Teen Mother’s Jenelle Evans Reveals Purpose for Son Jace’s Transfer to Florida

The Teen Mother 2 alum took to TikTok on Tuesday to deal with the backlash she’s confronted after revealing she let her 15-year-old son Jace transfer to Florida to stay along with his organic father, Andrew Lewis.

“You guys are taking a look at it as a destructive state of affairs, however everybody behind closed doorways is taking a look at it as a optimistic factor for him,” Evans mentioned. “You’ll be able to say all you need. You’ll be able to say I am not taking good care of my children. Being a mom is doing one of the best curiosity on your little one and I’m doing one of the best curiosity for my little one.”

Studies emerged earlier this week that Jace had flown to Florida to stay with Lewis, prompting followers to query Evans’ parenting and her determination to let Jace stay with a person who’s largely been absent for many of the teen’s life.

However based on Jenelle, the transfer was a essential one.

“He was identified with ADHD on the age of 10,” she revealed in her TikTok video. “And most just lately, in 2023, he was additionally identified with main depressive dysfunction alongside along with his ADHD and defiant dysfunction or ODD.”

She continued, “With defiant dysfunction, it is very laborious to cope with. Children act out on objective as a result of they need consideration. They haven’t any regret. They haven’t any empathy for what they did.”

Evans went on to explain her son’s ongoing psychological well being struggles as a long-standing “secret” within the household, earlier than explaining why she hadn’t publicly shared these points till now.

“We by no means needed to place it in entrance of the media and clarify it as a result of it was Jace’s privateness,” she defined. “Now we have gotten to the purpose the place it is occurred too many occasions, a number of incidents for years and years and years. One thing needed to be completed.”

That one thing, was calling Lewis and asking for assist, throughout what Evans mentioned was a second of panic.

“I had a panic assault and I ended up calling Andrew crying and I used to be like, ‘I do not know what to do anymore. I need assistance,'” Evans recalled. “And he mentioned, ‘Let me provide help to. Let me provide help to.'”

Along with her ex, Lewis’ mom can also be a part of Jace’s new help system in Florida.

“Collectively we got here to this settlement that it will be the most suitable choice for him proper now,” Evans went on to clarify.

And whereas it is the fitting determination for Jace proper now, Evans, who additionally shares son Kaiser, 10, with ex Nathan Griffith, and daughter Ensley, 8, with estranged husband David Eason, mentioned in no way has it been a simple one.

“We have tried the whole lot we may,” she maintained. “Proper now, he must be in a state of affairs the place each households are protected.”

Whereas some followers questioned why her mom, Barbara Evans, who had custody of Jace for a lot of his adolescence, did not step in once more, Jenelle mentioned bluntly: “She could not deal with it anymore.”

The transfer comes after some headline-making incidents from the teenager, which included Jace operating away from house, amongst different issues.

However even with the backlash, Evans mentioned she appears like she’s making the fitting determination for her son on this second.

“I really feel like while you’re coparenting, if either side of the household can come collectively to assist remedy these points earlier than they flip into an grownup … it is simply actually essential,” she mentioned. “I put all of the drama apart and mentioned, ‘Let’s simply do that.'”

Should you or somebody you recognize wants assist with psychological well being textual content “STRENGTH” to the Disaster Textual content Line at 741-741 to be related to an authorized disaster counselor.