MTV
Teen Mom’s Ryan Edwards Reveals His April Overdose Was ‘On Purpose’: ‘I Lied to Myself’
Teen Mom star Ryan Edwards made a shocking admission about his April overdose.
“The last time I used and overdosed, that was on purpose,” Ryan, 35, admitted to Dr. Drew Pinsky during the Teen Mom: The Next Chapter reunion on Wednesday, October 11.
After Drew, 65, said he didn’t know it was intentional, Ryan responded, “I don’t think anybody did.”
“I asked that lady why she saved me,” Ryan recalled about when he woke up, stating that his “depression, addiction” and the ongoing “drama” with his estranged wife, Mackenzie Edwards (née Standifer), led to his overdose.
The MTV star’s legal issues began in February when he was arrested on charges of harassment and possession of a controlled substance after he violated an order of protection filed by Mackenzie, 26. Ryan was then arrested for stalking and violating an order of protection on March 1.
Most of the charges stemming from the arrests were dropped during a court hearing held on March 14, while he was ordered to complete six months in rehab in exchange for the charges being dropped. Ryan checked himself out of rehab after just two and was arrested again after being found unresponsive in his truck on April 7.
He was sentenced to serve nearly one year in prison during an April 20 court hearing, though the proceeding judge announced that Ryan had been given a furlough in July to complete an inpatient rehab program after he served the first three months of his sentence. He successfully completed the treatment and was transferred to the Oasis halfway house in August.
Ryan opened up about the treatment during the reunion special, where he was asked if he thinks he’s done with rehab. “I would hope to think so, I don’t want to do it anymore,” the TV personality said. “I think my biggest problem was myself, not thinking I had a problem. I lied to myself.”
The father of three then revealed he’s sober for five months, which was the longest period of time he hasn’t used drugs out of treatment.
“When I went to treatment [before], I knew as soon as I got home I was gonna do what I was gonna do. I have used in jail but not this go around,” he explained. “That’s big, it takes a lot of work.”
Ryan seemed motivated to remain sober and said he was attending both AA and NA meetings regularly, while he also was staying away from his friends that do drugs.
Maci Bookout, who shares son Bentley, 14, with Ryan, also opened up about his “very scary” overdose during the reunion.
“You can’t just put a Band-Aid on it, that doesn’t fix anything,” Maci, 31, said as she held back tears. “Him overdosing, there’s truly no way to describe what that feels like, when you know that that has happened.”
She added that Bentley has been in therapy, which has been a “massive” help for him amid the situation. Maci also shared that Bentley and Ryan have kept in touch and that their last conversation “seemed good.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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