Pitcher Greg Swindell’s daughter Brenna has been found safe and sound after five days gone! The MLB vet posted to his FB on Tuesday morning:

“She has been found . That’s all for now. Thanks to EVERYONE who got involved. Sarah Swindell and I and our family and extended family thanks you.”

He didn’t get into details about what was going on with her. Now that she’s safe, it’s back to being a private matter. We’re just glad she’s OK!

Greg Swindell is in desperate need of help finding his daughter.

Over the weekend, the retired MLB pitcher took to Facebook with a startling post revealing his daughter Brenna had gone missing in Texas. He wrote:

“PLEASE HELP* Our daughter Brenna Swindell has not been seen or heard from in the Austin area since late Thursday afternoon. Her phone is off and she has not been in contact with family, friends, and most importantly her children.”

Scary! And even more concerning, he suspected in the post that she’s with her “violent” ex-boyfriend Morgan Guidry:

“Her ex-boyfriend in the photo has a warrant and is violent so PLEASE if you have seen or heard from either one of them, let us know.”

Related: Fan Performed On Stage With Macklemore… You’ll Literally NEVER Guess What Happened Next!

Later, he returned with an update revealing that Brenna was indeed spotted with Morgan on Thursday night — they’ve gotten as far as Colorado:

“They were seen together Thursday night and we have managed to get a GPS on the KIA that is now in Colorado. Both phones seem to be there but both are turned off. License Plate VFS7528 White Kia Carnival.”

He added a description of his missing daughter as well:

“She is 5’5″ and probably 120 or so pounds. She has brown shoulder-length hair she likes to wear in a high ponytail. She has a sleeve tattoo with flowers on one arm and a spider web on the other shoulder. She tends to always have a vape with her as well.”

THEN, on Sunday, Greg returned to Facebook with another update, revealing this is more than a family matter now. The Department of Public Safety has been working to pinpoint Brenna’s location:

“Because the GPS isn’t on and no cell phones are on, there is no science exactly where the car is by now. We haven’t heard anything back from DPS but they are on it and the missing persons have been filed. We have had lots of leads and [are] trying to sift through them. Until we can get KIA to activate the GPS tomorrow morning, and also figure out what apartment she is in as she moved on Tuesday and nobody knows the number, and the complex is closed today. So we desperately need to [go] in tomorrow.”

He added:

“We have no idea where in Colorado they are, or if they are even still there. PLEASE keep the tips coming of any sightings or information. Again, her boyfriend is in trouble with law from when he assaulted her last month and we don’t know if she went with him willingly, was talked into running away with him, or what. I still feel she would never abandon her 3 children or just take off without explanation. So until we can prove otherwise, we feel she is in danger. Thank you again, everyone.”

How terrifying! See his full post with all the updates (below):

We hope she’s found safe and sound soon!

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/

[Images via MLB/YouTube, Greg Swindell, & Brenna Swindell/Facebook]

The post Retired MLB Pitcher Pleads For Help Finding Missing Daughter -- Who Went Off The Grid With ‘Violent’ Ex-Boyfriend appeared first on Perez Hilton.

According to the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, 19-year-old Mischa Johnson was last seen on the night of July 31 inside her home at the Schofield Army Barracks in O’ahu. She was reported missing the next day. Since then, authorities have desperately been trying to find her. Their efforts in tracking her down have been unsuccessful so far. However, it appears someone was arrested in connection with her sudden disappearance — her husband, Dewayne Arthur Johnson II.

Related: Daughter Allegedly Helped Mom Murder Dad With Poison She Got On Etsy!

The 25th Infantry Division posted an update on her missing person case to Facebook Monday, revealing that “an individual has been placed into military custody.” The statement continued:

“Mischa Johnson’s husband, Private First Class Dewayne Arthur Johnson II, is currently in military pretrial confinement in Hawaii. … Our efforts remain focused on locating Mischa, support to her family, and the safety and security of all personnel at US Army Hawaii installations. This is a current and ongoing investigation and no further information is available at this time. We encourage anyone who may have information regarding Mischa Johnson to contact CID.”

It is unknown if Johnson has been charged with anything under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Per KITV, a family member of Mischa’s took to social media and blamed him for her disappearance. A woman named Mimi wrote:

“Dewayne Arthur Johnson II We welcomed you into our homes and around our children. You strung us along ‘helping’ us when she went missing but that was just to keep tabs on what we knew. Come to find out, YOU are the reason for Mischa & Baby Armani’s disappearance.”

Whoa…

No other details were given about his alleged involvement at the time. The family also issued a statement amid the arrest announcement, per the outlet:

“We entrust CID with the on going investigation of Mischas disappearance. My Family also would like to Thank the many Local Businesses and the Local Community for the tremendous support of any sightings, leads and posting of flyers. We also would like to thank the numerous individuals and groups who have taken their own time to search for Mischa. We remain hopeful with the Best outcome. #Bring Mischa Home #JusticeforMischa”

The Army Criminal Investigation is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with “credible information” regarding her disappearance or location. Anyone with information can call the Pacific Field Office at 808-208-0059. Mischa is described as 5 foot 2, approximately 170 pounds, and of Filipino descent. She also has a large dragon tattoo on her back. We are keeping her family in our thoughts and hope she is reunited with them soon.

[Image via 25th Infantry Division/Facebook]

The post Pregnant Wife Disappears From Army Barracks -- And Her Husband Is Now In Custody! appeared first on Perez Hilton.

The Michigan mother of five has been missing since April 2021 and has long been presumed dead. In fact, she was declared legally dead back in March. That was a few months after her husband was charged with her murder!

In November, Dale Warner was charged with open murder and also tampering with evidence — the latter charge presumably for whatever he did to hide her remains. Police used dogs, ground sonar, even excavation equipment — but could never find the poor woman. Dee’s family and police suspected the husband very early on. Recently it was revealed in court that some of the final text messages she sent were to a friend revealing her husband had shoved her into a dresser — and that she feared he would kill her. But it was a tricky case for investigators without the body.

Now that appears to have finally all changed.

Related: Two 14-Year-Old Girls Charged In Horrifying Murder Of Elderly Woman

On Friday, per WTOL, a search warrant was executed on one of Dale’s properties. In a secluded old barn rested an enormous anhydrous tank. It looks like a big propane tank, only it holds anhydrous ammonia, used as fertilizer in farming (and also in the production of meth, btw). Inside this tank they found exactly what many have feared: human remains.

They are believed to be Dee, but an autopsy needs to be performed to be sure. The Michigan State Police said in a statement:

“The remains are currently in the process of being recovered and there will be a great deal of work and testing completed before positive identification is made.”

A spokesperson for Dee’s family confirmed they were notified — and gave more information than police. They explained the body was surprisingly well-preserved due to how it was hidden. The tank was empty when the body was dumped there, and then re-welded shut and painted over — with the logo for his company, War-Ag Farms. As such, it was not exposed to oxygen or the elements. As horrifying as the idea of that is, it’s actually really good news when it comes to identification, which can get really difficult after years of decomposition. They also told WTVG they strongly believe this is the body of Dee.

It sounds like, after 3 long years the family will soon have all the answers.

Dale pleaded not guilty to both charges, and his lawyer has pointed to the lack of evidence as his key defense. Sounds like they’ll need to think up something else. He’s currently in prison, being held on a $15 million bond. We’ll have to see if the charges are updated based on what investigators just found.

[Image via Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office/Lenawee County Jail.]

The post Bombshell Update! 3 Years After Dee Warner Went Missing, Human Remains Found On Husband's Property! appeared first on Perez Hilton.

As we previously reported, the 21-year-old college student went missing back in March. He was seen on March 4 near his apartment complex around the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi campus and had texted a friend in the early morning hours. But then he disappeared. No one saw or heard from him again afterward. Police searched for Caleb for months, but it wasn’t until June 24 that city workers conducting maintenance inside a wastewater collection well discovered human remains. And sadly, they were positively identified as belonging to him.

Related: Man Blamed Dog For Baby’s Horrific Death — Now He’s Being Charged With Murder!

As for what happened to Caleb? Well, that’s still a mystery. Law enforcement isn’t exactly sure. However, police said that the remains had “no obvious signs of homicide,” so they think this possibly was all an accident. You see, Deputy Chief Billy Breedlove previously told People that Caleb sent a photo of a bridge near his apartment complex to one of his pals on Snapchat at around 3:03 a.m. on the day he disappeared. Police later found a manhole roughly 600 feet away — with the cover knocked aside:

“[The manhole] was covered with grass at the time and no one was [initially] able to find this or notice that this hole was there. We don’t know how that occurred. It is an area that is farmed every year. So there’s the likelihood that a farming implement knocked it off and with the high grass growing across there, it would be sort of camouflaged to most people walking around there.”

Between this and the fact that it was a super foggy night when the Texas student vanished, investigators think he potentially fell into the manhole before eventually ending up in the sewer system. That said, police don’t know if this is really how he got into the hole. It’s just a theory. At the time of the discovery, Breedlove mentioned there was a chance Caleb was “harmed.” And unfortunately, police cannot rely on the autopsy report to get definitive answers on whether his death was accidental or not.

According to an autopsy report from the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office and obtained by People on Tuesday, Caleb’s remains were already in an “advanced state of decomposition and skeletonization” — meaning his cause of death “cannot be determined with certainty.” Oof. The medical examiners added:

“While no significant traumatic injuries are identified, the condition of the remains could have obscured subtle injuries and/or additional significant natural disease. The exact details leading up to the terminal event and death are currently unclear. Hence, the cause and manner of death are classified as undetermined at this time. If additional information becomes available in the future, the cause of and manner of death can be amended, if needed.”

Yet, no matter what the autopsy report states or the police say, his family feels they know at least one thing about what happened to Caleb — it was not just some freak accident! Speaking to the San Antonio Express-News on Wednesday, his father, Randy Harris, said the family is still working with law enforcement to solve this case as the investigation is “100% ongoing.” He then added:

“There are no updates at this point, but we fully believe this is a homicide and not an accident.”

Whoa…

Randy didn’t provide more details on that statement — like what made them believe he was murdered! And don’t expect investigators to share the reason, either! It doesn’t sound like they discovered anything recently to lead the family to that conclusion! Instead, Breedlove told People on Thursday that “not much has changed” since Caleb’s remains were identified. He added:

“There’s nothing in this autopsy that has given us any more direction to say it was a homicide, nor was there any direction to say it was not a homicide.”

At this point, Breedlove explained they have “pretty much exhausted all of the digital evidence and different videos” and have “covered everything we can” in the investigation. Despite the exhaustive work, they are unable to determine whether Caleb was murdered or not. And when asked why the family thinks his death wasn’t an accident, Breedlove responded:

“I don’t have any way to speculate on that.”

We cannot imagine how hard this must be on the Harris family, especially since they have so many unanswered questions about Caleb’s death. Whether they will ever get answers about what happened is unknown. But it doesn’t seem likely right now.

Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.

[Image via Caleb Harris/Facebook, News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio/YouTube]

The post Caleb Harris’ Family Believes His Death Was ‘Not An Accident’ After Autopsy Report Findings! appeared first on Perez Hilton.

In November 2022, Madalina Cojocari mysteriously vanished from her home in Cornelius, North Carolina. She was just 11 years old. What made the case instantly suspicious is the fact she wasn’t officially reported missing to police until 22 DAYS after she disappeared. Her stepfather Christopher Palmiter only reported the girl missing to her school, not to law enforcement. It was the school faculty who eventually called police after they’d exhausted their own avenues to track down the missing child. Her mother Diana Cojocari did nothing at all.

Related: Woman’s Face Beaten Off After Ex Mistakenly Released From Jail

Naturally police were suspicious of the parents, but a search of the child’s home turned up nothing. All they had on Madalina’s mom was failure to report her child missing. They did charge her, and Diana spent nearly a year and a half in prison. Just a couple months ago, in May, she was released. But that doesn’t mean authorities are done with her. After her release, the Cornelius Police Department made it clear for the first time she was absolutely a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance, posting on their Facebook:

“We continue to seek information on the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari who hasn’t been seen since November 21st, 2022. Her mother, Diana Cojocari, is considered a suspect in her disappearance.”

Diana is still technically serving a suspended sentence. You’d think that, plus being a suspect in her child’s disappearance, would keep her from being allowed to leave the country. But earlier this month a FB group dedicated to the case posted a pic she supposedly shared from a plane out of the country!

That says she’s on her way from JFK airport to Frankfurt, Germany and then to Bucharest, Romania after nine years away from her home country.

It wasn’t clear this was actually a new photo — but Diana seems to have confirmed it herself on her own FB account. Per The US Sun, she’s been posting photos from the countryside, apparently scenes of picturesque Romania. In the caption for one she wrote, “Si asta e Romania” — which translates to:

“And this is Romania.”

Man, she really looks happy-go-lucky, doesn’t she? If she really just left the country while being a suspect in an active investigation into the disappearance of an 11-year-old… Well, we guess Madalina would be 13 now. Damn. Just seems crazy they’d let her go, right? Well, it sounds like the cops couldn’t do much to stop her.

Cornelius PD Chief David Baucom told the Sun:

“The police department is aware of the posts that indicate Diana Cojocari may have left the country however we are unable to confirm this information. None of her property was released and we are unable to prevent her from leaving the country. She does not currently have any active warrants for her arrest.”

So we guess if they do find anything they’ll still potentially be able to track her down. There is an extradition treaty between the US and Romania.

What do YOU think about Madalina’s mom just living a happy new life after her daughter’s disappearance… the one she didn’t bother reporting??

[Image via FBI/Diana Cojocari/Facebook.]

The post Missing 11-Year-Old Madalina Cojocari's Mother Posts Happy Pics From New Life -- After Fleeing The Country! appeared first on Perez Hilton.

Back on May 31, Penelope “Penny” Wise was seen by security cameras leaving her home in Michigan around 6 p.m. according to Kent County Sheriff’s Office. The teen was spotted leaving the residence on foot and making her way down the road. She was also spotted on camera around midnight on June 1 in the Rockford area. These two pieces of evidence led police to believe she had “intentionally walked away from home” — and now their theories are looking pretty well confirmed.

Related: 12-Year-Old Girl Charged With Murder After Allegedly Smothering 8-Year-Old Cousin

Luckily, Penny was “located safe” according to a new police update from Sunday. The reports say a community member of Rockford saw the young girl leaving a home in the area and contacted police. It was then police found out the truth — she was living with a man. A 44-year-old man:

“The initial investigation revealed that Penny was living with an older man in a home, in the City of Rockford.”

OMG!

And that’s not even the most shocking part. According to police, the teen didn’t run away from home to be with her star-crossed, much older lover. No, she’d never even met the man up until the night of June 1! On Monday, law enforcement said in an updated statement that the two were strangers, and met around 2 a.m. the last night Penny was spotted on camera. Since then, investigators “also learned that Penny and the man were engaged”.

Wow…

While explaining the situation to WZZM, police said the girl left home after a “disagreement” with her parents and ran into the man by “happenstance”. Kent County Undersheriff Brian Muir told the outlet:

“They never had any connection. There was no digital trail that we could have followed that would have led to this location. They just happened to meet each other and have a bond.”

The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office has also “decided not to pursue charges against the 44-year-old man at this time” because the age of consent in Michigan is 16 — and Penny is 17. But just because they’re not pursuing charges doesn’t mean this whole thing isn’t disturbing as hell, of course. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told WXMI the case is “clearly troubling” but they “can’t just charge things that we find troubling”:

“We have to follow the law, and that’s what we did. We were just left without anything to charge.”

Meanwhile, Undersheriff Muir told WZZM Monday they “really can’t get into what she’s in custody for, because she is a juvenile still in the eyes of the law” but they’re “trying to connect her with services before she makes it back home”.

People reached out to Penny’s family. Her mother replied and said they’re “happy” to have their daughter back, but they’re “saddened by the choices she made”:

“We are thankful for all the Law Enforcement and the hours they put in searching for our daughter.”

The mom went on to say the family has yet to be able to see their daughter as she’s being held at a Juvenile Detention Facility.

A lot to take in with this case, Perezcious readers. What are your thoughts?

[Image via Kent County Sheriff’s Office]

The post Missing 17-Year-Old Girl Found -- Living With New 44-Year-Old Fiancé! appeared first on Perez Hilton.

Back in March, Corpus Christi college student Caleb Harris (pictured above) went missing completely out of the blue. One moment in the early hours of the morning he was texting a friend, the next he was never seen again. Now, a harrowing June 24 discovery of bones in a local wastewater well have been confirmed to be the skeletal remains of the missing 21-year-old. And although police now know he’s deceased, they still aren’t exactly sure what happened…

The Corpus Christi Police Department made the announcement on Wednesday that Harris’ remains had been found in the wastewater well near his off-campus apartment. And while they’re not exactly certain whether this involved foul play or not, the most likely explanation is horrifying. Deputy Chief Billy Breedlove told People on Thursday that it’s possible the boy was “harmed and then was put there” — but they’re leaning towards a freak accident.

Related: Missing 17-Year-Old Girl Found Dead — And ANOTHER Teen Has Been Charged!

The deputy revealed around 3:03 a.m. on the day of his disappearance, the college student sent a photo over Snapchat to one of his buddies, which showed a bridge nearby his apartment complex. About 600 feet away from that, investigators found a manhole — one in which the cover “had been knocked aside”:

“[The manhole] was covered with grass at the time and no one was [initially] able to find this or notice that this hole was there. We don’t know how that occurred. It is an area that is farmed every year. So there’s the likelihood that a farming implement knocked it off and with the high grass growing across there, it would be sort of camouflaged to most people walking around there.”

Because of this, and due to Harris’ disappearance happening on one of the foggiest nights of the year, they believe it’s possible he fell in the manhole! We do know he was walking and texting… Were that the case it’s possible he got sucked into the sewer system from there, ending up in his final resting place:

“There are four other manholes on the roadway, and we cannot rule out that he entered the system in one of those, but it is more likely to have entered through the open hole.”

The thing police are unsure of, though, is if there was water in the manhole that night or not. Back on April 18, a little over a month after Harris’ disappearance, authorities actually drained the manhole after it was reported to be open. At the time “there was no indication of a body”. They even went up to the lift station where they’d eventually find the body and “drained the tank there” but still found nothing.

It wasn’t until nearly two months later after Tropical Storm Alberto came through that employees at the station found something jammed in one of the pipes. Because of the water accumulating, Deputy Breedlove said “we believe that the body” had been in the pipe and was “pushed into that lift station”:

“They opened it and found what appeared to be a human bone, which we now know was one of the shoulder bones.”

With this and other “small pieces of bone” being found along the way, they were able to get DNA from the Harris family and confirm the identity of the boy. So sad. But even though they believe this is the most likely answer to what caused Caleb’s death, they can’t definitively say foul play was not involved just yet. In fact, the whole investigation has been quite frustrating as far as getting concrete answers:

“We put together a team of very experienced investigators. We had what we would consider good leads of some vehicles coming and going from the area. They never materialized…it was very frustrating.”

Deputy Breedlove also said Harris’ apartment complex “had no working surveillance cameras” so that made things much harder. All they could do was use a nearby complex’s camera footage, but it did give them the opportunity to “run down pretty much all the vehicles that had come and gone from that area at the time of his disappearance”. They’re continuing to investigate the possibility of a homicide.

Right now, though, the young man’s family made a post to Facebook addressing their loss. They wrote:

“We all have heavy hearts this evening as we learned of the positive identification of our sweet Caleb. We will grieve our son … Thank you for your prayers and support during this tragic time.”

Heartbreaking. Our thoughts are with Caleb’s family as they navigate this tragedy. Hopefully they’ll get answers soon.

R.I.P.

[Image via Bee County Sheriff’s Office]

The post Missing Student Found Dead -- The Only Explanation Is A Shocking, Unlikely Accident appeared first on Perez Hilton.

On the Fourth of July, two members of the Atlanta dance trio Skiiboyz — Deundray Cottrell (pictured above, left) and his romantic/dancing partner Julian Morris (above, right) — were in Birmingham, spending some time with family for the holiday. Cottrell, 31, was visiting his sister and decided to bring along Morris, also 31, for the festivities, but that’s when things turned SO confusing! And very, very sketchy.

The night of the fourth, around 9 p.m., Cottrell’s sister Angelica Harris told local outlet 11Alive her brother went inside to check on the dogs when fireworks started going off. Heartbreakingly, this would be the last time she’d see her sibling alive, as he suddenly disappeared! Morris, who reportedly was the only one who knew anything about his partner’s whereabouts allegedly waited a whole HOUR before telling Harris what happened. Per reports, he eventually revealed her brother had supposedly jumped out a window and left.

Related: Former ALF Child Star Benji Gregory Found Dead In His Car With Service Dog

Obviously Cottrell’s family found this a little suspicious — we mean, why would he jump out a window and vanish?? But the suspicions don’t stop there…

Harris told the outlet that after Morris told her what happened, the whole family banded together to search for the missing dancer. That is, everyone but the very one that said he jumped out of a window. She claimed while everyone was rushing around to find their loved one, Morris stayed behind, seemingly unbothered:

“Everyone was searching, he was eating.”

WTF?! His partner went missing, and while everyone else is searching for him, he stayed behind to have some dinner?? So odd… Did he think this was typical behavior? Hmm.

The missing man’s sister asked Morris to leave since he wasn’t being any help, and that was that. He reportedly hasn’t been seen or heard from since. While searching for her brother after she kicked his partner out, Harris also claims to have found Ring doorbell camera footage showing Cottrell’s last moments. According to WVTM13, the dancer is seen entering someone’s backyard and staying along the edges of the perimeter. He then reportedly jumps a fence and falls, before getting back up and walking out of frame.

While speaking to AL.com about the footage, Harris said:

“It looked like he was looking for refuge. He was running for his life.”

What in the world…

Two days later, Cottrell’s body would sadly be found in a shed in Birmingham. His cause of death has not been revealed, but police HAVE ruled the case a homicide. His missing partner, Morris, has still not been found, questioned, or charged with anything — but he has been named a person of interest.

The Birmingham Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating Morris, describing him as a Black male who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 160 lbs. Anyone with any information regarding his whereabouts is being asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

Absolutely horrifying. We hope Deundray’s family can get answers and justice for him soon. May he rest in peace.

[Image via Birmingham Police Department]

The post Dancer Found Dead After Sister Said He Ran 'For His Life' -- Cops Name Missing Partner Person Of Interest!  appeared first on Perez Hilton.

As we’ve previously reported, the 22-year-old University of Missouri student was found in the nearby Cumberland River after a night out with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers. The guys were reported to have partied all over downtown Nashville before ending the night at Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink bar owned by the country singer. After Riley left the establishment he went missing, only to be found dead days later.

Related: Clue, Roseanne Star Martin Mull Dead At 80

Of course, investigators were immediately looking into all possibilities of what happened. His family had even become suspicious that the college student had been served too much alcohol or been drugged — which eventually led to his death by drowning. But now, according to TMZ, Luke’s bar as well as the other celebrity bars the boy visited that night have been cleared in the investigation.

Nashville is home to a LOT of branded country star bars. Per reports, not only did Riley and his pals enjoy Bridge 32, they also checked out Miranda Lambert‘s Casa Rosa bar, Garth Brooks‘ Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, and Kid Rock‘s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse. By the time they made it back to the American Idol‘s lounge, per Riley’s friends, he’d had seven drinks! However, police said there was no evidence bartenders continued to serve him alcohol while he was visibly intoxicated. They came to this conclusion after many interviews and examining video surveillance from each bar.

It would seem Riley presented as less drunk than he actually was… because clearly he was so blacked out he passed out in the river, right? What do YOU think, Perezcious paralegals? Should anyone be held responsible for Riley being so drunk and alone? Did these celeb bars get lucky? Or was this really just an unfortunate incident with no one at all at fault?

[Image via Metro Nashville PD/X (Twitter)/MEGA/WENN]

The post Riley Strain Case: Luke Bryan & More Celebs' Nashville Bars Off The Hook appeared first on Perez Hilton.

During the new episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter on Thursday, the reality star opened up about her relationship with her man to friend Lexi. And everything seemed to be going great between them at the time — emphasis on seemed! She shared:

“Me and Gary are doing really good. We’ve been staying with each other a lot more, spending more time together. We’re just going with the flow. We’re not moving fast. We’re not moving slow. We’re moving at a good place, whatever we’re feeling.”

But it hadn’t been all rainbows and sunshine. Amber admitted the then-couple did experience some challenges in their romance due to her mental health struggles. As fans know, the MTV personality was diagnosed with bipolar and borderline personality disorder in 2011. She has been very open about her manic episodes over the years, especially about her blackout moments that leave her unable to remember conversations or situations.

Related: Maci Bookout Hit With $351K Tax Lien — And Owes SHOCKING Total Amount!

So, on the show, she told her pal that Gary witnessed her having a manic episode for the first time. Afterward, the pair sought out counseling to work through it together. Amber said:

“The other day, he experienced my first manic episode — almost a blackout. So, we start going to couples therapy. We’ve been there twice now. It feels good to do that for the first time because you know I’m not good at relationships, especially this type of relationship where it’s actually a good one. This is something like I don’t want to mess up.”

Fans even watched one of their sessions later on. Gary made it clear he wanted more advice on how to support and help his girlfriend during her manic episodes. And it sounded like he was doing a good job in that department! Her beau told the therapist that he knows the signs for when Amber’s experiencing a manic episode. When Gary would realize what was going on, he said, he often tried to get her out of that state by placing his hand on her face or playing music. All of this is something the 16 and Pregnant alum never had with her previous boyfriends! Gary continued:

“I think I go into the protector mode. This is something that she’s used to dealing with by herself, and I can’t imagine dealing with something like that by yourself.”

Amber called Gary her “grounding force.” But although the momma loved how supportive her guy was, she was also afraid she’d become a burden to him in the long run. Oof.

Still, their therapist pointed out how taking care of themselves means they can be better partners in relationships. Easing her fears, Gary said he’s “all in”:

“Finding somebody that I actually truly love, that’s what I’ve wanted and we’re both all in.”

After kissing each other, Amber and Gary exchanged “I love yous.” They really did seem to be so committed to each other and in love. But as we all know now, a lot has changed since then!

Gary was reported missing by Amber earlier this month after he drove away from their rental cabin in North Carolina following an argument. Days after his disappearance, police found him and closed the case. Understandably, they were unable to move past this bump in their relationship.

A source told Us Weekly they called off their engagement because “they have too much to overcome to move forward together.” Um, yeah. And we know now they experienced challenges in their relationship even before his disappearance! Not only that, apparently his family didn’t approve of their engagement, either. The insider added:

“Gary’s family was looking her up online and looking at her past and not everything they saw online was true. And it was hard for Amber because she’s been trying so hard to move past it and move forward.”

Oof. Our heart breaks for Amber. It looks like she really wanted this relationship to last. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.

[Image via Teen Mom/Instagram]

The post Amber Portwood & Gary Wayt Were In Couples Therapy After 'Manic Episode' -- Hers, Not His! appeared first on Perez Hilton.