Well, a new year is upon us, and there’s no better time for burying old grudges and letting bygones by bygones.
But don’t tell that to Maci Bookout, who apparently has no interest in forgiving Ryab Edwards for his many misdeeds.
Of course, we can’t say we blame her.
After all, if you can think of a form of bad behavior, Ryan has probably engaged in it, and been arrested for it.
This is probably not a man who should be around children.
Unfortunately, he has three of them.
There’s nothing that Maci can do to protect the two he made with Mackenzie Standifer, but she can damn sure protect her own son, Bentley, from any mistreatment he might receive at the hands of his father.
And it seems that’s exactly what she’s doing.
Sources close to the situation say Ryan hasn’t seen Bentley in months, as Maci has stripped her ex of all visitation privileges.
She has the right to do so, largely as a result of Ryan’s many run-ins with the law.
But while Edwards drug addiction — and the erratic behavior that comes along with it — is no doubt a source of concern for Maci, it’s probably not the main motivation behind her decision.
As Teen Mom 2 viewers know, Ryan bullied Bentley on camera several times during the show’s most recent season,
Any mother would take action to protect her child from such repugnant behavior, and since Maci had the ability to remove her son from the situation, that’s exactly what she did.
Maci’s restraining order against Ryan expired in May, and she’s said repeatedly that she had no desire to interfere in Bentley’s relationship with his father.
But it seems that changed when she witnessed Ryan’s mistreatment of his eldest son.
That’s a probably a good thing for Bentley, but the downside is that Bentley no longer has contact with his grandparents, Jen and Larry Edwards.
And it seems Larry is afraid that the current arrangement might be permanent.
“After everything that’s happened, I just don’t believe that’s going to be possible for a long time,” Larry told UK tabloid The Sun when asked about the possibility of Maci and Ryan settling their differences.
“Would I say never? Absolutely not. Would I say currently, or in a year or two? I don’t think so,” he continued.
“I don’t believe that’s going to be possible. I would not say it’s impossible, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”
He added that his greatest hope is that Ryan and Maci will bury the hatchet for their son’s sake.
“Maybe Bentley will bring them together,” he continued.
“I don’t know. I believe time heals a lot of things.”
Larry added that all of the adults in Bentley’s life are “connected in a very special way and that special way in Bentley.”
“I hope they can just be a family,” Larry said of Bentley and his stepsiblings.
“Hopefully one day we can all get past all of this and these babies can figure it out and do whatever they want to do. It would be nice. It’s nice to have a big family and a lot of support.
Despite the years of tension between Maci and Ryan, Larry added that he’s optimistic that the exes will eventually work things out for Bentley’s sake.
“I want them to work it out,” he added. “I know one day they will work it out.”
Here’s hoping that this family is able to come back together in some way in the year to come.