Maci Bookout is opening up about the shock she felt when she learned her Teen Mom OG co-star, Amber Portwood, had been arrested for domestic battery against her now-ex-boyfriend, Andrew Glennon, in July of last year.
During an interview with Pop Culture on March 30, the mother of three said the entire situation was "definitely tough."
"It was a shock for everybody," she continued.
Portwood was taken into custody after allegedly attacking Glennon with a weapon as he held their young son, James.
Looking back on the shocking incident, Bookout said that she wishes she lived closer to Portwood so that she could have immediately checked in with her, in person, after the ordeal played out between her and Glennon.
"Those are the times when us girls wish we lived closer to each other so we could get in the car and head over to each other's house," the Tennessee native explained.
During last week's episode of Teen Mom OG, Bookout opened up about the drama between Portwood and Glennon during a conversation with her husband, Taylor McKinney.
"[Amber] hasn't been able to see James. It sucks for everybody. ...As her friend, you feel helpless. We don't know all the details or facts of what happened or what had happened before. It's a freaking mess. It's a lot of tough stuff for these kids to comprehend and deal with," Bookout told McKinney on the show.
In the days since the episode of Teen Mom OG aired, Bookout has been flooded with backlash for supporting her co-star, despite her wrongdoing.
"I never read any of it," Bookout said of the criticism she receives from Teen Mom OG viewers. "I kind of made a pact with myself way back when right after 16 and Pregnant aired, and that was before social media was anything close to what it is today. Don't Google yourself and don't read the comments."
While Bookout doesn't pay attention to backlash, she does use her polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosis to interact with fans in a more positive and helpful manner.
Because of the support she received from Teen Mom OG viewers after going public with her PCOS diagnosis, Bookout decided to be an advocate for the illness.
"Once I realized this was a much bigger thing for a lot of women than I could even comprehend, that's when I really dove deep into figuring out what I could do to get things moving for research and funding," the mother of three explained.
Teen Mom OG airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on MTV.
