Strange Things About Jenelle Evans' Marriage
Fans of MTV's 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom 2 have been given a front row seat to Jenelle Evans' love life, which many would describe as a revolving door. Each relationship she's had has run the gamut of dysfunctional drama, from allegations of physical abuse to drug arrests and custody battles.
She divorced ex-husband Courtland Rogers in June 2014 and got engaged to Nathan Griffin, the father of her son Kaiser in January 2015. After ending that engagement, she told Entertainment Tonight in August 2015, "I am not looking to date anyone at the moment. I am focusing on myself."
She soon poo-pooed her plan to stay single and, by September of that same year, she was out on a double date with a mysterious man she met on Tinder — who was later identified as David Eason. In true Evans fashion, their relationship went from 0 to 100 real quick. By January 2017, she gave birth to their daughter, Ensley Jolie, and, in September of that year, the couple got married.
In between the layers of their happy and joyous occasions lies a wacky relationship that will leave you shocked and downright bewildered. Here are all the strange things about Jenelle Evans' marriage.
A huge fight threatened to ruin everything
Viewers were anxious to watch Jenelle Evans and David Eason walk down the aisle after he proposed in February 2017. But for a minute there, it appeared that the wedding wasn't going to happen!
Aside from the drama surrounding her estranged mom, Barbara, being snubbed from the guest list, footage that later aired on an episode of Teen Mom 2 showed the couple involved in a massive argument about wedding preparations the night before their big day. An insider told Radar Online that Evans slammed her engagement ring on a table in the backyard of their home and reportedly yelled, "No, I'm done, you can have the ring!" She then allegedly drove off in a tizzy as their guests watched in horror.
Eason later spoke to the publication and had this to say: "When I'm out here working constantly, every f***ing minute of the day, she's sitting around... This place looks different every day. It's all because of me. These people wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me."
They eventually got married the very next day, of course, but this sounds like the absolute worst way to start off a new marriage, doesn't it?
A big purchase sparked divorce rumors
The couple built their "dream home" and shared a photo of their new digs in a March 2017 Instagram post. The home and the massive amount of nature that surrounds it — which Evans affectionately calls "the land" — was described as their family's "forever home" in her Instagram caption.
As attached as she is to her major purchase, fans were surprised in December 2017 when news broke that Evans purchased even more land near her sprawling home located in North Carolina, according to Radar Online.
Although her husband was reportedly listed as the grantee on the deed, many assumed the new real estate purchase was proof the couple was headed for divorce. Evans only poured gasoline on the flames when she recorded herself singing Hailee Steinfeld's breakup song "Let Me Go" following news of the purchase.
Is the new property Evans' backup plan if things with her husband go south? We'll have to wait and see.
Relationship status switcheroo
A Facebook relationship status-changing fiasco occurred just three months after the couple tied the knot. Eason changed his status from "married" to "it's complicated" before deleting his Facebook profile entirely, sending fans of the show into an utter panic.
Evans addressed Eason's bold move in a rather snarky way during an interview with Radar Online. "If I have sex with my husband, it's my business. If I go skydiving with my husband, it's my business. If I want to s**t on my husband's hand, it's all my business," she told the website. Well, that's one way to put the divorce rumors to rest... said no one ever.
By June 2018, he was back on the social media platform, but he and Evans both hid their relationship statuses this time, according to an updated report by Radar Online. Evans even took things one step further by changing her cover photo to a picture of her with her children Kaiser and Ensley. Eason remarked on the photo change in a since-deleted comment that read (via Radar Online), "Nice! Make sure I'm not in the picture...that will make him mad."
Changing a Facebook relationship status doesn't always equate to troubles within a marriage ... for any normal relationship, that is. In the case of Evans and Eason, we wouldn't be shocked if they change their statuses every time they get into a little spat, which is just strange if you ask us.
Criminal cronies
Evans' ex-husband, Courtland Rogers, revealed to Radar Online that he and Eason go way back. During the time that Rogers was married to the Teen Mom 2 star, he and Eason were cellmates in jail. Yes, we're totally serious.
"I talked to [Eason] every day," he said about their time behind bars. "He knew we were married. I would always talk about her. He would sit there and listen and give me feedback. He was cool." Rogers, was released from jail a few weeks before Eason, continued, "When I heard she was with him, I was like, 'Oh my god! This is crazy.' I don't know how that worked." By September 2015, Rogers' jail buddy was hooking up with his former bae.
Despite it all, Rogers claims to have no hard feelings about the whole situation. "At the end of the day I'm happy for her," he said (via Radar).
Keeping busy works wonders, or so she says
Prior to tying the knot, Evans spoke to Us Weekly about all of the plans she and Eason had in store. "We have a lot of projects that are coming up and we're working on them as a team, just like we have been, but this time together as a family. So it will be great," she said. "We're looking into house renovations, buying and flipping. I have a cosmetics line that's about to come out and he's helping me with that, just a lot of the business aspect behind it."
When she was asked how they make time for their relationship despite their hectic schedules, Evans answered, "We stay busy, but I think that's it." She then added, "You stay busy and if you stay busy there's nothing really to argue about." Um, come again?
This would be believable if the couple's arguments weren't plastered all over the small screen and the Internet week after week, like their vicious, no-holds-barred yelling matches. Maybe they're not staying busy enough?
Putting the blame on her bread and butter
Before Jenelle Evans and David Eason's wedding day, Teen Mom 2 producers showed up on the couple's doorstep with cameras in tow, prepared to capture some footage from the couple's engagement photoshoot. But they had no idea the pair had canceled the shoot after they'd gotten into yet another argument.
While standing outside of their home, the producers allegedly received a text message from Eason telling them to get off the property or they would be escorted off by the police, according to E! News. The crew left and showed up the next day to resume filming. When they asked the couple to explain what happened the day before, Eason denied an argument had occurred, which was super sketchy.
Evans addressed the incident in an Instagram post, which read, in part, "Because David didn't feel like explaining another argument or drama on camera they make it look as if David is hiding some weird a** s**t from the public as if he was hurting me in some way?!" She also threatened to quit the show, saying things were "getting to [sic] out of hand."
"It's not healthy for us anymore, just harming us mentally," she wrote.
Eason was later fired from the show after he went on a homophobic Twitter rant. But something tells us that even without a camera capturing the private moments in their marriage, drama will ensue in the Evans-Eason household.
Did she reach out to an ex?
As tumultuous as her relationship with Rogers was — in 2013 they were both arrested for heroin possession and domestic assault — Evans would never dream of reaching out to him for any reason whatsoever, right? Well, not so fast.
The MTV star's marriage to Eason was allegedly on the rocks in December 2017 during the whole aforementioned Facebook status-changing drama. And at the time all the rumors were floating around about the couple heading for Splitsville, her ex-husband, Rogers, tweeted, "Don't u dare get people to try and contact me like that lmfao omg" (via OK! magazine).
Evans has a history of rekindling things with her former flames. She got back with her ex, Kieffer Delp, after ending things with her ex-fiancé, Gary Head. And when her redux romance with Delp fizzled out, she went back to Head's arms.
So are we really surprised that she maybe tried to reach out to Rogers during a time when she and Eason were reportedly battling it out? Nope, not one bit.
Her mom isn't a fan
One person who attempts to steer Evans in the right direction is her mom, Barbara. The mother-daughter duo have famously battled over custody of Evans' eldest son, Jace, and many of their most volatile fights have been in regards to Evans' questionable taste in men and relationship choices. Unsurprisingly, Barbara isn't a fan of her son-in-law, Eason, either.
In an exclusive interview with Radar Online prior to Eason and Evans getting married, Barbara expressed her concerns. "I think once he puts that ring on her finger he's going to have so much control over her," Barbara said. "She's going to be choked to where she won't be able to breathe. He'll have so much control, more so than he does now."
Barbara was also worried about her grandchild, Kaiser, who was conceived during Evans' relationship with her ex-fiancé Nathan Griffin. "I'm very much so worried about Kaiser. I don't think David likes Kaiser ... because he's a clone of [Griffin]. She says it's none of my business. They won't let me see Kaiser," she said.
Come to find out, her mother isn't the only one who isn't on board with this strange marriage...
Her fans are worried, too
During an episode of the show, Jenelle Evans asked her mom, Barbara, if her eldest son, Jace, could spend Mother's Day with her. Barbara, who has primary custody of the child, refused to comply unless Evans' husband wasn't around, according to OK! magazine.
Viewers have watched Eason make hurtful comments to both of Evans' kids from previous relationships, including the time he called Kaiser, "a little screaming b***h," and the time he told Jace, "You're 6 years old. Do not scream like a little girl!" So can we really blame Barbara for not wanting Eason around her grandson?
Many social media users were #TeamBarbara and began flooding Twitter with messages directed toward Evans. "David is starting to behave differently. You need to be careful. Jace sees it," one user tweeted. Evans responded, "Not true, you will see. Everything is always manipulated."
Evans then took to her Instagram to defend her man in a caption that read, in part, "You know they're gonna say we're bad for each other, but we ain't good for anyone else. I love you so much, despite what anyone else thinks."
We certainly wish this couple the best — even if Evans' mom and many of her fans are against this rather strange marriage.
An alleged vicious attack was the final straw
Jenelle Evans revealed in May 2019 that her beloved French bulldog, Nugget, had passed away. In an Instagram post, she didn't share how her pooch died, though she wrote, in part, "You still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow from your lessons."
In a since-deleted Instagram post (via Us Weekly), Eason shared a video of the late dog snapping at their daughter Ensley Eason. "I don't give a d**n what animal bites my baby on the face," he captioned the video, before adding, "Whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I don't put up with that s**t at all." Evans later confirmed to Us Weekly (via TMZ) that Eason allegedly killed Nugget in April 2019 for snapping at Ensley. "He just took her and shot her in the woods, about two acres away from the house," she said.
According to TMZ, while the sheriff's department and the Animal Control unit launched an animal cruelty investigation, MTV released a statement to the gossip rag and confirmed Evans had been fired from Teen Mom. MTV execs reportedly spoke to Evans' manager and said "the killing of Nugget was the last straw and they feared [Eason] was out of control and wanted no part in what they see as a looming disaster."
Evans is reportedly mulling over whether to divorce Eason or not, and her fans can only hope she makes the right decision.