Though Teen Mom OG star Amber Portwood lost her father back in 2014, in recent episodes of the show, the 27-year-old has opened up about the heartbreak that surrounded that loss and fans have gotten curious about the MTV star’s father.

Who was Amber Portwood’s dad?

amber portwood dad

Amber and her father in 2013.

Back in December of 2014, Amber’s father Shawn Portwood, Sr. was placed in a medically-induced coma after he underwent liver surgery and unfortunately never came out of it. He was 50.

Though fans didn’t see too much of Amber’s dad on the show, Amber’s brother, Shawn Jr., talked to the Daily Mail following their father’s sudden passing.

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“My dad was the most important person in Amber’s and my life,” Shawn said at the time. “He was a very strong-willed person and even though he was battling illness for a very long time, he never gave up. He didn’t give up on life. He didn’t give up on his family. He didn’t want to give up. I like to think that he was able to see my son, Eli, for the last time before he died. He lived through pain for many years but it didn’t prevent him from sticking it through all the way to the end.”

How did he die?

In her memoir Never Too Late, Amber talked openly about her father’s alcohol abuse. His addiction ultimately led him to suffer from a liver condition, for which he needed a transplant.

Shawn Jr. talked to Radar Online shortly after his father’s death and revealed that their dad had been sober since learning of his tragic condition.

MORE: Clean and Sober Amber Portwood Is Selling a Lipstick Called “Junkie”

“When my father found out he had a liver condition 11 years ago, he quit drinking and turned his life around,” he said at the time.  “Amber and I are very close to him.”

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Amber still feels the loss

Though the loss happened over three years ago, it’s clear that Amb still feels the pain of her father’s absence. When the cast of TMOG was filming in Puerto Rico, the conversation turned to Amber’s father, and the mother-of-one was visibly upset and unable to talk about the loss.

“My mom was the one who worked two f–king factory jobs and then worked at a bar just to pay the bills,” she said to Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra.  “I don’t want to talk about my father because he isn’t here anymore. I love my dad to death. That’s just the way it was.”

Amber, who explained that she cared for her ailing father toward the end of his life, had to remove herself from the conversation. “I can’t do this right now,” she said leaving the table.

To which on-again, off-again boyfriend Matt Baier explained that she can’t always handle the grief that came along with losing her father.

“It hits her sometimes like it will hit her out of nowhere and it breaks her heart,” Matt said.

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