wanna invite Ryder.

- Hooray!

- OK, worst case scenario,

my mom's tweaking and comes in tripping.

- Would she do that? - Yeah.

- Knock, knock.

- Good to see you guys. - Yeah, same.

- Have you talked to your mom lately?

- No, not really. Like, I want Kristina to adopt me.

- This is, like, the calm before the storm.

- I'm just giving you a hug.

- [sighs]