MTV/Instagram "Teen Mom 2" alum Jenelle Evans issued a new statement about son Jace living with her instead of her mom.
Teen Mom 2 alum Jenelle Evans issued a new statement after her mother, Barbara, told TMZ Jenelle “misspoke” when the former MTV personality said her 11-year-old son Jace was living with her full-time. According to Jenelle, Jace came to live with her and her husband, David Eason, on “The Land” in North Carolina because he was “misbehaving” under Barbara’s care.
“His behavior wasn’t the best at my mom’s house. We gave him many, many, many chances and told him he better behave, and my mom, she was fed up,” she said in a YouTube video, which was uploaded on January 17. “And she called me and she said, ‘Yeah, that’s it. He’s misbehaving again. I don’t know how he’s going to do his schoolwork and pass if he keeps it up.'”
Regarding Barbara’s statement to TMZ, Jenelle said that right now they share custody of Jace but they are going to change that in the future.
“I answered some questions on TikTok saying that, you know, I had Jace full-time and that was all that matters and I have custody of him. Now that I said that, before I even uploaded this YouTube video, everyone is … posting about it,” she said.
The social media influencer added: “So let me explain this. Me and my mom have split custody until we go to court and change the paperwork. But right now, Jace is living full-time with me. And this is because of his behavior, and my mom can’t handle it anymore.”
Jenelle revealed that she talked to Jace before sharing the news on TikTok that he was living with her again. The 11-year-old was reportedly fine with his mom discussing the update, but he didn’t want her to elaborate further.
“Yes, Jace knows that I’m posting this, and we discussed it,” the 29-year-old added. “And he said, ‘That’s fine if you tell people that. Just please don’t go in detail.’ And I respect that.”
Jenelle First Said Her Three Children Are Happy Healthy
Speculation about Jace’s custody kicked off after Jenelle posted a TikTok video where she said all three of her children were now living with her. “I have custody of Jace. He lives with me now full-time. My [three] kids are happy, they’re healthy. That’s all that f***ing matters,” she said.
She then addressed fans who have just started to watch Teen Mom 2 since it was added to Netflix. Jenelle agreed she didn’t like the way she acted during the early days of the reality show, but she wanted to know that was 10 years ago and she has grown up since then.
“I totally get it. I would hate me too if I was watching me, but if you catch up with me now, I’m doing a lot better you guys,” she continued. “Peace love happiness, b**ches.”
Barbara Has Had Custody of Jace Since He Was a Baby
Jenelle signed custody of Jace over to her mother before Jace’s first birthday. His father, Andrew Lewis, wasn’t in the picture, though he did appear on her episode of 16 and Pregnant.
After Jace, Jenelle went on to welcome 7-year-old son Kaiser with ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith. Following their split, she met David and they have 3-year-old Ensley Jolie together.
David was fired from Teen Mom 2 in 2018 for making alleged homophobic and transphobic statements. Jenelle and Barbara were both let go from the series the following year after David shot and killed the family’s pet, a French bulldog named Nugget.
The dog’s death sparked an investigation by Child Protective Services, leading to Kaiser and Ensley being removed from the home amid abuse allegations. The kids were later returned to the land in July 2019. Following the return of the children, Jenelle and David briefly split. They were pictured together in January 2020 and then they confirmed they had reconciled in March 2020.
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