Mackenzie Edwards recently sat down to record a podcast with Farrah Abraham's mother, Debra Danielsen.
That sentence alone is sort of enough to make one shudder, isn't it?
Danielsen, however, hosts something called the RHEB3L – EMPOWER podcast and she delved into plenty of MTV-related issues with Mackenzie.
Foremost among the topics?
Mackenzie and her husband, Ryan, getting fired from Teen Mom OG in March 2021... basically because Ryan's ex, Maci Bookout, requested they receive a pink slip.
“The show being gone, it’s honestly been a weight lifted off of everybody’s shoulders,” Mackenzie claimed in the interview.
“Everybody just feels like ‘Ahh, I can take a deep breath…not having that extra level of public opinion is amazing for everyone...I know, and the people that I meet know that I’m not this horrible, nasty human being.
"It’s a lot better now than it was.”
Mackenzie, Ryan and the latter's parents frequently clashed with Maci during their final season as Teen Mom OG cast members, most notably over the amount of time they got to spend with Ryan and Mackenzie's 12-year old son, Bentley.
Shortly after filming wrapped, "the Edwards were informed that Maci’s reps wanted to go in a different direction and showcase all of her abilities," a source close to production said about 15 months ago.
"Maci went to production and explained she wanted her story to cover all the parts of her life," the report continued and, simply put, she didn't want the program to "focus on Ryan and his family.”
Boom. All done. Ball game for Mackenzie and Ryan.
Edwards has maintained ever since that she's glad to be done, even claiming to Danielsen that she wishes her immediate family had left earlier.
Why did they stick around?
"It was great money,” Mackenzie admitted on the podcast.
“That’s a hard thing to do, especially for your kids. You’re giving them opportunities that you really wouldn’t be able to do in the first place without it.”
Mackenzie also alleges that Maci isn't responsible for her being removed from Teen Mom OG.
It was all God's plan, you see!
Explains Edwards to Danielsen:
“We said, ‘We’re going to pray, and we’re going to say the same prayer. And if God wants to take it away from us, he’s just gonna have to shut the door.’ And I promise you -- Bible! -- the next day we got the phone call [telling us we were off the show].
"That’s what was meant to be, so I don’t think you can be hurt or sad or anything like that when you know that is the plan for you.”
MTV viewerrs, meanwhile, may recall the controversy over Ryan refusing to go to therapy with Bentley.
According to Mackenzie, however, this is a false narrative... perpetued by executives.
“I really wish people could have seen Ryan’s heart behind it,” Mackenzie claimed on air.
“It wasn’t that he didn’t want his child to receive counseling... [he wanted] to not do it on television."
Could we ever see Mackenzie and Ryan back on television?
“I don’t think TV is a place for me or for Ryan anymore,” Mackenzie replied.
“I think that ship has sailed.
"I’m not quite sure that I really have anything that interesting going on besides just being a mom. And I’m good with that."