Teen Mom: Gary Shirley keen to keep sole custody of daughter

Former Teen Mom reality star Gary Shirley has spoken out about the custody of his daughter with Amber Portwood.

“Well, everyone knows that she went to jail for drugs and stuff,” Gary tells OK! Magazine. “I’m not saying that she’ll ever get back into that, but I hear stories of how easy it is [to relapse] because that pressure is always there.”

“I don’t want to screw myself over [by agreeing to joint custody] and then have to fight for Leah,” he adds of having sole custody since 2011. “So I think it’s going to stay the way it is, just to protect Leah.”

“It’s because I’ve grown, and I have a bond with my daughter that’s special, and I don’t want that to ever go away. [Amber] being away gave me a chance to get to know my daughter in a way most guys don’t.”

“Leah’s excited!” adds the single father. “She’s glad that Mommy’s home. … Sometimes I let Leah stay the night over [with Portwood at her grandmother’s] before school so her hair is all nicely done for school.”

“I feel like she has her daughter in [Amber’s] mind more,” admits Gary. “But I thinks he’s still adjusting to being out of prison. She needs to accept Leah at the age she is, versus the age she was when Amber went away.”