“I try to invest time with Leah all the time,” Portwood, 30, said in an Instagram Live video on Tuesday, March 30. “It’s all I ever do.”

The MTV personality’s comments came hours after the 12-year-old girl spoke about her closeness to Kristina, 39, during the Tuesday episode of Teen Mom OG while planning her birthday party.

Leah explained that she would rather have a small gathering with her 34-year-old dad and Kristina, excluding her mom. “We don’t really have a bond like that. Twelve years and she hasn’t really done anything,” the preteen said. “That’s kind of been, like, Kristina’s spot … All she did was give birth to me.”

As a result, the 16 & Pregnant alum lashed out at her ex and his wife, claiming on Tuesday that “[Kristina] doesn’t take care of my daughter. No, Gary does not clothe her, feeds her. Gary wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for me in the very beginning.”

The Never Too Late author, who is dating Dimitri Garcia and is also mom to 2-year-old son James with ex-boyfriend Andrew Glennon, explained that her daughter likes Kristina because she allegedly buys her things.

“[Leah] respects her because she brings her out to Starbucks, gets her nails done and spends over $1,000 of clothing on her,” Portwood said. “Hell, I’d respect her too. See, I wasn’t raised that way. I was raised to not spoil my child.”

After receiving backlash from some of her followers for her reaction, the reality star said, “I’m just honest and I don’t care what you think.”

She then insisted that she is “not jealous of Kristina. There’s nothing about Kristina that even makes me jealous in any sense.”

During the episode, both Gary and Kristina tried to tell Leah how important it is to have a relationship with her mom. “I don’t want you writing your mom off and saying I can’t have a relationship with her because, at some point, you should have a relationship with her,” Gary told his little one.

Kristina added: “I’m just the bonus mom.” Portwood, meanwhile, declined the offer to attend the birthday party, opting to spend one-on-one time with her baby girl.

Last month, viewers saw Portwood toy with the idea of moving onto Gary’s land in order to be closer to Leah. “I’m not sure if it’s a great idea but Leah was very excited about it and it’s hard to so no,” she said during the February 16 episode of Teen Mom OG.

She didn’t, however, move to the five-acre property and has continued to have a strained relationship with Leah, telling E! News the same month, “It’s hard because it’s hurtful to me when she feels possibly like she has more of a connection with somebody else than me because I’m not around as much as other people. That sucks.”

Teen Mom OG airs Tuesdays on MTV at 8 p.m. ET.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Johnni Macke