'Teen Mom' Amber Portwood News: Talks Life After Prison, and Keeping Sober
Amber Portwood was sent to jail for 17 months for drug abuse and domestic violence charges, and now the "Teen Mom OG" star is returning for a new season of MTV's reality series and says that she is determined to show that she has changed and is getting her life back on track.
"I didn't want people to have a bad taste in their mouth of things that happened in the past," she told People magazine. "I thought, 'This is my chance, don't blow it.'"
Portwood made headlines when she made the decision to report to jail back in June 2012 rather than attend a court mandated rehab program. She tells People that in a way, being in prison saved her life.
"The only thing I could see happening to me if I [hadn't] gone to prison is I would have died. I would have overdosed. When you're an addict you know what your bottom," she explained.
Portwood revealed that she earned her G.E.D. while in prison and is now trying to decide between colleges.
"Obviously I had some speed bumps. But it's never too late to try to get your life back and so something positive," she tells the magazine.
"The whole time I was in there I worked my [expletive] off. There were hundreds of hours of drug addiction classes. I did extra classes, parenting and anger management and even started teaching. I put myself in there for a reason so I didn't want to make it a waste," she adds.
Now, aside from being on the "Teen Mom OG," Portwood is busy raising her daughter Leah. She has also found love with 43-year-old fiancé Matt Baier.
"He's amazing, funny, carry and loving," said Portwood. "We want to be engaged for at least a year before we really jump into anything. We want everything in place."
