Maci Bookout, 35, marked her son Bentley’s milestone birthday with an emotional Instagram video on Wednesday.
The former MTV star shared a montage showing the teen through the years, with several clips highlighting how the now-18-year-old stands head and shoulders above his mother. “And just like that my baby Bentley is 18 years old!” she captioned the post. “Being your mom is the greatest gift of my life, and I’m so proud of you Benny!”
She added, “We’re not done yet, but we sure did that kid, I love you! ❤️”
Viewers who watched Bentley enter the world as a newborn on “16 and Pregnant” in 2009 flooded the comments with disbelief. “How is Bentley 18?! 🥹🥹 he seems like such a sweet young man. You did a good job Maci ❤️,” one fan wrote.
Another commented, “18?? How? I remember watching him being born 😭😭”
“Omggg where has the time gone🥹 feel like we all grew up with you guys. Maci you did a wonderful job with him!” a third added.
Bookout welcomed Bentley in October 2008 with then-boyfriend Ryan Edwards, 37. The young couple’s journey into parenthood became MTV’s first “16 and Pregnant” episode, launching a franchise that would span more than a decade. They joined the original “Teen Mom” cast in December 2009, briefly got engaged in 2010, then split for good.
While Bookout built a new life, marrying motocross racer Taylor McKinney in 2016 and having two more children — daughter Jade, 11, and son Maverick, 10 — Edwards struggled with substance abuse that repeatedly made headlines. He was arrested on heroin-related charges in 2018, prompting Bookout to secure a two-year restraining order against him.
The father of three — he also has son Jagger and daughter Stella with ex Mackenzie Standifer, plus daughter Presley with current wife Amanda Conner — was fired from “Teen Mom OG” in 2021. Bentley exclusively said at the time that his departure was a “huge relief.”
Bookout said in 2022 that she had abandoned hope of genuine co-parenting with Edwards. “What I hoped would happen or wished would happen, will probably never happen,” she acknowledged. “It’s not up to anyone but Ryan, so I don’t foresee a world where we’re actually co-parenting.”
Her son’s feelings mirrored her frustration. In September 2023, Bookout revealed Bentley was “angry” over his father’s ongoing substance abuse issues, which had culminated in a March 2023 arrest on numerous charges involving Standifer and a judge’s order to seek treatment.
Yet signs of repair emerged last year. In an April 2025 episode of “Teen Mom: The Next Chapter,” Edwards apologized to Bentley for his absence throughout childhood and said he no longer resented Bookout for limiting contact during his addiction struggles.
“16 years later, here we are,” he told his son. “I’m sorry it took us so long, but it’s better now than ever. I’d love to spend time with you whenever you want to come over here.”
Bookout’s birthday tribute made no mention of Edwards, focusing instead on her pride in the young man Bentley has become.
