YouTube Maci Bookout on "Teen Mom: Next Chapter"
“Teen Mom” fans got a blast from the past on Thursday, March 30 after a fan shared a throwback photo of Maci Bookout, 31, and her eldest son Bentley, 14, on Reddit.
“TBT of Maci Deshane Bookout and her firstborn baby Bentley Cadence Edwards circa 2010,” the fan titled the post.
Fans gushed over the photo, which showed a teenage Maci holding baby Bentley.
“So adorable 🥰,” one Reddit user replied.
“Baby Bentley is the absolute cutest,” another user wrote. “I always loved the way he would say ‘I luh you’ to Maci. He was too adorable.”
“Bentley is just the cutest little guy. I love his Tennessee accent,” a third user added.
“Cutest baby in the franchise 😍,” a fourth user replied.
Fans Say Bentley Looks ‘So Grown Up’ in Instagram Photo
Thursday’s Reddit post is not the first time a photo of Bentley has caught the attention of fans. Earlier this month, Maci shared a photo of Bentley at his baseball game and fans could not get over how grown up Bentley looked in the picture.
“He is so grown! I remember baby Bentley!! 😍,” one Instagram user wrote on the March 10 post.
“Wow. I feel old. Bentley looks so grown up; almost an adult,” another fan commented.
“Oh my word….since day 1 have been watching him grow😍. Slow down please lol,” a third user added.
“Omg!! Maci he grew up way [too] fast,” a fourth user commented.
Maci Opens up About Raising Bentley: ‘It is Difficult’
“Teen Mom” fans have been with Bentley since the beginning. Maci made her reality TV debut on “16 and Pregnant” in 2009 when she was pregnant with Bentley. Since then, fans have watched Bentley grow up on “Teen Mom: OG.”
In an interview with People in October 2022, Maci spoke about the pros and cons of raising her teenage son Bentley.
“Teenage years are an absolute blast and they are an absolute struggle,” she told the outlet. “It is difficult because it’s gotten to the stage where he wants to make his own decisions and deal with the consequences of those.”
“Parenting is hard in general but teenage years are fun but they’re tough,” she added.
Maci celebrated Bentley entering his teenage years with an Instagram post on his thirteenth birthday on October 27, 2021.
“This smart, gentle, kind soul is 13 years old today,” she wrote alongside a photo of her and Bentley on the beach. “I’m so blessed to be your mom. Happy Birthday Benny, I love you! 🎉🥰💙.”
She included the hashtag “Benny Baby.”
Maci Talks Bentley’s Therapy Journey
Maci has never shied away from showing her family’s difficult moments. A couple years ago, Maci made the decision to show her son Bentley’s therapy journey on “Teen Mom: OG.” Maci’s decision divided fans. Some fans supported Maci’s choice while others found the therapy scenes “inappropriate.”
In an interview with E! News in October 2021, the MTV star opened up about her decision to air Bentley’s therapy journey on “Teen Mom.” She told the outlet she talked it through with her son before filming.
“We talked about it before we started filming,” she told the outlet. “We asked if it was something that he would even want to film and discuss on camera at all, and I even asked if he cares if Taylor and I discussed it on camera. Pretty much from the get-go, he was down to do it. The producer and I made it very clear that anytime he doesn’t want to talk about it, at any time, then he can just say the word.”
Maci said that Bentley wanted to “normalize” therapy for kids of all ages and share his experience.
“He made a couple of comments in the discussion about wanting kids to know that it’s normal and it’s very much okay to see a counselor or a therapist,” she said. “He said that if you’re watching me on the show and you think I’m cool because I’m on TV, then I can maybe normalize this for you.”
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