I'M FINALLY HAPPY!

After battling addiction, mental health issues and legal troubles, the Teen Mom star is doing better than ever

Teen Mom fans have watched Amber Portwood experience some serious highs and lows since she first appeared on the docuseries in 2009. After giving birth to her daughter, Leah, at age 18 with her then-boyfriend, Gary Shirley, Amber, now 31, served 17 months in prison on drug possession and domestic violence charges. (She was released in 2013.) Nearly six years later, in 2019, she pleaded guilty to assaulting ex Andrew Glennon, with whom she shares son James, 3, and got probation. Now, the author of So, You're Crazy Too? has revealed she's been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder and had an addiction to opiates. But she's in a good place. “I've been through a lot,” she says, “but today I can feel true happiness. It's a big change in my life, and it's just amazing.” Here, the Indiana native talks to In Touch's Fortune Benatar about her kids, fellow Teen Mom stars and the celebrity who left her starstruck.

Tell us about your healing process.

AP: I had to educate myself on what to do to make myself feel better. Substances don't do that. There are technical things, like having a routine and making sure you have structure. I'm feeling happy more days than sad, and I feel even happier when I'm with my kids.

How are they?