Gary Shirley is sad to hear that his former girlfriend, Amber Portwood, the mother of his 10-year-old daughter Leah Shirley, has been arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. On Friday, July 5, the longtime "Teen Mom OG" dad took to his Twitter account to share his thoughts on the arrest with his fans and followers.
"My prayers are with [Amber Portwood], [Andrew Glennon], [and] most importantly, baby James," he began.
According to Shirley, he doesn't know any details about Portwood's arrest but is "thinking of them" during this trying time. Shirley also confirmed that the daughter he and Portwood share was not with Portwood at the time of her arrest. "[Leah Shirley] was/is currently camping with her best friend," she explained.
Twitter reacts to Amber Portwood's arrest
Following the sharing of Gary Shirley's post, a number of his online audience members weighed in on the topic, many of whom were quite critical of Portwood's behavior and some of whom were more understanding towards Portwood's mental health struggles.
Some even accused the reality star of using her struggles with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder as an excuse to act badly.
As fans of "Teen Mom OG" will recall, Portwood was open about her experiences with postpartum depression during the ninth season of the show months ago and even told a friend she considered killing herself. Still, some people on Twitter feel that Portwood should be able to better control herself, especially with the people she loves, including her kids.
Amber Portwood was arrested after celebrating July 4th
In the early morning hours of July 5, according to a Us Weekly report, Portwood was taken into custody in Indianapolis, Indiana on charges of felony domestic battery.
The magazine also noted that Portwood had previously been arrested on the same charges, as well as a felony count of neglect of a dependent and a misdemeanor count of domestic battery in 2010 after a fight with Gary Shirley.
While Portwood and Shirley's relationship in the years that followed their split was quite tumultuous, Portwood revealed to Us Weekly in June that everything was going really well between them. "It took growth on both parties," she explained to the magazine, adding that she and Shirley met in the middle to become a healthy, blended family.
Amber Portwood labeled Andrew Glennon her soulmate weeks ago
Although Andrew Glennon, the father of Portwood's youngest child, son James, 1, may have been Portwood's victim on Friday, she said weeks ago that he was her "soulmate" and described him as a "beautiful person."
To see more of Amber Portwood, Gary Shirley, and their co-stars, don't miss new episodes of "Teen Mom OG" season 10 on Monday nights at 9 PM on MTV.