Maci Bookout & Ryan Edwards Share Cryptic Messages After His Stalking Arrest

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office/MTV Maci Bookout posted cryptic quotes via social media after Ryan Edwards was arrested.

“Teen Mom” stars Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards shared cryptic messages via social media on the same day, just over a week after Edwards was arrested on March 1. Police accused him of stalking and violating an order of protection, according to a press release issued by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee. 

Bookout, 31, shared her vague message via Instagram Stories on March 9. “Stop walking around with a mouth full of scriptures and a heart full of hell,” the quote said, according to a screenshot via Reddit. 

A majority of fans said Bookout might have been talking about Edwards, 35, and his estranged wife, Mackenzie Standifer, 26.

“I’ve been wondering when Mackenzie and Rhine became so religious?! The constant stream of biblical memes is just a bit much…” read one popular comment.

Some fans said Bookout might have been referring to the controversial bills passed in Tennessee, where public drag shows have become banned, according to NPR.

“I was thinking she was referring to her state legislatures of Tennessee,” said a top response, which garnered more than 100 upvotes.

A few people wrote that Bookout might have been talking about Standifer. “This is clearly aimed at Mack Truck who’s been putting up multiple posts that repeatedly reference g-d,” they said.

Bookout and Standifer have feuded for years. In 2017, Standifer read an open letter to Bookout at the “Teen Mom” reunion, where she accused Bookout of exploiting Edwards’ addiction.

“Maci, you told me to my face, merely days after I had informed you about Ryan seeking help, that you had known about his problem since November,” Standifer said, per People. “That was 186 days; 400,464 hours; and 267,840 minutes that he could’ve died, and still, you said nothing.”

Edwards Only Needed 5 Words For His Message

Edwards didn’t address his arrest or marital woes in his March 9 post. He shared a picture of five words that read: “It is what it is.”

Some people found humor in Edwards’ message, writing: “This is accidentally the funniest f***ing reaction to imploding your entire life and marriage.”

Others interpreted the quote to mean Edwards was feigning responsibility for his actions. “You don’t get to have an absolute s*** fit involving a social media tantrum, revenge porn, a restraining order, and three arrests, and then come back to play it cool,” they said.

“This is my motto when my life is falling apart due to minor inconveniences,” a third person wrote. “Not when i been arrested for stalking, harassment domestic violence. jesus christ.”

Bookout and Edwards share a son, 14-year-old Bentley, whom they welcomed in 2008. They appeared on the first season of “16 and Pregnant” in 2009, where they allowed MTV to document Bookout’s pregnancy as they tried to navigate their relationship. They were briefly engaged after Bentley’s birth, but Bookout called off the engagement after Edwards failed to reach her expectations as a father.

Since 2017, Edwards has publicly struggled with substance abuse and has a strained relationship with his eldest son.

Standifer and Edwards have been married for six years. They share two children together: 4-year-old Jagger and 3-year-old Stella.

Edwards Is Facing Multiple Charges

Police accused Edwards of stalking and violating an order of protection on March 1.

“The HCSO is releasing this information regarding Edwards specifically due to numerous local and national inquiries from media outlets and newspapers,” authorities wrote in the press release about his arrest. “No further details are available at this time.”

Edwards’ March 1 arrest was his second arrest within 30 days.

He was previously arrested on February 10.

Edwards was booked at the Silverdale Detention Center on new and existing charges, including harassment, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance — according to the sheriff’s office — after police found out he had an active warrant issued by the Chattanooga police, per a press release shared by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on February 10.

Standifer Filed for Divorce

Standifer and Edwards have been estranged for months. Edwards publicly accused his wife of cheating on him via Instagram in January. The following month, Standifer filed for divorce, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly and The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.

Standifer also granted a restraining order against Edwards and temporary custody of Jagger and Stella, per Us Weekly, who cited court documents.

“Take wife down off this,” Edwards wrote under a photo of himself and Standifer — which has since been removed — according to In Touch. “I’m not proud of being married to someone that stays out in bars and goes home with others guys.”

The day before his arrest, Edwards wrote another disparaging comment about Standifer and posted a picture of her wearing a leather jacket and little else. “If you guys have never seen a spineless slut this is one. They take your money sleep with anything that looks at them,” he wrote on February 9, per In Touch.

That same day, Standifer filed a protection order against Edwards, according to The Sun, who obtained court documents.

“Ryan punched holes in the walls and doors. [He] held me up by my neck to the wall. Threw me down in hallway and said if he could not have me no one could,” she said in the petition, according to The Sun. “Opened pocket knife, put to my back like he was going to kill me. This was in front of children. I tried to leave, he smashed my phone, took my car keys.”

Standifer has not issued a public message since filing for divorce.