Paul Michael, boyfriend of child star and actress Amanda Bynes, has shared that the two are expecting their first baby. Paul made the announcement via Instagram and posted a series of ultrasound photos with the caption "Baby in the making." He later deleted the photos.
Amanda has not yet confirmed reports of the pregnancy on her own account. She is currently living in a treatment center as she copes with mental health concerns. She and Paul also recently called off their engagement, but the two appear to have patched things back up.
They had previously announced their engagement on Valentine's Day this year, but three weeks later Amanda removed all photos of Paul from her Instagram feed. Michael also told In Touch Weekly, "I love her though, she’s my best friend" following their split. The pair reportedly met at the end of 2019, and when Amanda introduced him to her fans and followers, she gushed, "Hey everyone, this is Paul, my fiancé. I’m so lucky. As you can see, he’s drop-dead gorgeous. He’s also the best person on the face of the earth."
Amanda has definitely experienced her own ups and downs over the years, often struggling with mental health concerns and making her way back into the public eye.
Amanda began her career at age 10 when she became a regular performer on All That, and she really got her big break when she was 13 and hosted The Amanda Show on Nickelodeon. From there she moved on to several starring roles in TV shows and movies, including Big Fat Liar and She's the Man.
Amanda surprised many when she announced her retirement from acting via Twitter in 2010. She also revealed that she had been struggling with substance abuse problems for years. It was a shock to many, especially since Amanda's comedic skills and timing had been praised by others. Kathie Lee Gifford once compared her to Lucille Ball, saying, "I found her to be so unbelievably refreshing. She's so, so talented, so funny. Working with her, I felt like it was what Lucille Ball must have been like early on. She was that good."
Amanda and her Amanda Show costar, Taran Killam, were rumored to be dating, and he appeared by her side at a few events. Taran is also a comedian, and he currently appears on Saturday Night Live. He also appeared with Amanda in Big Fat Liar, a 2002 comedy about a teen who has his homework stolen and turned into a successful movie.
In 2003, Amanda had the starring role in What a Girl Wants, a film that costarred Colin Firth. She played an American teen who travels to the UK to meet the father she has never known. It turns out he's a well-known politician who is in the middle of running for office, so her arrival definitely causes some waves.
In 2006, she starred in She's the Man. She has since said that the role sent her into a "deep depression" for months because she didn't like how she looked while playing a boy. She told Paper magazine, "When the movie came out and I saw it, I went into a deep depression for four to six months because I didn't like how I looked when I was a boy."
In 2010, she officially retired from acting. In a post on Twitter, she wrote, "Being an actress isn't as fun as it may seem." She also added, "If I don't love something anymore, I stop doing it. I don't love acting anymore, so I've stopped doing it. I know 24 is a young age to retire, but you heard it here first."
Since then, Amanda has often struggled in a public way. In 2012, she made news following a series of arrests. She was arrested in April of that year for a DUI, and later that year she was arrested in relation to two separate hit-and-run incidents. In September, she was pulled over, and it was discovered that she was driving with a suspended license.
In May 2013, Amanda was arrested again for public endangerment and attempted tampering with physical evidence after she reportedly threw a bong out of her apartment window. She also spent a lot of time on Twitter, writing disparaging messages about other celebrities like Rihanna and Drake.
Amanda really opened up about her mental health in 2018 in an interview with Paper. She shared that following her retirement, she kind of hid out from others. "I isolated a lot. I got really into my drug usage and it became a really dark, sad world for me." But happily, she also shared that she had been sober for four years. "Those days of experimenting [with substances] are long over. I'm not sad about it and I don't miss it because I really feel ashamed of how those substances made me act."
Amanda also shared that she was interested in returning to acting if she could find a way to do it. She was enrolled at LA's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She was hoping to finish her degree and start her own clothing line as well. In fact, she graduated from the program in 2019.
Amanda and Paul have been together since 2019, and she has been living in a sober living facility throughout 2020. If the news of her pregnancy is confirmed, it could definitely be a bright spot for a former child star who weathered a lot of hardship and pain early in her life. Hopefully she will continue to stay on track and work toward a state of more positive mental health.
