We probably don’t need to tell you that Amber Portwood has had her share of issues over the years.
Amber has been arrested multiple times for committing violent crimes, and while she claims to have left her problematic past behind her, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
In fact, some of Amber’s harshest critics argue that she’s actually getting worse with age.
And when you look at the past two years of Amber’s life, it seems that those naysayers might have a point.
In 2019, Amber was arrested for assaulting Andrew Glennon, the father of her son, James.
And while Portwood avoided jail time and somehow retained her job at MTV, the incident continues to haunt her.
Amber and Andrew’s legal wrangling over custody and visitation rights has been never-ending.
And not surprisingly, Amber’s past and present behavior has been cited many times as Andrew’s lawyers argue that she’s unfit to raise a child.
It’s been quite a battle, as Andrew’s side has a mountain of evidence of Amber’s erratic and violent tendencies — there are downsides to a decade of reality TV fame — but Amber has plenty of money and all the time in the world to fight against her ex.
The most recent developments in the battle come to us via UK tabloid The Sun, who revealed this week that Andrew has demanded that the court order Amber to take a hair follicle test to prove that she’s sober.
Hair follicle tests have the longest window of detection of any drug screening.
While a standard urine test can detect drug use over the past three days, hair follicle tests can reveal traces of substances going back three months.
In recently-filed court documents, Glennon’s lawyers argue that Amber has a “history of substance abuse, even while pregnant with and subsequently caring for the minor child herein.”
They add that there’s reason to suspect she’s still using, as recent weeks have found Amber “acting erratically, speaking frantically, and appeared completely paranoid and disheveled.”
As evidence of these claims, the lawyers cite an incident that occurred when Andrew was picking James up from Amber’s home on October 16.
“[Amber] went so far as to allege that two nearby vehicles were ‘staking her out’ and waved down Petitioner/Father as he was leaving with the minor child to ask him to tell the individuals in the nearby vehicles to ‘stop’ staking her out,” the attorneys allege.
As for what specific drugs Amber has been abusing, Andrew claims that Portwood’s paranoia is the result of a potentially deadly crystal meth habit.
Glennon claims to have “witnessed Amber under the influence of illegal drugs previously, specifically methamphetamine.”
Surprisingly, Amber has not responded to these latest allegations directly.
If you follow her on social media, you know that Portwood is normally more than happy to lash out at her critics and accusers, but this time, she’s been suspiciously quiet.
It’s possible that Amber’s legal counsel has advised her against addressing the matter directly.
Instead, Portwood took to Instagram on Halloween night and sent a message to her followers that all is well.
“Sending love from me and bubs,” she wrote, along with a photo showing several large bowls of candy for trick or treaters.
“Positive and Happy Halloween everyone!”
Many have interpreted Amber’s comment about positivity as her way of indicating that she won’t be stooping to her ex’s level and hurling damaging allegations.
Of course, it’s unlikely that Glennon is making these claims for no other reason than to damage Amber’s reputation.
If he genuinely believes she’s using meth, then he’s probably deeply concerned for his son’s safety.
And with amount of time the kid spends in Amber’s care, that concern is almost certainly warranted.