‘Teen Mom’ Star Maci Bookout Defends Amber Portwood Friendship: ‘I’m Not Going to Stop Caring’

Teen Mom’s Maci Bookout remains a proud friend of costar Amber Portwood.

“Anyone’s opinion on the type of friend I am or how I show up as a friend doesn’t matter to me,” Bookout, 33, shared on the Thursday, April 3, episode of the “Barely Famous” podcast. “I’m not going to stop caring and showing up for anyone that I love because you disagree with it.”

When asked why she receives criticism for her ongoing friendship with Portwood, 34, the former 16 and Pregnant star said she doesn’t know and doesn’t “really care.”

“With Cate [Lowell], Amber and I, we are more than friends. We get things that other people could never understand,” Bookout shared with podcast host and Teen Mom 2 alum Kailyn Lowry. “There are so many things that I could talk to you about, and you 100 percent understand, and you know where I’m coming from.”

Bookout, Portwood and Lowell, 33, appeared in separate episodes of 16 and Pregnant in 2009 before agreeing to participate in Teen Mom. More than 15 years later, the trio remain part of the franchise and are currently cast members on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, airing Thursdays on MTV.

“At this point,” Bookout pointed out, “me and Catelynn and Amber have known each other longer than we haven’t.”

During the current season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Portwood has taken on a more limited role as her 16-year-old daughter, Leah, chooses to spend the majority of her time with dad Gary Shirley and his wife Kristina.

While Portwood has spoken openly about their fractured relationship and her personal mental health struggles, Bookout is disappointed that viewers don’t always get to see the friendship dynamics between several cast members.

“Between the three of us — me, Cate and Amber — we will always be there for each other and support each other but we are also the first people to check each other and be like, ‘Hey, you have to do something about this’ or, ‘That’s not right. What are we doing?’” she said. “It’s almost never shown and honestly, it could be because it doesn’t happen on camera.”

From Bookout’s perspective, support can look like different things at different times in a long-standing friendship.

“Sometimes support looks like checking someone and showing them a different point of view or maybe how they can alter their behavior a little bit without judgment or being hateful,” she explained. “It’s very possible for all of those things to simultaneously exist and all be true.”

Lowry, 33, expressed support for Portwood and Bookout’s friendship and reminded listeners that the cast of Teen Mom is like a family that has experienced something so unique.

“No matter what sort of tragedies or trials or tribulations that people go through, everyone needs a support system,” she shared. “There’s such a unique dynamic between all of us.”