Jenelle Evans Offers Rare Glimpse Of Blended Family After Being Awarded Full Custody Of Eldest Son
Jenelle Evans is feeling extra grateful this Easter after recently regaining custody of her 13-year-old son, Jace.
The Teen Mom 2 star offered a glimpse of her blended family's Sunday, April 9, together via Instagram one day after the festivities. "Easter vibes, and sunny skies! #HappyEaster 🌤️💗🐇," the mother-of-three captioned her carousel.
The first photo featured Jenelle standing with Jace and her two other children: son Kaiser, 8, and daughter Ensley, 6. The crew was joined by Jenelle's husband, David Eason, and his 15-year-old daughter, Maryssa. Jenelle and David share Ensley, while she shares Kaiser with ex Nathan Griffith.
Proving to be a family unit, Jace matched his stepdad in a button-up shirt and hat.
Jenelle's fans flocked to the comments section to react to Jace's appearance in the family photos after the reality star was given full custody of her eldest son, as her mom, Barbara Evans, was his legal guardian for 13 years.
“Jace has a mustache ??? Lord our internet nephew is growing up on us,” one Instagram user wrote, while another added: “What happened to Jace? He’s just a full blown adult now!?”
The now-31-year-old and former boyfriend Andrew Lewis welcomed Jace in 2009. Given that Jenelle gave birth to him at age 17, the MTV star gave her mom custody of her first born.
Jenelle and her mom have had a strained relationship for years over the custody of Jace, with the star accusing her mother of not letting her parent Jace, while Barbara claimed her daughter never cared for her son enough.
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Upon celebrating the major win, Jenelle insisted on social media, "Our family is complete now," before thanking her mom — whom she said is "completely fine" with the decision.
With tears streaming down her face as she showed the official paperwork, Jenelle told her followers late last month: "It's done. It's done."
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After Barbara agreed to give custody back to her daughter, the former television star told Us Weekly: “My mother agrees it’s time for Jace to be back with his siblings and living with a mother and father.”
“She also thinks it’s important for Jace to be around a father figure to learn ‘boy things’ and have ‘men talk,’” she said.
Jenelle married David in 2017 and the two have had a complicated relationship ever since. David was responsible for his wife losing custody of her other two children in May 2019 after he shot and killed their family dog.
Kaiser and Ensley returned to her North Carolina home in July 2019, and later that year, Jenelle and David broke up only to reconcile in 2020. At the time of their split, Jenelle accused David of abuse and filed for a temporary restraining order.