Jenelle Evans Returns to Teen Mom in Hopes of Starting Fresh Following David Eason Split

Jenelle Evans made her return to Teen Mom Thursday on the all-new episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter after being fired from the franchise in 2019.

Eager to start fresh after announcing her separating from estranged husband, David Eason, in March, Jenelle traveled to Orlando, Florida to meet up with castmate, Briana DeJesus, in hopes of starting over.

Debating between moving to the sunshine state and Las Vegas — where she has a friend and potential love interest — Jenelle opened up to Briana about having a “fresh start” and what made her want to end things with David for good after a series of ups and downs in their tumultuous six-year marriage.

The straw that broke the camel’s back came after Jenelle’s teenage son, Jace, ran away and accused David of strangling him. Jace made the decision to return home, but with child protective services involved, and criminal charges leveled against David for child abuse and strangulation, Jenelle was forced to choose between her son and her husband.

“I was like, ‘David, he’s coming home and you gotta leave. I’m sorry,'” Jenelle recalled. “This was all a blessing in disguise because it put a no contact order between David and Jace.”

Previously, Jenelle got a restraining order against her ex after he was allegedly emotionally and physically abusive — reportedly damaging their home and injuring her collarbone in a 2018 altercation. The pair’s firing from the series came a year later when David shot and killed her French bulldog after he claimed it nipped at their daughter.

“I definitely have to get a fresh start and get out of North Carolina, so that’s why I’m here,” Jenelle shared.

While it’s unclear whether she’ll land in Florida, Nevada or stay in her North Carolina home, Jenelle is moving on from David and moving forward as she raises her three kids as a single mom. In addition to Jace, Jenelle shares son Kaiser, 9, with former fiancé Nathan Griffith, and daughter, Ensley, 7, with David.

Speaking with E! News, Jenelle gave more insight into what prompted her to finally separate from her ex.

“I was over it for awhile and would tell friends that I’m over it and I’m going to leave. But at the same time, it’s hard to leave when you’re both on the same deed to the house. It took me awhile to actually get a little window of opportunity to leave, to file everything I had to file,” Jenelle told the outlet.

She said she officially filed a complaint for separation when David left the 10-acre North Carolina property they once shared to bunk in their nearby boat after Jace returned home.

“There’s haters out there that are like, ‘Why didn’t she just leave and file separation when she can?'” she explained, saying North Carolina’s law that spouses must be separated for one year before they can have what the state considers an “absolute divorce.” However, she continued, “you both have to be at two different physical addresses to file for separation, so one of us had to leave and we were both butting heads. It was very difficult because you both have to agree to separate. And most of the time, that doesn’t happen.”

While the separation was a long time coming, Jenelle said that said that she did what she could to get away from him before filing paperwork.

“I would always have to walk away. I would walk away either in my house to my bedroom or I would have to take the kids and drive somewhere away from him, just separating yourself from someone that’s that negative,” Jenelle shared. “That was the only thing that would help calm me down.”

With a return to the show — her second time since making a brief cameo in 2022 while attending an event for Briana — Jenelle has a new outlook on life and is ready to leave the past in the past.

“I feel like so much stuff has happened here that it’s like, ‘I’ve got to get out and relocate and get that fresh start, leave all the bad memories behind,” she added.

While Briana has been welcoming to Jenelle, it’ll be interesting how the rest of the cast reacts to her return.

Both Mackenzie McKee and Maci Bookout expressed their support for Jenelle ahead of this season’s premiere, with Maci telling TooFab, in part, “Being back on the show, with everything she’s had going on, and currently going through, her story can really help a lot of people; especially people who have gone through something similar or are going through something similar and can relate to her.”

She continued, “I feel like it’s gonna make a difference for people that need see this and see how she got away. I hate to use those words, but I just feel like it’s important for some people — men and women — to see her story because they do relate to it.”

Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on MTV.