Jenelle Evans has done a whole lot since she became famous for being a pregnant teenager.
And sure, most of it has been terrible, but still, she’s certainly made a name for herself, you know?
She’s been an absolute hot mess for nearly a decade now … but after all this time, is she finally trying to better herself?
Our Girl Jenelle
Jenelle’s been pretty busy for the past several years, huh? After all, being one of the biggest train wrecks in the history of reality TV doesn’t just happen.
Ah, Memories
She was the first Teen Mom to lose custody of a child when she handed her first kid, Jace, over to her mother so she could smoke weed and get arrested all the time, and things just kind of snowballed from there.
Looking Back
In the early days of Teen Mom 2, we saw her deal with a heroin addiction and a couple of animal abuse scandals. She also, as we mentioned, got arrested quite a bit, though she was never convicted of anything.
Ugh, David
More recently we saw her get involved with David Eason, which was a questionable decision, considering that everyone found out about his history of domestic violence about two days after they started dating.
What a Ride
As we all know, things with David kept getting worse and worse. First we started hearing family members claim that he was abusive to Kaiser, the son Jenelle shares with Nathan Griffith, then began the rumors that he was abusing Jenelle.
So Scary
Jenelle confirmed that last part herself when she called 911 last year and told the operator through sobs that David had hurt her so badly she thought her collarbone may have been broken.
Oh No
And just within the past month or two, she confirmed the rumors about Kaiser by publicly admitting that David had once locked the poor boy in a car and wouldn’t let him out.
So Difficult
Leaving an abusive marriage is obviously complicated and difficult, but lots of people saw her staying with David so long as the worst thing she’s ever done.
Wow
He killed her dog, almost got her other two children removed from her custody, he was the reason she lost her spot on Teen Mom 2 … and also he was, you know, himself around her poor kids.
What a Recap
So yes, Jenelle has done a whole lot of things that a whole lot of people don’t agree with. This was just a very basic overview of those things, but you know we could be here all day going over her wrongdoings if we wanted to get more specific.
Go Jenelle!
But back in October, she made a huge step in changing things when she left David.
Thank Goodness
And not only did she leave him, she left the whole entire state. She took Kaiser and Ensley, moved to Tennessee, and got a restraining order against him.
Hmmm
As for the actual divorce, we don’t know too many details — in her original statement, Jenelle simply said that she’d started the process. North Carolina law states that you have to be separated for a year before you can even file for divorce, and we’re not sure if she’s going to be able to do everything in Tennessee instead, so it may be awhile before she’s legally done with the marriage.
A Miracle
But it does seem like she’s done with him in every other way, and that’s remarkable, right? It’s not too often that we can say we’re proud of Jenelle, but we’re certainly proud of her for this.
A Brand New Jenelle?
And based on some things she’s posted on social media, it looks like leaving David is just the beginning of a whole new journey of self-betterment.
Therapy?!
Here’s one of the things she’s shared this week. And yeah, we know it’s just a screenshot of someone else’s tweet, but still, it’s a great sign, right?
Here’s Hoping
We really hope her sharing this means that she’s been going to therapy, but even if she’s just opening herself up to the idea, that’s a huge step for her, right?
Yay, Motherhood!
She also posted this little thing about the struggles of being a mother. Normally we’d roll her eyes over her posting something like this, but she actually did do something huge for her kids when she left David, and unless she really does have that new boyfriend we’ve heard all the rumors about and he’s stepping up quick in a major way, she really is caring for Kaiser and Ensley all by herself during this tumultuous time, which can’t be easy.
Getting Comfortable
Then there’s this, which we imagine is about David. We’re glad to see that she’s not missing him, although considering everything, it was hard to imagine that she was.
Breaking Up
Just this morning she shared this one about breaking up, which makes it sound like she was done with David a while before she actually left him, which makes sense.
Oof
We especially like this one about running something by your mother before you say it about another woman, just because we enjoy the visual of David passing a note to his mom about how Jenelle is “loose,” etc.
The Dream
And finally we have this post in which Jenelle seems to indicate that she realizes what a disaster this year was for her and that she knows she has to do better.
Is 2020 Jenelle’s Year?
If that’s true, how amazing would that be?
So Powerful
Like, just imagine there’s truth in all these memes she’s been sharing, and that she’s going to therapy and recognizing everything she’s done wrong and dedicating herself to doing better for herself and her children … really just imagine it.
Hey, We Can Dream
This decade may have not been a great one for her, but if even a small part of that is true … look out, world, because Jenelley’s comin’ for ya.