It’s been almost a month since Teen Mom OG star Ryan Edwards completed a 90 day stint in a rehabilitation facility in Alabama, and moments ago his mother shared the very first family photo of him that included Ryan, herself, Ryan’s dad Larry, and Ryan’s wife Mackenzie!
“Merry Christmas Eve Eve !! ??” Jen captioned the photo of the foursome, who are posing in front of a Christmas tree and a pile of presents.
The group photo of the Edwards adults comes one week after Mackenzie posted the very first photos of her and Ryan’s son Jagger — including two with Ryan’s son Bentley and Mackenzie’s son Hudson.
The photo also comes in the middle of another scandal for Ryan as Radar Online has shared a series of posts this week detailing the alleged interactions between Ryan and a woman he met on Tinder after he got out of rehab — including explicit texts and a one night stand. There has been no official response to the Radar stories from the Edwards family, and the family Christmas photo is the first look at Mackenzie and Ryan together since the reports surfaced.
Given that it is Christmas Eve Eve, I think I would rather focus on the positive and relive the very intense scene with Jen, Larry, Maci and Taylor from Monday night’s episode.
I won’t go so far as to attempt to recap the clip, especially given that MTV has been generous enough to make the entire scene available on YouTube, but I will preface it by saying that it might be the best clip in the nine-year history of the show. There may have been more poignant scenes, but this one stands out because it is the culmination of ten years of struggle.
Jen, Larry, and Maci have been at odds over various issues over the years, but in this scene we see clearly that it is love that has carried them through — a love for Bentley and a love for Ryan — a love that unites them. And I’m not talking about the froo froo love you read about in greeting cards and internet memes, I’m talking about a love that can bring you to your knees. A love that can fill your days and nights with fear and heartbreak, especially when addiction enters the picture.
As a fan of the show — and as a fan of Jen, Larry, and Maci — it brought me so much comfort and closure to see them have this moment together. And once again, I am so thankful that they were willing to share that moment with an audience that can be less than kind at times. (I wrote at length in a previous post about my admiration for Jen and Larry continuing to share their story struggling with a son who has very serious drug addiction issues, and doing so with an emotional honesty that is rare in reality television — or any television for that matter.)
Here’s the video — unfortunately MTV added an abrupt and emotionally tone deaf narration right at the end and just before a preview for Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant:
Merry Christmas to the Edwards family. I sincerely wish them the best this holiday season, as well as 2019 and beyond.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
