Teen Mom OG veteran Maci Bookout has expressed that she’s thinking of moving on from the show, and fans think it’s time she does for the sake of her son, Bentley, and they questioned whether her storyline will still be relevant without her ex, Ryan Edwards, as part of the cast.
Maci was a guest recently on the podcast Dad Up where she talked about being torn whether to continue filming for Teen Mom OG or ending her 12-year tenure with the franchise.
Maci wants to protect her kids from the drama
Although she revealed that it’s a “season-to-season decision,” she is still seriously considering moving on from the show, with a big reason being her kids.
“It really all depends on how it affects our children, especially since Bentley is in middle school, which is a tough age in general, and Jayde, she’ll be in first grade in the fall,” she explained on the podcast.
If Maci and her husband, Taylor McKinney, do decide to move on from the show, they have some things to figure out, saying, “And if we do move on from the show would it be to stay in TV and just go a different direction? Or do we kind of want to leave TV behind for good?”
Ryan Edwards and his family were fired from the show after Maci voiced she was unhappy with the focus of her storyline being about them
Ryan Edwards, his wife, Mackenzie, and his parents, Jen and Larry Edwards, were all fired by MTV in March after sources said that Maci was unhappy with the show focusing mainly on her issues with Ryan and his family.
Tensions between Maci and the Edwards family came to a head during the Teen Mom OG reunion when Larry and Taylor got into a heated fight that almost turned physical. Maci and Taylor were so fired up that they ended up walking off the set.
Reportedly, Ryan and his wife, Mackenzie refused to sit across from Maci and Taylor, leaving the couple to face Ryan’s parents instead.
Fans of the show gave their opinions about Maci leaving the show
On Twitter, The Ashley’s Reality Roundup shared an article detailing Maci’s decision and fans spoke out about when they think is the right time for Maci, Taylor, Bentley, Jayde and Maverick to move on from the Teen Mom franchise.
Now that Ryan and his family are no longer part of Maci’s storyline, some fans of the show think she’ll struggle with having enough entertaining footage, and also felt that Bentley has been subjected to enough drama being filmed on the show.
“Yesterday … for Bentely’s sake. From his few minutes on screen this season, it’s clear he hates it,” said one fan of the snow.
“B is an introvert, Maci alluded to that years ago, and being in front of an audience is an introverts worse nightmare (also an introvert). Maci realizes there’s nothing to talk about now that Ryan is gone. How convenient with the timing,” another fan commented.
Fans questioned what Maci would do after Teen Mom and thought she’d struggle without Ryan’s storyline
One fan thought Maci would struggle without Ryan as part of her storyline, “She’s never had a storyline outside of battling with Ryan & his parents. What’s she going to do when TM is over? Become the new spokesperson for Bud Light? For sure they won’t be able to live off the proceeds from their t-shirts. Taylor will have to –gasp–get a job again!”
Another fan thought that the kids were the most important factor in why Maci and her family should move on and that it should happen immediately.
“Now please! All of them need to move on for the privacy of their children[.]”
“It should have been yrs ago. She should never put that son thru all this crap with Ryan and [Taylor] being such a hot head. Just everything. Let the kid have his life without the cameras,” said another fan.
Another fan of the show thought that Maci was bringing up quitting the show now that she can’t use Ryan’s storyline anymore.
“Oh of course there’s talk of that now. Now that she can’t use Ryan and his family as a storyline. They realized they don’t have anything to offer that they’d be willing to film at least. Film those drunken fights u and Taylor have, that should be interesting[.]”
Aside from filming the show, Maci and Taylor run their business, Things That Matter (TTM), a clothing line that promotes awareness for several causes. The line recently threw shade at Ryan and Mackenzie with an addition to their clothing line.
One cause TTM promotes, PCOS, is close to Maci’s heart as she suffers from the disorder. Her friend, Kail Lowry, recently revealed that she suffers from PCOS and would like to collab with Maci someday.
Fans of the show will have to wait until a new season to find out what Maci’s plans are.
Teen Mom OG is currently on hiatus.