Teen Mom OG's Amber Portwood Discusses Her Mental Health Struggles Before Arrest: 'I Blow Up'
Teen Mom OG star Amber Portwood admitted she was struggling with her mental health just days before she was arrested and charged with domestic violence.
In an exclusive sneak peek at Monday’s episode, Portwood discusses her latest therapy session with boyfriend Andrew Glennon.
“We need to lay down after that one. That was pretty intense,” she tells him as they get in the car with their 15-month-old son James.
“What’d you guys talk about?” asks Glennon.
“Just like negative self-talk and like how I push away happiness, which leads to like pushing away you,” says Portwood, who met Glennon on the set of Marriage Boot Camp: Family Edition in 2017.
“Yeah, I mean I know there’s like those mornings where you’re upset and there’s no real reason for it,” Glennon replies.
While Portwood acknowledges that she needs to work on controlling her mood swings, she stresses that Glennon’s support is vital for her success.
“All you can really do is just be there for me and be happy,” she says. “I just gotta like keep working on it, and understanding its not just bipolar, it’s not just borderline, or anxiety, it’s also things that have happened in your life. When I start to get in my head at night, when I can’t sleep, this kinda just amplifies it, I guess. I just, you know how I blow up, because I don’t draw that line. I don’t have that boundary, I guess.”
“Yeah, I know those moments,” Glennon says. “Once you’ve recognized that you’re in that state of mind, just to try and like diffuse it or walk away, it’s not worth it. Life’s too short for that, babe.”
“But it’s like…and I’m not like choosing, ya know,” says Portwood. “I let things frustrate me to the point where I get so angry, and I’m just exploding.”
On July 5, the MTV star was arrested for allegedly attacking Glennon while he was holding their son James.
The day after the incident, Portwood was further charged with domestic battery, criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years old, according to Page Six.
Glennon filed for sole custody of James several days later.
According to a police affidavit from the arrest detailing the alleged incident and obtained by Radar Online, Glennon claimed that the Teen Mom OG star allegedly took a handful of pills and “threatened to kill herself” before pulling a machete on him.
Glennon alleged that Portwood “went to her drawer and took a handful of Klonopin and tossed it back like it was nothing,” during the dispute, according to the affidavit filed with the court.
RELATED: Teen Mom OG: Amber Portwood’s Boyfriend Andrew Glennon Wants to Leave Indiana After Her Arrest
After he told her that he “was going to call for help,” Glennon allegedly said to Portwood “regurgitated the pills.”
Then, Portwood “picked up a machete towards him and [James],” per the affidavit.
A source previously told PEOPLE that drugs were not a factor in the alleged violent dispute, and added that “the situation was a little more complicated than what’s been reported.”
Nearly two weeks after Portwood was arrested and charged with domestic battery, she posted a cryptic message on Instagram about infidelity, leading some to wonder if Glennon had cheated on her.
RELATED: Teen Mom OG‘s Amber Portwood Says She’s ‘Heartbroken’ Nearly a Month After Arrest
However, Glennon told the Daily Mail that the message was not about him.
“My name was never mentioned in the post that she released,” he said. “I guess it was just rough timing.”
“People are just going to slap it on me,” he added. “It’s a bashing of my character, and what hurts, I guess, is the fact that she hasn’t come out and made a statement to say, ‘You know, I wasn’t talking about Andrew, I was talking about somebody else.’”
