Courtesy of DateBoxIt would be easy for Matt Baier, ex-fiancé of Teen Mom star Amber Portwood, to say he's doing well in the wake of their recent split after three years as a couple. But, Baier isn't interested in sugar coating things.
During the filming of Marriage Boot Camp: Family Edition earlier this summer—a show he and Portwood joined in an attempt to strengthen their relationship—they wound up calling it quits. Baier left filming early and headed to Las Vegas rather than returning to the Portwood's Indianapolis home, where the two had lived.
"That would have been too painful," he exclusively told E! News. "So I went to Vegas to get my head around the split. Ultimately, my hope was to get a place where Amber could come visit me and we could work on our issues. Obviously, that didn't happen."
He's referring, of course, to the new man in Portwood's life, who she's been showing off on social media.
Seeing her with someone else has prompted Baier to self-reflect. "I'm trying to do a lot of work on myself because I realize now the downfall of our relationship was my fault," he explained. "When you're thrust into the spotlight like that, it can affect you. My mistake was taking our relationship for granted."
"What I've learned from this," he continued, "is you have to do the work. You have to make the person you're with feel loved every single day. I forgot to do that and now I'm paying the price."
In the meantime, Baier's been keeping busy at the poker tables and participating in tournaments. "I've been making a living through my winnings," he added. "That said, I'm not really enjoying it. This isn't the life I want to live."
If he got a second chance with Portwood somewhere down the road, would he take it? "If I got a do-over," he said, "I would do everything differently. I should have listened to her more."
"I'll hold out hope for a reconciliation," Baier concluded. "But if nothing else, I hope we can stay friends. We started off as best friends and that's what I miss the most from her—her friendship. To not have that is painful. When something happens, my natural instinct still is to call her and tell her everything. She was my family."