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Teen Mom’s Mackenzie ‘Technically Didn’t Win’ Custody of Kids Amid Ryan Edwards Court Battle
Teen Mom star Mackenzie Edwards’ (née Standifer) legal battle with ex Ryan Edwards over their kids hasn’t ended yet, despite her being granted temporary custody after he failed to show up at a court hearing, a source exclusively tells In Touch.
“She has temporary full custody since February 23. He requested this hearing and didn’t come,” the insider says of Mackenzie, 27. “So technically she didn’t win anything. But she didn’t lose anything either.”
Teen Mom Chatter first reported on June 25 that Ryan, 36, had filed paperwork requesting a temporary parenting plan that would allow him to see kids Jagger, 5, and Stella, 4, after Mackenzie reportedly refused to let him have visits at his parents’ house.
“I have spoken to a source who is familiar with the situation and they told me that Mackenzie is the sole provider of their two kids, and she felt disrespected by The Edwards after the boundaries she put in place were not respected while in The Edwards care,” the report, shared via Instagram, read.
The source told TM Chatter that an “incident” occurred during pickup one afternoon and became a “dealbreaker” for Mackenzie, although they did not elaborate on what the incident was.
Ryan then failed to show up to the court hearing that he requested in connection to the parenting plan, which resulted in Mackenzie being awarded temporary full custody, TM Chatter reported on Monday, July 8.
“According to my source, it is now a done deal. The temporary parenting plan will be finalized and transfer to the final divorce decree. Mackenzie won,” the report read.
Ryan also shares son Bentley, 15, with ex-wife Maci Bookout, while Mackenzie shares son Hudson, 10, with ex-husband Zachary Stephens.
Ryan filed for divorce from Mackenzie in a Tennessee court on March 6, In Touch confirmed via court records at the time. The filing came two weeks after Mackenzie’s divorce case against her estranged husband was dismissed due to inactivity. Mackenzie initially filed for divorce on February 27, 2023.
“It is ordered by the court that this case be, and the same is hereby dismissed, without prejudice, with the cost taxed against the plaintiff,” the documents read, according to The U.S. Sun.
Meanwhile, a county clerk told the outlet, “There was never a Final Decree on this case. It sat for over 270 days with nothing filed so it was dismissed on Procedural Steps.”
Ryan and Mackenzie, who tied the knot in 2017, began having trouble in January 2023 when the Hixson, Tennessee, native publicly accused his wife of infidelity. “I trusted you but now your words mean nothing to me, because your actions spoke the truth,” he wrote on Instagram.
Mackenzie filed for and was granted a protective order the following month by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. However, Ryan broke the order and was arrested in February 2023 when he broke into and trashed their home. He was taken into custody again on March 1 and April 7 of that year, with charges ranging from stalking to possession of a controlled substance.
Most of the charges against the reality star were dropped at a March 14, 2023, hearing under the condition that he complete a substance abuse program. However, Ryan checked himself out of the program after just two weeks and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in prison. He was released nine months early in July 2023 and ordered to check into a 28-day program at a Chattanooga, Tennessee, rehab facility to treat his opioid abuse.
In August 2023, a judge ordered Ryan to enter Oasis halfway house after he completed his time at Cadas Rehab.
