Former ‘Teen Mom 2’ Stars Jenelle and Barbara Evans Are Feuding Following Jace Evans Runaway Incident

Jenelle Evans and Barbara Evans are publicly feuding once again. The mother-daughter duo has a long history of very public battles. This time, the former Teen Mom 2 stars are at odds over Jenelle’s eldest child, Jace Evans. Their most recent spat stems from a disagreement regarding what led to Jace Evans’ runaway attempt. The teen has since been found safe and returned to his mother. 

Barbara Evans and Jenelle Evans are feuding after Jace ran away from home 

Jenelle and Barbara Evans have a tumultuous relationship, and the former Teen Mom 2 stars have hit yet another rocky patch. The mother-daughter duo are once again feuding following Jace Evans’ brief disappearance. 

According to TMZ, Barbara Evans is concerned that there is more to the story regarding Jace’s runaway attempt. The publication caught up with the 70-year-old grandmother on Aug. 17, and she expressed concern about Jace and whether he is being denied access to therapeutic medication and therapy. She told the publication that she worries the younger Evans took the teen off of medication used to treat ADHD when she was awarded custody in March 2023. He was put on the medication as an elementary school student. She also said she believed he was no longer seeing a behavioral specialist he had been working with. 

Jenelle, for her part, denies the allegations. She said she had cut contact with Barbara Evans several weeks earlier and that Barbara had not been in contact with Jace since he disappeared. The younger Evans also disputed her mother’s claim that Jace is no longer seeing a specialist. She said the boy had an appointment with a therapist since his runaway attempt.  

Why did the teen run away from home? 

Jace was reported missing after he did not return home from school on Aug. 15. The 14-year-old was last seen around 2:45 pm leaving the property of his North Carolina charter school. Hours later, Jace was found safe. During the tense hours he was missing, Jenelle said her son had disappeared after a behavioral issue at school prompted her to take his phone away. She downplayed the severity of the problem, insisting that Jace was being a typical teenage boy. 

Evans’ social media followers quickly theorized that there might be more behind Jace’s runaway attempt than an argument over a cell phone. Jace went missing just a couple of days after Jenelle and her husband, David Eason, argued publicly on Facebook. The troubled pair threw accusations at each other in Jenelle’s comment section before some fans suggested they settle down for the sake of their children. Jenelle insists he and her husband do not fight in front of their kids, but considering the spats filmed for Teen Mom 2, not everyone is buying that. 

Barbara Evans spoke to TMZ in the wake of Jace’s disappearance but merely said she had spoken to the boy on Monday, and nothing seemed amiss. When exactly he had his phone taken from him remains unclear, but sometime between the elder Evans’ Monday call with Jace and his disappearance, something went awry. While the former Teen Mom 2 star issued a public statement through her manager after Jace was located, she did not offer additional details about his disappearance or how she would handle the issue moving forward. 

Jenelle Evans has publicly discussed Jace Evans’ behavioral issues 

While Jenelle recently insisted that her mother allowed her to take custody of Jace because of her advancing age, that is not what Jenelle told her followers several months ago. In April, the former reality TV star revealed that Barbara could no longer handle Jace and his behavioral issues. There is a lengthy history of court documents and MTV footage to back up that claim, too. 

According to the U.S. Sun, Jenelle filed for an emergency change of custody in 2021. According to court documents, Jenelle believed Jace was in danger because Barbara could not handle his mounting behavioral problems. She even alleged the boy, then 11, had set fires in his grandmother’s home during outbursts. She said he had attacked the elder Evans during a disagreement, as well. 

The elder Evans was granted custody of Jace in 2010. She had sole custody of the boy for several years and even briefly took in Jenelle’s youngest child, Ensley Eason. Currently, Barbara has no plans to seek custody of Jace or any of Jenelle’s other children. When and if the mother-daughter duo will mend their relationship is a different issue entirely. For now, Jace is back home with his mother and siblings. No further issues have been reported.