Photo:Maci Bookout McKinney/Instagram, Ryan Edwards/Instagram
Maci Bookout McKinney/Instagram, Ryan Edwards/Instagram
Maci Bookout McKinneyandTaylor McKinneyput their kids' needs first.
Speaking with PEOPLE ahead ofTeen Mom: Next Chapter’s season 2 premiere on Wednesday, the couple talked about their attempts at co-parenting with Maci’s ex,Ryan Edwards, 35,
Nothing that they “haven’t ever really” co-parented with Edwards directly in matters pertaining toBentley, 15, the couple says it was “definitely difficult” to give things a try.
“In years past, we never tried to even have any kind of co-parenting relationship. We’d just co-parent with Ryan’s parents,” Maci tells PEOPLE. “But at the same time, it didn’t feel too bad because it was very genuine. It was the right time and everyone was in a good space to do it.”
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Maci Bookout McKinney/Instagram
In addition to Bentley, Edwards is dad to daughter Stella, 2, and son Jagger, 5, with estranged wifeMackenzie.
Both Maci and Taylor were happy to put aside any discomfort when they saw what the gesture meant to Bentley.
“Bentley definitely helped me feel like, ‘Okay this is the right thing to do.’ We knew we were doing the right thing because you could just tell, it was like a weight lifted off his shoulders,” she says of the soon-to-behigh school freshman.
“He seemed more at ease, like a pressure had been taken off of him,” Maci notes.
Taylor adds, “Like you had said, it was like he found his voice a little bit.”
This season also sees Maci try to find some more answers as she navigates health concerns, part of hercontinued battle with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
The mom of three, 31, admits she’s isn’t the best at managing her own health with the many demands of her life, explaining, “Having something like PCOS is very frustrating because there’s not enough research and studies out there, still.”
“I say this to Taylor all the time, I just want to be able to go to the doctor and leave with an answer. Because I never do. There are no answers. It’s just, ‘Okay, try this or let’s change this.’ So it’s very frustrating,” she continues.
“Obviously, a lot of women struggle with PCOS, we’re all in this boat and it’s so irritating to just know you can never get an answer. So I do feel it’s really important to talk about it because it is so frustrating.”
Taylor admits it can be “tough” to see Maci going through so much pain and discomfort while also caring for Maverick, 6,Jayde, 7, and Bentley.
“It’s hard to see at times, because you can see the frustration she experiences, being unable to go to the doctor and get a solid answer, only to come home to everything and still feel like crap. And knowing there’s nothing she can do about it, and there’s nothing I can do about it, it’s really tough.”
The family of five does have a good rhythm going, noting that “because Bentley is much older, we’re able to enjoy the stages a little more without being totally overwhelmed.”
“It’s interesting, I know for sure that I parent Jayde and Maverick much differently than I parent Bentley, and especially how I did then, when Bentley was their age,” the Expired Podcast co-host shares.
“But the second and the third, they’re also different. Their personalities are different,” she says of her younger pair. “They have a lot of similar interests, but also very different interests. You really have to parent them all differently. No matter what the stage is.”
Laughing, she adds, “And we still don’t know what we’re doing.”
The family of five is looking forward to their own next chapter, which will see Bentley come into his own as a high school student.
“If you ask him, it’s no big deal,” Taylor laughs. “But he’s excited.”
“I’m excited for him. I didn’t hate high school — well, I kind of did, but I think he’s going to really enjoy it. I’m excited for him because this is a new chapter and honestly these four years are usually like the best, the most fun four years.”
Although there’s another milestone looming Maci’s a little more uncertain about, admitting, “The high school thing doesn’t scare me as much as the fact that he’s a little over a year away from driving.”
With a renewed focus on conversations about mental health in the season ahead, the couple says they’re starting lessons about self-care and mental health management at home with their kids.
“I think acknowledgment, first and foremost, and making it a conversation that isn’t taboo is so important for us. Not being afraid to, say when I’m having a bad time or a bad day, and sharing it with them,” Maci says. “I think showing them that I trust them to talk to them about it and share helps them feel comfortable and safe to do the same with us.”
“What stands out to me is that viewers will take something away from a situation you share that you were never expecting them to hold onto. And that can be very eye-opening. This season. I hope — with Jade and her story, she’s dealing with AlAnon stuff too — so I hope we can both show people it’s not as scary or intimidating as I thought it was before I started doing it. Because it’s a very useful community, a very useful tool that I wish I would have started sooner.”
source: people.com
