On New Year's Day, Ryan Edwards' wife, Mackenzie Standifer, welcomed her third child.
Throughout her time in the spotlight, Mackenzie has experienced a somewhat uneasy relationship with Teen Mom 2 fans, but she's always enjoyed updating her followers on her pregnancies and the progress made by her children.
So when Mackenzie kept a low profile throughout her most recent pregnancy, fans took notice.
These days, Mackenzie is back on Instagram, but some fans are still curious as to why she disappeared for so long.
Standifer posted the photo below this week, in which her two eldest boys can be seen playing with Bentley, Ryan's son from his relationship with Maci Bookout.
"Let them be little! One day we are going to miss the laughter through the house, the jumping on the couch (maybe [laughing out loud]) and all of the little things we take for granted," she captioned the pic.
"This year I want to live in the moment and be thankful for those “'little things.'”
It was a tender and refreshingly candid sentiment.
But naturally, the commenters on Mack's post were mostly just interested in digging into her personal life in search of new dirt.
After several "fans" asked why she had been absent from the 'Gram for so long, Mackenzie offered up a heartbreaking and all-too-relatable answer:
"To be really honest, most of the comments on my pictures are ridiculously mean especially about how I look and how much weight I gain and how ugly I am or how I’m a terrible mother/wife," she wrote.
"I really can’t ever win. I didn’t want to surround myself/deal with that while being pregnant."
Fortunately, Mackenzie's remark was met with words of support and encouragement.
Still, the idea that she felt the need to take a break from social media during what should have been one the happiest times of her life remains incredibly sad.
As we noted earlier, Mackenzie has taken periodic breaks from the spotlight, usually as a direct result of the harsh criticism she receives from fans.
Much of the hate stems from Mack's decision to stand by her husband despite Ryan Edwards' ongoing battle with addiction.
And unfortunately, it seems that particular band of trash-talkers is here to stay.
"Careful boys, watch out for needles in the couch cushions," one follower commented on the pic of Ryan and Mack's sons.
We're guessing Standifer will be taking another break from Instagram in the very near future.
