Teen Mom Confidential: Secrets & Scandals From MTV's Most Controversial Shows by Ashley Majeski, Sean Daly Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ashley Majeski, Sean Daly
Tags: General Fiction
about Amber's life that never ended up getting published - the troubled star called her father Shawn “an alcoholic” and admitted he was “verbally abusive” during her childhood in Anderson, Indiana. Samantha Hall, Amber's former sister-in-law shared a similar story that year with HollywoodLife.com : “Amber's dad treated (her) mom the same way Amber treats Gary - like, 'Shut up bitch!”
The Portwood clan - at times too poor to afford basic telephone service - planted roots in Anderson (pop. 56,125) long before Amber became the area's most notorious resident. Her grandfather Frank, an Army veteran, owned several local businesses including the popular Art's Varsity Pizza. Shawn left town briefly in the mid-1980s and headed to Florida, where he met then 20 year-old Tonya Webb. They married in Orlando on May 3, 1987, and soon after, their first child, Shawn Jr. was born in Atlanta. When Amber arrived on May 14, 1990, the family decided to head back to Indiana. But, sadly, their troubles and struggles continued.
On December 20, 1995, when Amber was just five, Tonya gave birth to the couple's third child, a daughter named Candace. Less than a month later, the baby tragically died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Amber has admitted she never quite got over the loss. “I remember it like I just watched a movie yesterday,” she revealed during the Teen Mom season three reunion special. “I remember a stretcher coming in. I remember my mom screaming. I remember her on the edge of the bed. I remember my dad's reaction.”
Tonya, too, has haunting memories of her family's saddest night. She had just gotten off work and returned home, where her husband was looking after the kids. After checking on the newborn, she instantly knew something was seriously wrong. "I picked her up and just realized that she wasn't breathing,” the still-grieving mom revealed to Dr. Drew Pinsky as MTV cameras rolled. “She hemorrhaged from the nose. Immediately, I just checked out."
In the months that followed, Tonya struggled to lift herself out of depression, while Amber put on a brave face for her young classmates at Greenbriar Elementary School. The little girl, who loved Barbie dolls and wearing dresses, made friends easily, childhood friends say. "Amber has always had a fun-loving personality and so many friends she always stuck up for and was always loyal to," one told RadarOnline in 2010. "She talked to everyone and never thought she was better than anyone else." But that soon changed.
By the time she enrolled at North Side Middle School, Amber had become aggressive and frequently acted out. At 13, she started experimenting with drugs. "We would always have pills around,” Amber told Franco. “Everybody could get pills from everywhere. We would ditch school, stay around the house and take pills. It was my way of escaping and not thinking about my real life."
With their father in and out of the hospital for liver problems related to alcohol abuse - [he eventually developed cirrhosis] - both Amber and her brother began regular sessions with a therapist. In 2005, Tonya had an extramarital affair and decided to finally leave the family home, according to Franco. Shawn joined the Army and headed to basic training, while Amber, just 15, began dating Gary, one of his best friends. Despite their age difference - he is four years her senior - Amber finally believed she had found true love. They dated for two and a half years (and often neglected to practice safe sex) until the inevitable happened: Amber got pregnant. At the time, Shawn was deployed in Iraq and didn't find out until months later that his sister was not only pregnant, but had also decided to share her story on MTV.
“It wasn't really a big shock when I found out I was pregnant,” Amber told Anderson's Herald Bulletin in 2009, adding that she had always believed she would marry Gary and have his children. In fact, Amber seemed completely unfazed to have a baby on
The Portwood clan - at times too poor to afford basic telephone service - planted roots in Anderson (pop. 56,125) long before Amber became the area's most notorious resident. Her grandfather Frank, an Army veteran, owned several local businesses including the popular Art's Varsity Pizza. Shawn left town briefly in the mid-1980s and headed to Florida, where he met then 20 year-old Tonya Webb. They married in Orlando on May 3, 1987, and soon after, their first child, Shawn Jr. was born in Atlanta. When Amber arrived on May 14, 1990, the family decided to head back to Indiana. But, sadly, their troubles and struggles continued.
On December 20, 1995, when Amber was just five, Tonya gave birth to the couple's third child, a daughter named Candace. Less than a month later, the baby tragically died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Amber has admitted she never quite got over the loss. “I remember it like I just watched a movie yesterday,” she revealed during the Teen Mom season three reunion special. “I remember a stretcher coming in. I remember my mom screaming. I remember her on the edge of the bed. I remember my dad's reaction.”
Tonya, too, has haunting memories of her family's saddest night. She had just gotten off work and returned home, where her husband was looking after the kids. After checking on the newborn, she instantly knew something was seriously wrong. "I picked her up and just realized that she wasn't breathing,” the still-grieving mom revealed to Dr. Drew Pinsky as MTV cameras rolled. “She hemorrhaged from the nose. Immediately, I just checked out."
In the months that followed, Tonya struggled to lift herself out of depression, while Amber put on a brave face for her young classmates at Greenbriar Elementary School. The little girl, who loved Barbie dolls and wearing dresses, made friends easily, childhood friends say. "Amber has always had a fun-loving personality and so many friends she always stuck up for and was always loyal to," one told RadarOnline in 2010. "She talked to everyone and never thought she was better than anyone else." But that soon changed.
By the time she enrolled at North Side Middle School, Amber had become aggressive and frequently acted out. At 13, she started experimenting with drugs. "We would always have pills around,” Amber told Franco. “Everybody could get pills from everywhere. We would ditch school, stay around the house and take pills. It was my way of escaping and not thinking about my real life."
With their father in and out of the hospital for liver problems related to alcohol abuse - [he eventually developed cirrhosis] - both Amber and her brother began regular sessions with a therapist. In 2005, Tonya had an extramarital affair and decided to finally leave the family home, according to Franco. Shawn joined the Army and headed to basic training, while Amber, just 15, began dating Gary, one of his best friends. Despite their age difference - he is four years her senior - Amber finally believed she had found true love. They dated for two and a half years (and often neglected to practice safe sex) until the inevitable happened: Amber got pregnant. At the time, Shawn was deployed in Iraq and didn't find out until months later that his sister was not only pregnant, but had also decided to share her story on MTV.
“It wasn't really a big shock when I found out I was pregnant,” Amber told Anderson's Herald Bulletin in 2009, adding that she had always believed she would marry Gary and have his children. In fact, Amber seemed completely unfazed to have a baby on
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