On a recent episode of the Dad Up podcast, and opened up about the ups and downs of their co-parenting relationship, revealing that there have been a lot more ups than downs since Ryan became sober in 2023 following a(nother) stint in rehab. 

Earlier this month, the stars, who share 16-year-old son Bentley, spoke to host and Bryan’s wife, , about the steps they took to improve their co-parenting dynamic, with Ryan confirming that for him, the first step to making things right was to get sober and become “someone that someone even wanted to be around or speak to.”

While Maci agreed that Ryan’s sobriety did, in fact, play a “massive role” in improving their co-parenting relationship, she revealed that getting to a positive place required her to make some changes in her life, as well.  

“ … I had to do a lot of work, too, through Al-Anon and understanding what my role as Bentley’s mom is … ,” she explained, admitting that, for a long time, she felt as though she “had nothing to do” with Ryan’s relationship with their son, as it was ultimately between Ryan and Bentley and not her. 

“ … That was untrue, that was very [much] not the case,” Maci said. “So I just had to do a lot of work on myself and figure out what I could control and what I couldn’t and find out who I wanted to be as a mom and a co-parent and honestly, I had to get mentally healthy, too. I had to work through a lot of anger … .” 

Maci said that once she and Ryan had “done a little bit of work” on themselves, it became easier for them to co-parent together. (As you know, in addition to Bentley, Ryan is a father to son Jagger and daughter Stella with soon-to-be ex-wife ; he also shares daughter Presley with fiancee .) 

Fans got to see some of Ryan and Maci’s co-parenting in action during the most recent season of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter,’ including when Ryan and Amanda accompanied Maci and husband Taylor McKinney to purchase a vehicle for Bentley’s sixteenth birthday. Maci and Ryan were asked about this moment during their Dad Up interview, with the hosts acknowledging that the outing showed all four adults working together for Bentley’s sake.

While she agreed with the observation, Maci noted that Bentley has “always deserved” this kind of co-parenting from her and Ryan, and for the first time, it’s being done with a solid foundation.   

“I feel like even when things were decent or OK in the past, I didn’t necessarily feel like the foundation of [our co-parenting] was solid and it was kind of like, ‘OK, when is the rug going to get pulled out from under us,’” she said. “ … I feel like we’ve both put in a lot of work to make sure that we take our time and let this co-parenting thing happen authentically and only really taking steps and moving forward in directions that we’re comfortable taking instead of like, rushing it … .” 

When it comes to handling co-parenting disagreements, Maci said that she and Ryan don’t face this issue often, as Bentley is an easy kid to parent. 

“I don’t know that we’ve even had like, a disagreement in the last two and a half years or so … ,” Maci said, explaining that for her, when a co-parenting disagreement does arise, she approaches it knowing that it’s not about her or Ryan, it’s about Bentley. 

Ryan and Maci also spoke about their ability to effectively co-parent Bentley from two separate households, with Ryan explaining that when he “started to come back around” in Bentley’s life, he didn’t want to mess up what Maci (and Taylor) had already built. 

“I think Ryan’s done a good job of creating that space for him and Bentley together where maybe that wasn’t there for them before,” Maci said. “So Bentley kind of goes to Ryan and talks to Ryan about things in a completely different way than Bentley and I’s relationship, which is great, because they’ve been able to actually bond and build their relationship together without everybody else getting in the way all the time or like babysitting them. 

“They’re still very much, I feel, getting to know their dynamic and Bentley is growing rapidly, so he’s figuring out his own self everyday, too,” she continued. “But Ryan’s done a really good job … of giving Bentley that safe space with him … .”

During the podcast, Ryan was asked about the regrets he has in his life, to which he said he doesn’t only regret using drugs, he also regrets “thinking drugs were more important than my kid.” 

“My whole life revolved around drugs and you know, I wish it never happened but it did and I cannot go back and change it, so you know, I’m just going to live with it,” he said, adding that, before getting sober, he “didn’t know how to function without drugs.”   

“You know, now it’s a lot easer and it’s just kind of normal,” he said, later revealing in the episode that he’s had conversations with Bentley about his past addiction problems. “ … It’s not been like, in-depth conversations, but it was just kind of like, ‘Hey, this is kind of why, you know, I wasn’t there,’ and stuff like that.” 

While Ryan hasn’t had “in-depth” conversations with Bentley about alcohol, drugs and/or addiction, he said he would “definitely answer any questions” Bentley may have about the topic and that he would also be upset if he found out Bentley was partaking in any of these things, including drinking underage. 

“If I was to catch him, I mean drinking … you know, I feel like all 16-year-olds are going to experiment and try it and stuff but my feelings would definitely be hurt,” Ryan added. 

Regarding Ryan’s sobriety, Maci said that before 2023, she had seen Ryan sober “here and there,” however, she knows that Bentley is now able to get to know Ryan as someone who is confident in himself and dedicated to his family– something she praised Ryan for personally during the episode. 

“I feel like one thing to keep in mind, Ryan, is that [Bentley’s] gotten to see you overcome [addiction], but also be really proud and I feel like those are tools that he will be able to carry when he hits rough spots in life,” she said. “You know, just being able to overcome something and grow from it … .” 

Maci also commended Ryan for not avoiding certain conversations with Bentley and for taking accountability for his past actions. 

“ … That’s massive for Bentley to be able to see his dad say the hard things and have the tough conversions and … see you be happy with yourself, too,” she said. 

Towards the end of the episode, Maci addressed those who encouraged her to completely cut off communication with Ryan and his family when Ryan was in active addiction. Maci said that these comment “always bothered” her, as she recognized that if she were to do this, she wouldn’t just be taking Bentley away from his dad, she’d be taking Bentley away from his dad and his dad’s family. Maci admitted that while there were times that she wanted to completely remove her son from the Edwards family, cutting them off “was never an option” in her mind. 

“No, like, I would never do that to my child,” she said. “And yeah, sometimes you got to kind of leave the room and go to another room, but you always have to leave the door open.” 

Click here to listen to Maci and Ryan’s full interview on Dad Up. 

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(Photos: Instagram; MTV)