Amber Portwood came face-to-face with her 14-month old son on Thursday, July 18.
She also came face-to-face with her brand new reality.
The troubled Teen Mom OG cast member was arrested for felony domestic violence back on July 5 and, shortly thereafter, was barred from going near the victim of her alleged assault, boyfriend Andrew Glennon, or the couple’s child, baby James.
As such, she hadn’t see her son for nearly two weeks after being taken into custody.
This finally changed on the aforementioned date — but Portwood was unable to spend actual alone time with James.
It’s unclear when she’ll even be able to do so again.
Scroll down for the latest in her custody battle with Glennon and to learn how the first of her scheduled supervised visits went last week…
Her New Reality As we said up top, Portwood was charged with THREE felonies after she allegedly attacked Glennon in early July – while he was holding their young son in his arms. The criminal case is still ongoing, but it seems clear that this was a scary situation all around.
Why? What Happened? According to various reports, Amber got really mad at Andrew because the family missed a July 4 fireworks show. (Yes … we’re serious.) The Teen Mom OG mainstay then responded by hucking a shoe at him, striking Glennon in the neck.
But That Wasn’t All (MTV) Far from it, in fact. This situation became more dangerous than anyone could’ve imagined – it could’ve cost her son dearly, and it may cost Amber dearly in a different sense.
Oh, God, What Else? Glennon told police that he ran and locked himself – along with James – inside of a bathroom. This is when Amber allegedly grabbed a machete and used it to try and break through the door. A machete.
Andrew Claims That Amber Threatened Suicide Glennon claims he feared for Portwood’s life during this episode. He even says she downed a number of pills in front of him, in order to do herself in, only to eventually throw them back up.
As a Result of All This? A no-contact order was issued against Amber to protect her Andrew and their son after the MTV personality’s domestic violence arrest. At a July 10 hearing, the judge did not say when it would be lifted.
Fast Forward to July 18 … (MTV) … and Amber got to see her child for the first time she reportedly putting him danger with the attack two weeks prior. This was last week.
What Details Do We Have? “She saw the baby on Thursday,” a source told celebrity gossip website Radar Online of the July 18 visit. “The visits are for James to be able to see his mom.”
Do We Know Anything Else? Not really, not at the moment … except that the entire situation is incredibly sad, and that Portwood is in for the most important fight of her life.
Why Do We Say This? (E!) Because Glennon is fighting for full custody of James. Like her first baby’s father, Gary Shirley, Andrew has ended up in the unenviable position of having to care for a child alone – and feeling like he has no choice for everyone’s safety.
Gulp. (MTV) On July 9, Glennon filed a Combined Verified Petition for Paternity Related Orders and Emergency Hearing Regarding Custody of a Child.
Glennon is Going All In “Father believes it is in James’ best interests that he be awarded sole legal and primary physical custody,” the court papers read. “Father believes that it is not currently in James’ best interests for Mother to have unsupervised parenting time.”
He Wants More, Too (MTV) Andrew is also asking for child support, insurance and payment of medical expenses from the mother of his child. Wow.
More from Andrew: (MTV) Continues this custody filing: “Father believes Mother is currently unable to provide a safe, stable and secure environment for James on an ongoing basis due to her frequent refusal and/or failure to take medicines prescribed to treat her mental-health conditions, among other concerns.”
Portwood Has Very Little Defense for Herself Here (MTV) She has acknowledged herself over the years that she is bipolar and suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to James. She even said she contemplated suicide last summer.
“I’m F–king Nuts.” Those were Amber’s own words on a Teen Mom OG episode that aired this month. How eerily prescient it turned out to be.
Glennon Tells All Glennon alleges that, on July 8, he voluntarily submitted to questioning by the Department of Child Services following the arrest. He’s trying to be an open book here, according to the agency itself. “DCS informed Father that they intended to file a Child in Need of Services case… that Father was not to permit Mother to have unsupervised contact with James.” DCS would also “recommend to Juvenile Court that James be placed in Father’s custody.”
Where is Amber Now? Living with her mother, we think. She skipped the Teen Mom OG reunion taking, which took place in New York City in the middle of all this drama. Portwood may have appeared on MTV for the last time.
Portwood’s Past Has Proven To Be Prologue (Getty) Tragically. Portwood was arrested in 2010 for domestic violence against Gary Shirley, the father of her daughter Leah, who is now 10 years old.
Amber Portwood Poses with Baby The reality star served 17 months in prison on drug charges and was released in 2013. Shirley had full custody of Leah during that time and Portwood sees her on weekends.
Might This Be the Future with James? If she loses custody, and gets reduced to sporadic supervised visits? Absolutely. We’ve seen it happen before, and the charges against her are extremely serious.
Does Amber Want to Leave Andrew? No, an insider tells E! News, she does not want to see her family “broken up.” This may be a case of too little, too late.
But Has He Had Enough of Amber? His recent court filing would suggest yes, we’d have to say. Sure, time heals all wounds, but this is not a typical estrangement.
Where Does This Leave Amber on Teen Mom? (MTV) It seems likely that she’ll get fired, even though MTV has stood by her through A LOT over the years. Either way, let’s face it: That isn’t her biggest concern in the world right now, you know?