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On a recent episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, viewers watched Amber Portwood break down.
Obviously, she was dealing with a lot. But there was more to it than seeing James’ now-empty bedroom.
She, Gary Shirley, and the cameras made a big deal about the state of Andrew Glennon’s former house. The mostly-empty abode had seen better days.
Did Andrew and James live in squalor? The show sure acted like it. But reality TV is so often not so real. What is the truth?
Viewers watched as Amber returned to the house in Indiana where Andrew previously lived with James.
Andrew Glennon received custody from family court. The judge also granted him permission to move to California, with James.
The two are now living safely and comfortably in Andrew’s mother’s Malibu mansion. All that they left behind is the house. And, as is often the case with a long-distance move, a few odds and ends.
Amber walked through the property with Gary, with Kristina, and even with Leah. Before they entered the home, they pointed out the unkempt yard.
Inside, they characterized the house as being in a “trashed” condition. They cited discoloration on areas of carpet.
Repeatedly, Amber and Gary described a smell of urine. There’s no way to convey that through the camera (thankfully), so we’ll have to take their word for it.
A few random items were simply sitting on floors, as if dropped carelessly or forgotten. Possibly during packing.
Something was in the tub — debris of some kind. We do not know from what.
In many ways, what Andrew had left behind looked normal for someone moving out of a house that someone else owns. Especially a busy single parent who is eager for a fresh start.
But Amber and the others raised concerns.
Between their comments about “stains” and the deliberate tone conveyed by the cameras, you’d think that they were walking through a haunted house.
So … did Andrew really live with James in terrible conditions?
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Well, no. We say that for a couple of reasons. And we’ll start with common sense.
Have you ever worked for a university and checked dorm rooms after students leave? How about checking a bedroom in a house or apartment after someone moves out? It’s not like moving out of a house that you’re selling. Some stuff will simply still be there.
And again, that goes extra for someone in Andrew’s shoes. Eager to get the hell out of Indiana and start anew with 4-year-old James.
Another common sense element of this is James himself.
We’re sure that he’s a sweetie, but having a 4-year-old is a lot of work. Moving with a 4-year-old is even more.
Most of us want to clean up and leave no mess when we move out. But single parents with preschool aged kids have fewer luxuries.
But there’s more than common sense knowledge about the realities of moving behind people’s questions about that reality TV scene.
Simply put, a lot of people think that someone — maybe Amber, maybe producers — had their finger on the scale.
Did Teen Mom: The Next Chapter even show the house as Andrew had left it? Because apparently, he can prove exactly how he left things.
An inside source spoke to The Sun and shared that Andrew Glennon was sure to document the state of the house.
“There was a walk-through of the house the day Andrew left,” the insider reported.
“Several people saw the way things were,” the source added, “and that everything was left in order.
The insider emphasized: “The condition the home was left in was of course filmed and photographed.”
So, if Andrew didn’t leave the house in the state that viewers saw, we have one question:
Who exactly went through and staged the house that way?
