Some California television watchers may be familiar with Amber Portwood, who made her debut as a teenager on the popular show ‘Teen Mom.” Portwood had a daughter with Gary Shirley and became involved in substance abuse that put her custody of the girl in jeopardy. After being charged with felony domestic abuse in 2011, Portwood lost custody of her daughter to the father, who was allegedly assaulted by Portwood on multiple occasions.
During trial, Portwood asked the judge to send her to prison so she could deal with her addiction issues. While she was initially sentenced to five years in prison, she spent 17 months before being released in 2013. After overcoming her substance addiction issues, Portwood regained custody of her daughter in a long and adversarial custody battle.
Shortly after regaining custody, news broke that Portwood’s current boyfriend, fellow TV personality Matt Baier, has seven children. The revelation was made by Shirley on an episode of ‘Teen Mom,” and Portwood was reportedly angered that he divulged the personal information. Despite criticism from fans on Twitter about the size of Baier’s family, Portwood made several claims of support for her boyfriend and expressed her intention to remain with him.
Custody battles, such as the one between Shirley and Portwood, can often turn aggressive and make it difficult to come to an arrangement in the best interests of the child. If a parent wants sole custody of a child, a family law attorney may be able to prove that the other parent is unfit to retain joint custody. Visitation rights can still be the subject of disputes even in cases where both parents agree upon who the custodial parent should be.
