‘Teen Mom’ Stars Ryan and Mackenzie Edwards Welcome Second Child: A Timeline of Their Family’s Journey

Teen Mom stars, Ryan and Mackenzie Edwards (Mackenzie Standifer) just welcomed their second child together. The news arrived a couple of weeks after the birth, which happened on New Year’s Day. The couple welcomed a baby girl into the world and we couldn’t be more excited for them. This couple has experienced a lot of ups and downs over the years and it’s great that they get to start the new decade with a little hope for their child’s bright future.

Mackenzie updated fans on her Instagram about the birth and revealed that their new baby was a girl named Stella Rhea Edwards. The couple has been married since 2017 and had their first child, a boy name Jagger Edwards in October 2018.

Mackenzie posted the birth announcement to her Instagram with a sweet message.

Mackenzie posted three adorable photos with her newborn. She captioned the post, “Welcome to the world sweet Stella! Stella Rhea Edwards came on her own time and surprised us New Years Day! What a way to start our year! We are so in love with her already.”

The photos capture such a beautiful moment for this growing family, a moment that also includes Ryan.

Mackenzie announced her pregnancy back in July, sharing a photo of a sonogram.

Mackenzie captioned the photo, “Baby Girl Edwards is coming in January!” For some reason, Mackenzie disabled comments on the photo, perhaps she just wanted some peace at the time of the announcement. At the time, both Mackenzie and Ryan had plans to leave the reality TV show, Teen Mom, but the couple has stayed on.

For fans following this family’s journey, it was great news, because they have given viewers some dramatic turns over the years. Including Ryan getting out of prison just a few months before this announcement.

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This is a very blended family.

Mackenzie has a son, 4-years-old, from a previous marriage. His name is Hudson. Ryan also has a son from a previous relationship with another Teen Mom star, Maci Bookout. His name is Bentley and he is 10-years-old. It’s not always easy having a blended family, but with hard work and dedication to the kids’ wellbeing, it can absolutely be done.

The couple’s first son together, Jagger, arrived in 2018.

Jagger joined the family in October of 2018. The baby’s arrival was a bright moment for an otherwise dark year. 2018 saw Ryan getting in trouble with the law a couple of times. Both instances were tied to issues the father was having with substance abuse. He was arrested for possession of heroin in 2018 and because it was not his first arrest for possession, he ran into some legal trouble that saw him receive an 11 month suspended sentence. This resulted in Ryan missing the birth of Jagger.

Although Ryan missed the birth of Jagger, it was still a happy time for Mackenzie.

We cannot imagine what Mackenzie’s life was like at the time. No matter what we see on TV it’s never like real life. Mackenzie grew a baby and helped care for the other children all while Ryan was going through so much. Being a mom is difficult enough and without a strong support system, it can be nearly impossible to do. Imagine putting on top of that all of Ryan’s legal drama. We have to imagine it wasn’t cheap either.

Before that arrest, in March of 2018, Ryan was taken into custody.

Ryan was arrested in March of the same year for violating terms of his parole stemming from a possession of heroin charge. It was a rocky year that really put a lot of strain on not only the Edwards family but also his ex and their relationship as parents (stick a pin in this, we’ll get to it).

Anyone who has struggled with addiction themselves or known someone who has understands that it’s extremely difficult. Cycles of addiction are hard to break and Ryan ended up going to rehab to try and overcome the dependence.

Of course, Ryan did finally get to spend time with his first son with Mackenzie, but not before going through rehabilitation.

Ryan was in and out of rehab a couple of times trying to break his addiction to opiates. Before he returned to rehab for the second time, a source told Us Weekly that Ryan had no plans to return to rehab and that he was “in complete denial about his addiction.”

Luckily for this family, he made it through the second stay in rehab. At the time, Mackenzie shared on Teen Mom OG, “It’s hard not to get down on yourself. There’s a part of me that’s just angry. I didn’t sign up to be a single mother.” 

Ryan posted about his struggles with addiction in July of 2018.

In July, Ryan posted about his struggle with addiction. In a lengthy post he wrote:

“I will never stop speaking out against this horrible disease! It consumes your life and turns you into someone even you don’t know. I’m asking you to never give up. Each day is a struggle. I’ve made mistakes and I have really messed up in the past but there is so much hope ahead and it doesn’t mean I can’t change the future. If you or someone you know needs help, please don’t hesitate to go SAMHSA.gov. Help is out there.”

It was clear at the time that Ryan was really struggling and that he felt MTV wasn’t showing him in the best light.

Ryan continued the post with some criticism for Teen Mom and MTV. He felt the network didn’t accurately portray what his actual family life was like. He wrote:

“Don’t take everything you see on MTV as factual truth. They don’t want to show me or Mack in a happy light or that I am active in my recovery. I AM. They want me to look angry, passive aggressive and uncaring regarding things that mean the most to me. I’m done taking their shit and letting the world believe this by standing up for myself. You’re believing a lie. And soon… very very soon, you WILL see the TRUTH behind the LIAR.”

Ryan’s ex and mother of Bentley got a two-year order of protection from him.

Ryan’s ex, Maci Bookout, received a court order of protection from Ryan. Not only her, but her entire family including her husband, Taylor McKinney and two children were granted protection for two years. Maci grew concerned after Ryan allegedly threatened her. We would not blame this mother for wanting to protect her family from an individual struggling with addiction and making threats. It’s always wise to do what’s best for the children and in this situation, Maci definitely did the right thing.

The couple announced they were no longer appearing on Teen Mom.

Shortly before Jagger was born, the couple was unhappy with MTV and Teen Mom and they announced they’d no longer be appearing on the show. Mackenzie posted this photo to her Instagram. We’re certain it was an unsure time for the couple. Fans commented on the photo and showed their support for the decision.

Fans were happy about the couple’s decision to leave the show and focus on themselves. But, that changed.

Comments on the photo came in with many fans supportive of the couple’s decision. One fan posted, “Good to hear that you and Ryan left the show…omg first the idea from Mtv was the moms need to be an example for teenagers. Well, they don’t. You and Ryan know if it’s real, the love between the two of you and this is enough.”

There was some good news before all of the drama.

Ryan and Mackenzie who were in a relationship got married, again. It was actually the second time the couple tied the knot. Their first wedding was in 2017, but after some growing pains, the couple somewhat split. The second wedding showed a lot of promise and even the exes were invited to attend the event. MTV was also invited to film the event.

Ryan was home for Jagger’s first Christmas.

Ryan was back after his legal issues and had an excellent Christmas with Mackenzie and his kids, including the newest one at the time, Jagger. Jagger’s first Christmas seemed like a success and though he might not remember it, dad was there for the festivities. Both Bentley and Hudson look like proud brothers. Even though they are technically half brothers, these guys are looking great with the new addition.

Ryan looked so much healthier for Jagger’s first Christmas.

Christmas can be a time for healing and it was great to see Ryan back home with his family and even cuddling with the dog, Chance. Even though Ryan missed some of the earliest moments, he was there for Jagger.

Will the Edwards be on Teen Mom? What does the future hold for this family?

Over the last couple of years, Ryan has been around more for his family. People can heal and move forward and it looks like the Edwards family has done so. As a result, we got the great news that the family has a new daughter, Stella. It’s going to be interesting to see her grow.

We don’t know if there will be more of the Edwards on Teen Mom. They’ve been hot and cold about the idea with Ryan being openly hostile toward MTV, so we’ll see. Whether or not Mackenzie and Ryan appear on the show, we certainly wish the best for this growing family.