NEWS'Teen Mom' Star Ashley Jones Opens Up About Her 'Emotionally' Absent Father, Reveals She Rarely 'Connects' With How She Feels Because Of Past Trauma
Feb. 16 2022, Published 5:14 p.m. ET
Teen Mom star Ashley Jones has revealed the effect her father's substance abuse had on her.
During an appearance on the Thursday, February 17, episode of The Doctors, the MTV star, 24, told Dr. Andrew Ordon that her father's lack of emotional availability to her growing up made a lasting impact on her and her relationships in the present.
When asked by the professional what her "pain pocket" was, Jones explained, "I dealt with a father who had substance abuse issues and he showed up financially but not emotionally."
The reality star — who shares four-year-old daughter Holly, with her husband Bar Smith — noted that due to her dad not physically being there for her, her emphasis on the things that truly matter is a bit skewed.
"I am driven by accomplishments, I'm driven by grades, how nice my car is, how big my house is," Jones explained. "I am not driven by how in tune I am with my emotions."
Jones — who revealed in January that she secretly married the father-of-her child — explained that this has caused friction in her adult relationships. "Because I have been hurt repeatedly by the one man in my life who is obviously supposed to show up," she began,"When my husband does not show up in miniscule ways I blow them up because of what I've been through."
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"Instead of working on that, I just go to work and go about my business," she told Ordon. "I don't connect with how I feel."
As OK! previously reported, in past seasons of the multiple Teen Mom spinoffs that she has starred on — Jones and Smith have had quite the tumultuous relationship before getting married.
During a 2020 episode of Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant, it was revealed that her on-again-off-again partner had requested that their daughter take a paternity test to ensure that he was really the father.
