Amber Portwood is getting joint custody of her daughter Leah and she couldn't be more pleased.
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"We finally came to an agreement and I'm very happy that Gary and I are going to share joint custody of Leah," Portwood told OK! Weekly. "This is something I've been waiting for. The time is perfect."
Portwood was at Shirley's mercy for about three years because he had obtained full custody of Leah in 2012. Portwood had a lot of issues to work out in the meantime -- including her temper tantrums and time in jail due to drug abuse.
Portwood was released from jail in November 2013 and maintained sobriety well enough to win Leah back. While she admitted the custody arrangement is "not completely finalized," she feels it's "something that needed to be done."
Shirley didn't exactly welcome the idea of 50/50 custody with open arms, however, Portwood did a great job of convincing him it was the right thing to do.
"We talked for 30 minutes and I said, 'This is not healthy for any of us, this is not healthy for Leah, let's just be adults and do this,'" Portwood told the magazine. "There are certain things I did that made him feel a little better about it."
The pair has certainly endured tumultuous times. As shown on Teen Mom OG, Portwood would cry to Shirley relentlessly as he threatened to keep Leah away from her. In a Season 6 preview clip, Portwood also accused Shirley of turning their daughter against her.
"It was in the beginning of the custody battle," Portwood told OK! of the clip. "Things were being said over there. We have a great relationship and then all of a sudden she didn't want to come over. She had never said that before. I said something to Gary and she hasn't been that way since. We're back to normal."
Lucky for Leah, her parents' battle hasn't seemed to scar her.
"Within the last year she's turned into this little girl," Portwood noted. "She's very smart, she makes A's in school and she loves to read! I couldn't be any luckier."
The sixth-season premiere of Teen Mom OG airs Monday, January 4 at 10PM ET/PT on MTV.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
