Teen Mom trainwreck Amber Portwood is about to get a little bit of joy in her otherwise drama-filled life—she gets to reunite with her 2-year-old toddler as soon as today.
A lawyer for the 20-year-old reality mom says daughter Leah will be placed back with Portwood, just one day after her release from an Indiana jail on domestic abuse charges.
"I think that Leah is doing well. My understanding, based on conversations yesterday, is that she should be back with her mom some time today. All reports are that she's doing a nice job with her," Portwood attorney Robert Schembs told CBS' The Early Show this morning, adding that Portwood is "completely able" to take care of her daughter.
While the watch commander for the the Madison County Sheriff's Department told E! News yesterday that a protective order was put in place barring the troubled reality star from contact with her baby, the county prosecutor clarified today that there was never such an order. Portwood was only enjoined from having contact with estranged baby daddy Gary Shirley after felony counts were filed and she was arrested for allegedly beating him.
While Schembs insists that Leah will be allowed to see her mom, the attorney says that she won't be hanging with her ex-fiancé anytime soon, despite the two being on "good terms."
Schembs also says that Portwood is taking the charges "very seriously" and says she could be facing "a lot of time" behind bars.
"She's actually doing pretty well. She's disturbed by all of this, greatly. She's probably in shock to some extent, but she's staying strong and she's really trying," he said.
Portwood is expected to meet with a counselor today before being reunited with her daughter.
Although the lawyer wouldn't go into depth on his defense strategy for the upcoming criminal case, he did agree that his team would explore the possibility that the confrontation between Portwood and Shirley was amped-up "theater" for the MTV cameras.
Or as Portwood's brother, Shawn, more bluntly told E! News, "It's all bull." (Shawn also claims that Shirley is opposed to the stay-away order and wants it lifted altogether.)
The young mom was released from an Indiana jail Tuesday after spending 24 hours behind bars on domestic violence charges stemming from an on-camera brawl with Shirley that unfolded in front of Leah. She is facing three felony charges—two counts of domestic battery and one count of neglect of a dependent, along with one misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.
The MTV star was investigated after police in her town of Anderson were flooded with complaints after an episode of the show aired in September showing her punching and kicking Shirley.
MTV, for its part, has so far refused to comment. If convicted on all the charges, she could face three years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
—Additional reporting by Katie Rhames
[Editor's note: This story has been updated to note that the Madison Sheriff's Department incorrectly stated yesterday that the protective order applied to both Leah and Gary Shirley. The county prosecutor confirmed today that Portwood was only barred from contact with Shirley.]