Jenelle Evans has been in the headlines a lot lately. In April, the Teen Mom 2 star made headlines when she inserted herself into Nathan Griffith’s legal drama. This month, she’s making waves by sending her eldest son, Jace Evans, to live with his biological father after behavioral outbursts resulted in multiple 911 calls. However, Jenelle Evans refuses to take responsibility for the troubles Jace is experiencing. She’s blaming her mother.

Jenelle Evans says he’s not responsible for Jace Evans’ behavioral struggles

Jace Evans appears to be struggling after multiple moves and a decade-long custody fight. Jenelle Evans called 911 on her 15-year-old son twice in the year they had been living in Las Vegas to claim he was raging and breaking things inside their home. In response to the latest 911 call, Evans opted to send her teenage son to live with his biological father, Andrew Lewis. Lewis has been largely absent from the teen’s life. Evans was dragged on social media for the decision. Now she’s clapping back. She’s pointing the finger at her mother.

Jenelle took to TikTok shortly after news of Jace’s custody change broke to explain the situation. The former reality TV star claimed she was acting in Jace’s “best interest” and outlined a pattern of aggressive outbursts by the teen. After social media users suggested Evans was partially to blame for Jace’s struggles, she quickly blamed her mom. She repeatedly claimed she wasn’t part of the issue, as Jace didn’t “grow up” in her house. Anyone familiar with Jenelle knows her mother took over legal custody of Jace when he was less than a year old, and had been his primary caregiver before that, too.

Who has had custody of Jace during his life?

Teen Mom fans aren’t surprised that Jenelle Evans refuses to take responsibility for Jace Evans or any troubles he is currently experiencing. It’s actually completely on brand if you watched the series from the very beginning. Jenelle initially claimed she intended to raise he son when she was pregnant. It didn’t happen that way, though. Teen Mom 2 cameras were on hand to capture early battles with her mother, Barbara Evans, over who would be watching the newborn.

Evans, who has struggled with substance abuse multiple times, signed over custody of Jace to her mother, Barbara Evans, in 2010. He was just a toddler. A judge granted Jenelle visitation with the boy. She was arrested multiple times over the years. She even briefly lost custody of her two younger children. While they battled over custody multiple times, Barbara cared for he eldest grandson until 2023.  

In March 2023, Barbara agreed to transfer custody of the now-teenaged Jace to Jenelle. He moved into a home with his mother, then-stepfather, David Eason, half-siblings Kaiser Griffith and Ensley Eason, and his stepsister, Maryssa Eason. Problems with the living arrangement began early.

By October 2023, Jenelle had reported Jace missing multiple times after runaway attempts. After his stepfather allegedly attacked him, he was sent to live with his grandmother again. That placement was short-lived, too. After another runaway attempt, Jace was moved to a residential facility, then to a foster home. He returned to his mother’s house in February 2024 after David Eason moved out. The family moved from North Carolina to Las Vegas in May 2024. In the two years Jenelle has had custody of Jace, he has lived in seven different homes in three states.