Recently, there was a new twist in Amber Portwood’s ongoing legal battle with Andrew Glennon.
Andrew wants to move himself and his son across the country to his home state.
Amber is fighting to stop this from happening.
Now, her other baby daddy, Gary Shirley, is testifying in court — and despite their volatile past, he insists that she has changed.
As we previously reported, Andrew Glennon wants to move to California.
The 37-year-old father wants to bring his 3-year-old son, who resides with him, along when he moves.
Amber Portwood lives in Indiana and wishes to remain there, and called Gary to the stand to try to convince the court to forbid the move.
“Amber is a different person now than she was with me,” Gary testified in court, according to The Sun.
“And,” he claimed, “she is a different person than she was even a year and a half ago.”
We are rapidly approaching the three-year anniversary of when Amber attacked Andrew in their home while he held James, so one would hope so.
“I do notice more positive things,” Gary insisted. “Actually, I am very proud of her.”
Gary described: “It’s a great responsibility that she has.”
Sounding almost on the verge of tears, Gary commented: “It’s a different bond with James than she had with Leah.”
“Because when Leah was that age, she was in prison,” Gary recalled.
“And,” he acknowledged diplomatically, “some other things going on with her.”
Gary assessed: “and I think that the person she is today is not the person she was then.”
“I think that was a little hard for Leah,” Gary said, as if to explain why his teenage daughter is not close with Amber.
“That was a hard thing for Leah, seeing how well they get along,” Gary admitted of Amber’s bond with baby James.
Leah was five years old in December of 2013, when Amber was released after serving 17 months in prison.
Gary claimed that Amber makes repeated visits to his home every month, each time with James in tow, to see Leah.
He said that he has observed a positive relationship between his ex and the three-year-old.
“They cuddle, they’ve made cookies, they play with his toys,” Gary described. “In the summer, they go play outside.”
Gary praised James’ behavior.
He also had good things to say about Amber, noting that he had never witnessed her lose her temper with him.
(Of course, while well-behaved children are abused just like other children, we all know that parenting’s real tests don’t happen on good days)
“I’ve never seen her do anything to James that would concern me,” Gary stated.
“There’s nothing but love there,” he described.
Coming from the man whom Amber once scolded, many years ago, for not physically abusing their child, this is dramatic testimony.
Gary also spoke about his awareness of Amber’s diagnoses, describing her mental health as having improved drastically.
“I think a lot of it was she learned how to handle her herself,” Gary described. “I don’t think she was diagnosed properly for a long time.
He added: “I’m assuming there was a lot of trial and error to try to pinpoint the issue and taking the meds correctly.”
Gary also speculated that if James relocated to California with his father, it could severely impact the boy’s relationship with Leah.
That is certainly a ringing endorsement, but then, Gary and Amber are getting along these days. She barely even insults his wife anymore.
But the court will have to consider more than what Gary thinks when it comes to a decision like this.
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