Throughout 2014, Amanda Bynes had a steep descent into mental illness. The situation was made worse by the fact that she often live-tweeted her manic episodes, and she had the money to fuel her journey, including her attempts to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. TMZ, Page Six, all of the tabloids all did daily updates on Amandaās situation. Finally, her parents stepped in and got her in a conservatorship. In 2018, she gave an interview where she talked about getting sober and clean and staying on her doctor-prescribed medication. We also heard last year that she graduated from Californiaās Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising after five years of study. I wished her well and hoped that would be the end of it, that she would find a peaceful, quiet, no-drama life away from Hollywood and everything toxic. Well…
A month ago, Amanda announced her sudden engagement to a guy named Paul Michael. They apparently met ālate 2019ā and yes, the engagement happened too soon. Paul Michael broke off the engagement three weeks later, amid news that Amanda was back in a treatment center. We didnāt write about any of this – I honestly hoped that if I ignored it, maybe the gossip about Bynes would just disappear and she could go live her quiet life. Not so much. As it turns out, sheās now expecting a child with Paul Michael.
Amanda Bynes is having a baby after reuniting with her ex Paul Michael after a brief split, PEOPLE confirms. On Tuesday, Michael shared a slideshow of photos on Instagram, which includes a selfie of himself and the Sheās the Man star as well as an ultrasound photo with Bynesā name on it. āBaby in the making,ā Michael captioned the post.
Bynes, 33, has not yet announced her pregnancy on her own Instagram account. Bynes had been in sober living, but is currently in a treatment center for continuing care of mental health issues. The baby news comes just days after Bynes and Michael called off their engagement.
PEOPLE previously confirmed last week that Bynes, 33, and Michael had split, just over three weeks after the actress announced their engagement.
Bynesā court-appointed lawyer had no comment when reached by PEOPLE. Details remain sparse about Michael, but a source close to the actress previously confirmed to PEOPLE that the pair met at the end of 2019. The former couple got engaged on Valentineās Day this year.
I donāt know what to say here. Congrats? I think itās bad news in general. I donāt think Amanda is currently in a state to have a child or be a mother. Iām not saying that mentally ill people are incapable of being parents, Iām saying that in this particular case with Amanda and where she is psychologically right now (living in a sober facility and knocked up by an ex), sheās not in a state to have a child. Phew. Iād really like to go back to ignoring her and just generally wishing her well.
Photos courtesy of Amandaās IG.
This is sad…my daughter is bipolar 2 and my biggest fear if she were to get pregnant – the meds. I am not sure, but I would think she would have to stop them. If Amanda needs her meds to maintain a normal life, I worry about the baby.
It is always scary when you have something like this. Every phone call you worry. My daughter just came out after 2 1/2 weeks because the doctor messed up her meds, but there is still the stigma about being in a place like this. One lady told me she doesn’t want her friends knowing where she is because she is the smart one. How does this make you less smart? How is this any worse than being in a hospital for an operation? I think it is great if Amanda is in a facility to get treatment, I just hope with the meds and pregnancy, all will be fine. I really do not know!
I have a bipolar friend who just gave birth to a very healthy little boy. Everyone is okay and happy. Maybe this gives you a little bit of hope?
thank you…it does!
Mental illness is just physical/biochemical dysfunction in the brain. People should not be any more ashamed of it than diabetics who have a dysfunctional pancreas.
Ultimately, it’s all physical illness. It’s just that the mental illnesses can affect our behavior and thinking processes and that is especially scary. We wrongly assume that we are in control of our behavior and our thoughts, but that’s only if everything is working right.
Great comment jwoolman
My sister has bipolar II. She stayed on her meds throughout the pregnancy and has a healthy baby girl, who is about to turn 3. She is pregnant with her second one right now and is , again , staying on her medication. I think your daughter will be just fine š
This makes me so sad. I always thought she had a lot of talent, but like a lot of child stars, it comes at a high price. I wish her well.
She really just breaks my heart. And speaking from experience, it is terrifying having a family member with substance abuse and mental health issues have a child. You can’t be joyful knowing what that child may have to contend with
They don’t look at you as someone to help, but someone trying to take away and hurt them.
Thatās very sad. A child is not a magic wand and if anything she will likely struggle even more. And with a guy she met in treatment and has known a few weeks? I feel awful saying this about anyoneās pregnancy but truly this makes me very sad.
Oh god this is sad. Her folks are quite old, aren’t they? I’m sure they’re not up to raising a baby, or even co-raising it. It just sucks for everyone involved. I hope that she manages to stay well throughout all of this. It’s not going to be easy. I hope the dude isn’t a complete shit show for everyone’s sake.
Considering he ditched her the moment things got too real isnāt a good look. Yeah, he came back because of the pregnancy but Iām not going to hold my breath that heāll be any kind of supportive or stabilizing force in her life. I have such a soft spot for her (What a Girl Wants is a one of my guilty pleasures and I loved her in Easy A) and I hope her family continues to be there for, especially now when she needs all the support she can get (emotionally and psychologically).
That’s what I’m thinking. I don’t know how I feel about the whole dating while under conservatorship thing. I don’t think Britney or Amanda are currently all that capable of making well thought out, safe decisions. If they were, they wouldn’t need the conservatorship. That said though – it must be incredibly difficult to deny adult children a social life. I don’t envy her parents, or Amanda to be honest. I feel so sorry for her. She’s almost 4 years older than I am – I grew up loving everything she was in. It’s such a shame to see someone who seemed so vibrant and full of life just looking like they’ve had the life sucked out of them.
God, this poor girl.
Unless Iām mistaken, sheās not going to be able to take her meds during pregnancy is she?
This is what I’m wondering? I’m pretty sure the meds for psychosis aren’t something a pregnant woman can/should take.
I pray for a happy ending but the odds are against them.
Iām not a medical practitioner, and donāt suffer from bipolar, but I know I had discussed my depression/anxiety medication with my psychiatrist and she okayed most of them.
Sometimes you have to switch to something else, which is way better to do prior to pregnancy. There may be a few drugs she canāt take at all though.
I wish her the best, just like Brit Brit these women have a weird space in my heart, and it sounds like the facility is a good safe space for her to continue this journey:
There are some meds you can safely take while pregnant. She just needs to really talk to her psychiatrist.
Everyone above has already said things I wanted to say.
I just wanted to show my agreement over how sad it is to see.
I’m already concerned for that child and fear the baby will be removed from her care at one point
Maybe Amanda will surprise us though?
Everything about her story makes me miserable. Poor Amanda, her poor family, and this poor child. Mercy upon them all.
We don’t need child stars. I don’t care what the consequences are to consistent story-telling. Children aren’t able to meaningfully consent to being used in that way, and the result for thousands has been to have their lives completely destroyed.
Thatās not good news, sadly. Amanda should prioritize her health now and not have to deal with such a stressful and life-changing experience.
Out of curiosity- I never got how Amanda came from being one of the most promising and in-demand young actresses of our generation to spiralling into mental breakdowns and addiction. Does she have a history of abuse in Hollywood?
It could be that, or just mental illness. I’m no expert, but I think a lot of mental illnesses surface in a person’s 20s-30s.
The whole situation is very sad and difficult, and I really feel for her parents.
There was a story, never confirmed, but someone did mention it here that she was molested or sexually assaulted on the tv show she was in with Jennie Garth. Someone who knows about this story can speak up. I know I read it here in the comments years ago.
Itās so sad. I saw āwhat a girl wantsā was on the other night & I couldnāt bring myself to watch it.
I remember her from All That on Nickelodeon. So many of the kids/teens were really funny and talented but she was one of the ones who stood out back then. She was on when Keenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell were also on (other standouts). I was 13/14 when it came out. It makes me so sad to see how things are for her now and wish her and her family well.
She was so good on that, I remember when she used to play Ross Perot lol
This is not good. Poor girl, poor baby.
She looks miserable in both photos. I hope she has a good support system.
Not sure exactly what it means but People has a new story up quoting her lawyer to say she is āseeking treatmentā and not mentioning any pregnancy. Probably too early to say but I sense this might have been a made up story she made up herself. I sincerely hope she is somewhere safe.
I hope she is safe too. Her situation is heartbreaking. Is that face tattoo real????
I know. Am I the only one that noticed it is on opposite cheek in pictures ???
Sincerely wishing her well, period..
I really hope she is in a treatment center. Some people do need that conservatorship their whole adult life. It’s a very scary thing when family/friends can’t help because someone is an ‘adult’.
I loathe trying to armchair diagnose anything but this can’t just be bipolar. It seems she is schizoaffective.
Wow this seems strange that her ex announced the pregnancy and still no word from her side confirming it. And sheās inmy testament. I have no evidence for the theory Iām going to throw out here but, what if she doesnāt want to keep the pregnancy and this is his way of pressuring/forcing her to keep it by making it public without her consent?
Sure looks miserable and dazed. She’s probably on a high dose of medication to keep her from manic behavior i.e.getting engaged to a relative stranger from rehab, getting a face tattoo, getting pregnant in an unstable relationship and state of mind.
Due to her mental health struggles from the past few years, I take anything that Amanda posts on social media with a huge grain of salt. Obviously we have no way of knowing how she is truly doing but it seems every time she tries to go back into the spotlight she has a setback. It happened after she gave that interview to Paper magazine a few years ago and as soon as we learned she’d only known the guy for a few months, it was obvious she was not in a healthy place. And now we are getting conflicting reports about a possible pregnancy. Given that she has posted nothing about it, I’m going to guess it’s either false or she didn’t want the world at large knowing about it and now that post is deleted from her “fiancĆ©’s” feed.
I really hope someday she can get her stuff together and move forward with her life, preferably out of the public eye. It seems it’s been an up and down few years for her.
It is challenging enough dealing with mental illness and addiction. Adding fame to that mix seems like it would be completely overwhelming.
I wish her well. Iāve always had a soft spot for her and I hope she finds her way through.
Looking at the ultrasound she posted, I saw an empty sac. I don’t think she is really pregnant.
I can’t imagine to be in a predicament like this if I were pregnant with all my chemical imbalance issues. Because, as much as a doctor would ok it and say it’s fine, these are chemicals that will enter in a baby’s brain which it’s just in the process of formation. We don’t have studies nor statistics of what these medications do to a fetus brain in the long run as a child matures into young adulthood. We know what other drugs, and alcohol do to new borns, but the big pharmaceutical companies have not released any studies about the use of anti depressants, and other mental health prescriptions after pregnancy and a child’s developmental brain growth, how it affects their mental health. It is so difficult to be in that position when the only thing you wanted is to have a child.
this all reminds me too much of britney spears. i think it’s best to let her heal and not post and comment anymore about her situation.
This is incredibly sad. Though I just want to say that it’s my instinct that Bynes’s mental health issues seem reactive to something that happened to her, that maybe we don’t know about. Her decline was so sudden and so off the rails at the time, that it reminded me of Paz de la Huerta’s sudden inexplicable strange behavior starting at around 2010.
It later came out that de la Huerta had been raped by Harvey Weinstein and had been fired from Boardwalk Empire by its producers under pressure from Weinstein.
So, given the optics here, I would not be the least bit surprised to learn that Bynes was victimized by one or more sleazeballs in the industry. To wit: Her show “The Amanda Show” on Nickelodeon was created by Dan Schneider, who is rumored to be a known predator among the underage actresses of the shows he produced for the network.
Further, right around the beginning of the #MeToo movement, he was summarily fired from Nickelodeon because of his reputation for predation and bad temper – though neither side will confirm nor deny what went down behind the scenes.
All the symptoms are hiding in plain sight. So mark my words: Amanda Bynes may have been one of his victims.
If she is truly pregnant and wants to keep the baby, it is possible she is inpatient to change or modify medications that needs to happen under medical supervision. She may not be there because of a downward spiral. One can hope. I wish her well and pray she always gets the help she needs regardless of the current gossip.