"The more you take care of the good things in your life, the longer they stick around and the better they become."
When Maci Bookout McKinney included that quote in her 2016 memoir Bulletproof, the MTV reality star was in a different chapter of her life.
Once an overachieving high school student in Tennessee, Maci quickly had to balance life as a single teen mom with her hopes and dreams. Oh yes, and she had to did it all as cameras rolled for the reality show Teen Mom.
But as the proud mother of three kicks off season 10 of Teen Mom OG, that same mindset can easily be applied to her relationship with husband Taylor McKinney.
"I think as you get older, every person grows as an individual and when you're married or in a very serious relationship…you're growing as individuals and you're able to ultimately grow together as a couple," Maci shared with E! News ahead of tonight's premiere. "The strength in that is pretty amazing."
She continued, "I could look at Taylor now and think back to when we first started dating or before we were married and he's still the same person but he's also different in many ways. When you think of everything we've been through, it's pretty incredible that we still love each other."
In a franchise when so many storylines are focused on dramatic breakups or up and down relationships, Maci and Taylor have quietly built an unbreakable bond. Along the way, viewers have been able to witness a special love story that is worth celebrating.
As told in her best-selling book Bulletproof, Maci admitted that when she first met Taylor, he had no idea who she was. But as it turns out, that was a huge plus for the reality star.
"After he'd been around me for a second and saw people taking pictures of me, he figured out I was on TV," she wrote. "But he never so much as brought it up. He just treated me like I was Maci, some girl he'd met with his friends. It was a breath of fresh air to be around someone new who didn't give a s--t about the TV show I was on."
After two years of long distance dating, Taylor decided to move from Dallas to Tennessee. And with much thought and consideration, Maci gradually introduced Taylor to her son Bentley with ex Ryan Edwards.
In January 2016, the couple got engaged after a romantic beachside proposal in Venice, Calif. "Well y'all, my best friend asked me to marry him!" Maci wrote on Instagram. "I'm one lucky lady, I love you T! @tmon3yyy."
Despite being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which is one of the leading causes of infertility, Maci and Taylor were able to welcome two children before their October 2016 wedding at Honey Lake Church in Florida. The couple's daughter Jayde would serve as the ceremony's tiny flower gal while Bentley earned the title of mini best man.
While there have been plenty of highs in this love story including the launch of a successful Things That Matter fashion line, every relationship has some bumps in the road.
In season seven of Teen Mom OG, Maci bravely opened up about suffering a miscarriage. The reality star also had to deal with legal troubles surrounding Bentley's father. Through it all, Taylor stayed loyal to his family and did everything he could to help.
"He's been really good," Maci shared with E! News when discussing Taylor's support during Ryan's challenges. "I think for him it was a little confusing from a standpoint of Taylor is very protective and so knowing that Bentley is being affected and his wife is being affected…angry isn't the right word but like, 'Oh my gosh! I'm so frustrated because I can't do anything about this person who is impacting my family in not a good way and there's nothing I can do about it.'"
Maci continued, "But through therapy and counseling, him understanding that when I'm talking about it or being affected by it, it's okay for him to not do anything but just be there and that's helped a lot."
Watch the couple for yourself when new episodes of Teen Mom OG air Monday nights at 9 p.m. only on MTV.