Maci Bookout’s Husband and Ex Finally Clear the Air on Teen Mom The Next Chapter

In recent years, things between Maci and Ryan have started to improve, following a string of arrests and rehab stints that left Ryan focusing more than ever on his sobriety. According to him, in the new episode of the MTV reality show, he’s a year and seven months sober after struggling with drug addiction in the past.

After recently celebrating the 16th birthday of Ryan and Maci’s son Bentley together, Taylor asked Ryan if he wanted to go golfing, just the two of them — and a camera crew, of course — to clear the air between them. Viewers, of course, will recall serious issues between them in the past, with Taylor once claiming Ryan threatened to “put a bullet” in his head, before Taylor exploded on Ryan’s parents, feeling they were prioritizing their son over Bentley’s well-being.

“I never thought I’d make it this far,” Ryan told Taylor, talking about his sobriety milestone, when they met up to golf.

“I think if I’d have met you sober when I first met you, it’d be completely different,” Taylor replied. “I kind of kept you at arm’s length. I didn’t want to make the situation worse, I just wanted to protect my family. I went about it the wrong way. Even that argument with your dad, I had one goal going into that day and it was not to make things worse and I failed that.”

Ryan then admitted he was a “knucklehead” in the past, who was just “getting high all the time.”

“I know that made it a lot harder for everybody. You guys, mom, dad, Bentley, everybody,” he acknowledged.

As the pair continued to talk, Taylor said he isn’t sure he knew what he was getting himself into when he first started dating Maci. At the time, he had never had a serious girlfriend, and suddenly found himself in a long-distance relationship with a woman who had a 5-year-old kid at home. Ryan, however, said he really appreciated Taylor for how much he stepped up.

“I can see you and Bentley have a great relationship. You really love him. I really appreciate it,” Ryan told him.

“Even when we were butting heads and hated each other, deep down I wanted you to do well because at the end of the day, you’re Bentley’s dad,” Taylor replied. “All I know is it’s a hell of a lot easier and a hell of a lot more fun now. And it’s gotta be a helluva lot more fun for Bentley.”

The two then promised that if ever in the future things got “rough” between them, they would “just talk it out.”

“If we can come out here and golf today after everything else, I’m sure we can come up with something to fix it,” Ryan added.

After their meet-up, Taylor relayed the conversation to Maci, who seemed surprised Ryan took some accountability for his past behavior by opening up about his addiction. “First time for everything!” she exclaimed, before opening up more about what their one-on-one means for things going forward.

“I think it’s important Ryan and Bentley finally spent some 1-on-1 time together,” she shared in a confessional. “Let’s be honest, Taylor and Ryan, they ain’t doing s–t they don’t want to do. They had to have wanted to do it for it to happen at all.”

She then concluded, “It was a true first step for them genuinely moving on. I never thought it would happen, but better late than never.”

Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Thursdays on MTV.