MTV Ryan and Mackenzie Edwards
Mackenzie Edwards, the wife of “Teen Mom’s” Ryan Edwards, is being forced to pay her child’s father, Zach Stephens, $260 each month in child support just months after being fired from the TV series, according to The Sun.
Mackenzie was embroiled in what the outlet called a “nasty custody battle” over her and Stephens’ son, Hudson, for months. In March 2021, per The Sun, a settlement was reached. The Permanent Parenting Plan Order, newly obtained by the outlet, revealed that Mackenzie must pay the $260 each month; the papers list her monthly income as $8,750, while they list Stephens’ as $3,805.
News that Ryan, Mackenzie and Ryan’s parents, Larry and Jen Edwards, were fired from “Teen Mom OG” surfaced in March 2021. The couple told Us Weekly at the time that Maci Bookout was responsible for getting them fired “so that [the show] could focus more on her.” Bookout and Ryan share a 12-year-old son together, Bentley.
Describing how they learned they were let go from the show in an interview on the “Without A Crystal Ball” podcast, Mackenzie said, “Nothing happened, literally, nothing. We just got a call yesterday from [producers] Morgan [J. Freeman] and Larry [Musnik] at MTV. Maci’s agent went above their heads and went to Viacom and said that they wanted to focus on all of Maci’s abilities and whatever she does and that we took up the time on the show that she could be using to show all that.”
She stated that her in-laws were fired before she and Ryan were let go. Mackenzie continued, “They said that when [Maci] didn’t fulfill her obligations or, like, basically didn’t have enough content that they call us back… Ryan was just like, ‘Don’t. We’re gonna move on. We’re gonna live our lives. We’re gonna do our jobs and, you know, have a normal life. Like, don’t waste your time or your breath coming back.’”
Here’s what you need to know:
Stephens Believed ‘Teen Mom’ Was ‘Detrimental’ to Hudson
In January 2021, The Sun reported that Stephens was requesting 50/50 custody of Hudson. Court documents obtained by the outlet read, “[The] father believes that the minor child’s involvement with the television program may be detrimental to the welfare and well-being of the minor child.”
Mackenzie, however, shot back, stating that she disagreed that the show had a negative impact on Hudson.
Stephens also asked that both parents share “major decisions including educational, religious, extracurricular activities and non-emergency health care,” adding that up until that point, Mackenzie had made many important decisions without consulting him, according to the outlet.
Mackenzie Demanded More Than $3,000 in Back Child Support From Stephens
In January 2021, The Sun reported that Mackenzie had filed a petition demanding that Stephens pay her $3,185 in back child support.
The outlet noted that a previous 2017 agreement ordered Stephens to pay Mackenzie $245 each month in child support.
Ryan and Mackenzie married in 2017. In a September 2021 interview with The Sun, Ryan shared, “My relationship with her is great, we’ve been married almost five years now.”
Mackenzie added, “We are in a happy place at the moment. Nobody is saying that we haven’t made mistakes, because we have. But I’m not going to harp over them or live in sadness or shame over the past five years.”
Together, Mackenzie and Ryan share son, Jagger, 2, and daughter, Stella, 14 months.
In April 2021, Mackenzie wrote on her Instagram story, per In Touch Weekly, that she would be pursuing a career in fitness after leaving the “Teen Mom” franchise.
She wrote, “I think it’s time to address the elephant in the room, and no, we are not doing Teen Mom at this point in time. We’ve been having this conversation for a long time, but it’s hard to pull the trigger on something like that. We got the phone call saying we’re not going to be doing Teen Mom anymore, and we both felt at peace.”
She continued by stating that she had been “putting a fitness plan together” and was focusing on “curating a plan with trainers.”