‘Teen Mom: Family Reunion’ Recap: Amber Portwood Vows To ‘Never Give Up’ On Daughter Leah

Amber Portwood and her daughter, Leah, don't have the best relationship these days, but during the March 1 finale of 'Teen Mom Family Reunion', Amber said she'll 'never give up' on fixing things.

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The cast of Teen Mom: Family Reunion united for a final dinner during the March 1 season finale, when they reminisced about how far they’ve come as a group. But it became an even bigger celebration when Catelynn Lowell arrived and surprised all of them. She had just given birth to baby Raya a week before filming started, so no one expected her to show up, but she came for the final night of the reunion and reduced a lot of the girls to tears upon her arrival.

Then, when everyone gathered around a bonfire, Amber Portwood revealed how she’ll “never give up” on repairing her estranged relationship with daughter Leah, 12. Cheyenne Floyd had asked everyone to write down one thing from their life that they’d like to “burn”. Some of the ladies said they’d like to burn the “anxiety” they often feel as a young mom, but when it came time for Amber to reveal what she had written down, she said, “I want to get rid of the bubble I made to protect myself and keep others from hurting me.”

She also said she wasn’t just referring to romantic partners hurting her — she also meant family members. She said she “likes to stay in a bubble” so she doesn’t “get hurt”, but if she gets out of her comfort zone, she said, “I think I’ll be able to grow more.”

In her private confessional, Amber then said, “It was such an uplifting experience. I’m definitely going to take all of that positive energy that was given to me from all the girls, and I’m going to keep it. I want to see Leah. I’ll never give up on her.”

Amber had previously revealed that she thinks she’s a “bad mom”, and she’s “sad” about how she was absent in Leah’s life when she was younger, but her ex, Gary Shirley, told her not to feel like a “bad mom”.

“You made some bad decisions, and you know, it translates to now a little bit, obviously. I know things are rocky and you made a lot of mistakes, but you’re also — especially in more recent days — owning up to it. I guess with Leah, I’ll just say you can’t give up,” he told her.

“When it comes to me and her, I think about eventually, hopefully, we can make something happen if she sees me staying in her life,” Amber said and Gary agreed. He said he thinks it’s “just a matter of time” before they reconcile.

Want more? A new season of Teen Mom 2 premieres on Tuesday, March 8, at 8pm on MTV.