MTV "Teen Mom OG" alum Ryan Edwards caused a stir after his wife, Mackenzie Edwards, posted a family photo to Instagram on July 18.
“Teen Mom OG” alum Ryan Edwards caused a stir after his wife, Mackenzie Edwards, posted a family photo to Instagram on July 18.
The picture showed Edwards holding his dog Chance. It also showed his wife and their two children, 2-year-old son Jagger and 1-year-old daughter Stella. Also featured in the photo is Mackenzie Edwards’ oldest son, 6-year-old Hudson, who is from her previous relationship with Zachary Stephens. Ryan Edwards’ eldest son, 12-year-old Bentley, was not featured in the image.
Hours after the picture was posted to Instagram, “Teen Mom OG” fans started to pick it apart. Fans on Reddit worried about Ryan Edwards’ sobriety, noting that he was wearing long sleeves on a Florida beach in summer.
Some claimed he might be hiding pokes on his arm from intravenous drug use.
“Why is he wearing long sleeves? Hiding track marks?” one person on Reddit wondered.
“Wondering about the long sleeves too, hiding something?” another asked.
Other popular comments talked about how Ryan Edwards is always shown holding his dog, but he is rarely pictured holding any of his children. Some people took notice of the way the adults in the picture were sitting, with Ryan and Mackenzie Edwards facing away from each other.
“I feel Like Mack begged him to do these photos and he was like “fiiine 🙄 but only if I can hold the dog,” they wrote.
Ryan Edwards Maintains He’s Sober
Ryan Edwards has struggled with substance abuse over the years, spending two stints in rehab.
When he and Mackenzie Edwards got married in 2017, MTV cameras caught him nodding out on the way to the wedding, with Mackenzie Edwards taking the wheel while he was driving so they didn’t veer off the road.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun in April 2021, the father-of-three maintained that he was sober after Taylor McKinney, the husband of Rayn Edwards’ ex-girlfriend Maci Bookout, accused him of relapsing.
“I can see why he made the comment, but really I was just exhausted 99 percent of the time,” Ryan Edwards told the publication. “Staying up all night then helping Mackenzie with kids in the day.”
In addition to helping with the children, the MTV alum was working on building dune buggies. “That’s in between going back to the garage building my buggy to try and get it done for King of the Hammers off-road race,” he said in April 2021. “There were many nights I would work so long, I would just sit down for 15 to 20 min in the shop and nap for that long and get back to it.”
McKinney Again Said Ryan Edwards Wasn’t Sober
McKinney didn’t have definitive proof, but during the “Teen Mom OG” reunion in April 2021, Bookout’s husband suspected her ex was using drugs again.
“This is our opinion,” McKinney told reunion host Dr. Drew Pinsky. “It’s based on when he shows up to something or when you see him sitting there in a scene and he can hardly keep his eyes open.”
“That’s not a place I feel safe to send our son with that guy,” he added, referencing 12-year-old Bentley. “I think every week when you watch a new episode, you think Ryan can’t possibly be any dumber than he is and he will prove you wrong the next week.”
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