It’s official.
And, for Jenelle Evans, it’s officially exciting. Not to mention life changing.
On Saturday, the Teen Mom alum confirmed that she now has custody of her teenage son Jace… following more than a decade of the child living under the care of Jenelle’s mother Barbara.
First we heard this may be a strong possibility late last month.
“My mother and I decided to give full custody back to me because we want to restore our relationship as mother and daughter,” Jenelle told Us Weekly on March 18.
“Also, my mother agrees that it is time for Jace to return to his siblings and live with his mother and daughter.
“He also thinks it’s important for Jace to be around a father to learn ‘boy things’ and have ‘boys to talk to.'”
That dad, of course, happens to be Jenelle’s violent, racist and homophobic husband, David Eason, so we’re not sure we completely agree with Barbara on this last point.
Over the years (and years and years), Jenelle and her mother have fought over the former’s problems with substance abuse, as well as various issues regarding Jace.
“Jace has become too much for Barbara to handle. That’s the main reason she’s allowing Jenelle to have custody,” a source told our friends at The Ashley a few weeks ago.
Last April, as an example of Jace’s troubling behavior and the struggles he faces under Barbara’s roof, Jenelle said that she the son burned down his grandmother’s house.
In a previous custody attempt for her first child, the former Teen Mom 2 cast member told a judge that Jace was “at risk of bodily harm” in his grandmother’s care, detailing the time of his “escalating problems with behavior that causes him to be physically aggressive, out of control and unsafe.”
Fast forward almost a year and Jenelle has nothing but positive things to say about her mom after this decision.
“He saw the way David parented my kids and he knew we could do it,” Evans told Us Weekly this weekend.
“We want everyone to get along for the sake of the children and like I said before, rebuild our relationship as mother and daughter.
“We officially signed the papers on Thursday, March 16th at the courthouse, the deal is done!”
Evans gave birth to Jace at age 17 and gave him to Barbara almost immediately.
Jace’s father, Andrew Lewis, has never really been in the picture.
In addition to Jace, Jenelle also shares son Kaiser with ex Nathan Griffith and son Ensley with husband Eason.
In the spring of 2019, Jenelle and David temporarily lost custody of their children after Jenelle’s husband shot and killed their family dog after it bit Ensley in May of that year.
Their custody was restored two months later.
Two years later, Evans explained that Jace was with her and Eason more often amid the coronavirus pandemic because the teenager’s behavior “wasn’t the best at my mom’s house,” she said in a YouTube video. then.
“We gave him many, many, many chances, and told him he better behave, and it’s just my mom — she’s fed up,” shared the OnlyFans content creator.
“And she called me and she said, ‘Yes, well, he’s naughty again.
“I don’t know how he’s going to do his school work and pass if he keeps this up.’”
Jenelle’s manager, August Keen, also appeared in the article today after a month-long absence, telling Us Weekly how great and wonderful and perfect Jenelle and David are doing in their relationship.
“Jenelle and David are really together and things between them are great,” she told the tabloid on Saturday.
“They are a happy family and they are perfectly fine.”