‘Teen Mom 2’ Alum Jenelle Evans and David Eason Split, She Files for Separation After 6 Years of Marriage

Teen Mom 2 alum Jenelle Evans has split from husband David Eason after six turbulent years of marriage, with the former reality star filing for a legal separation in a North Carolina court on February 23, The U.S. Sun reports.

Jenelle, 32, claimed in court paperwork that the two officially separated on February 16, “with the intent that the separation be permanent.” She cited David’s “erratic” behavior, “substance abuse” issues and his refusal to work as reasons behind the split.

“Throughout the duration of the marriage of the parties, the defendant has exhibited concerning and at times disturbing behavior towards the plaintiff,” Jenelle stated.

The duo hinted that there was trouble in their relationship the days before Jenelle filed for separation. The couple changed their relationship status to “separated” on their public Facebook profiles shortly after Child Protective Services dropped their case against the pair on February 15, 2024.

In addition to their updated statuses, Jenelle and David were no longer following each other on Instagram as of February 22, the day before Jenelle’s filing.

The pair had a year full of hurdles in 2023, including an online brawl, three missing persons reports involving Jenelle’s 14-year-old son Jace and David’s child abuse misdemeanor charge involving the teenager.

The status of Jenelle and David’s marriage was questioned by fans in August 2023, when the reality TV alum opened up about feeling “stuck” in her relationship. “Being around negative energy everyday all day is getting exhausting. I need to force myself to have friends because at this point I’m making myself introverted,” Jenelle shared via Facebook on August 11, adding the hashtag, “Morning Thoughts.”

For his part, David, 35, chimed in, “Yes get friends, give me space. I like to be alone!” to which Jenelle clapped back, “If you like to be alone stop begging me to be around me.”

“I have gave you space when I went alone to the beach this weekend, doing my errands alone. It’s been amazing!” the 16 & Pregnant alum carried on, before David retorted, “Yea and when I give you space all hell breaks loose!”

Just days later, Jenelle took to social media again and accused her estranged husband of cheating on her and stealing from her, writing, “You’re right David Eason, I have depression because of you. I’ve been mentioning my feelings to the public for a few days now. Stolen debit cards, name calling, buying every toy you want in life and asking for another motorcycle for weeks now, planning and paying for all family trips, having lots of ‘fun’ IN MY OWN HOUSE when I was in [Tennessee] (2019) that I pay for, not coming home until late hours, hearing ‘no one likes you, that’s why you don’t have friends’ on top of lots of other negative things, constantly pushing you off of me because I don’t want you to touch me.”

She continued, “The constant put down I receive everyday is distracting and would discourage anyone from focusing on their life, which I’m not going to let happen ever again. I’m sick of begging you to change and step up for the family. It’s time to start selling.”

It wasn’t the first time the pair have split up. Jenelle threatened to divorce David in October 2019, five months after she was let go from Teen Mom 2.

“The kids and I have moved away from David. Nobody gets into a marriage expecting it to end but I know that’s what is best for me, and for my kids. Today I’ve filed papers to start that process,” Jenelle announced at the time. But she revealed that the couple had reconciled and decided to give their marriage another shot in a March 2020 YouTube video.

Not only did David and Jenelle rekindle their relationship, but she stood by David after he was charged with child abuse involving her son Jace after the teen’s third runaway attempt on September 28, 2023.

“You would think police wouldn’t make a one sided police investigation. They didn’t conduct interviews. Didn’t ask any information from the parents,” Jenelle wrote via her Instagram Story after David was charged, both confirming the news and sticking up for herself and her husband. “This seems like a very bias situation like every time before. I trusted the detective with all my heart.. Forgot you can’t trust cops. Silly me. I do not trust anyone around me. Going MIA for a while.”

David’s child abuse case was moved to superior court during his January 10, 2024, court appearance, In Touch confirmed at the time. According to multiple reports, he was also hit with a felony assault by strangulation charge.
“They found enough evidence to take his case out of district court, where misdemeanors are held, and bring it to superior,” the court clerk confirmed to In Touch.

Jenelle told fans on February 15, 2024, that Child Protective Services dropped the case against her and David.

“I have some good news and I’m kind of shaking right now from anxiety,” Jenelle began in a TikTok video. “All allegations against me and my husband have been officially dropped,” she continued, adding, “I’m focusing on Jace’s mental health and I want to focus solely on his mental health right now,”

David and Jenelle met on Tinder and began dating in September 2015. Jenelle gave birth to their only child, daughter Ensley Jolie Eason, in January 2017. They married in an outdoor wedding in Riegelwood, North Carolina, on September 23, 2017.

Jenelle has two other children. She shares son Jace with ex Andrew Lewis, although he was raised by her mom, Barbara Evans, until the reality TV star regained custody in March 2023 after a decades-long battle. The Read Between the Lines author has another son, Kaiser, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Nathan Griffith.

David and Jenelle bought a North Carolina homestead known as “The Land,” It included a main house, a she-shed, a barn and plenty of acreage for the pair to raise chickens and other animals, as well as grow their own vegetables, in an attempt to live off the grid.

Trouble began when David was fired from Teen Mom 2 after posting homophobic tweets where he referred to gay and transgender people as “abominations.” He also defended the right for people with conceal carry gun permits to bring weapons onto school property, writing, “It only makes sense to protect our kids the proper way … the only way we know how.”

“David Eason’s personal comments do not reflect the views of MTV,” the network said in a February 20, 2018, statement, adding, “With six weeks left of production on Teen Mom 2, effective immediately, we are ending our relationship with him.”

Later that year, Jenelle accused David of breaking her collarbone during a tearful 911 call in October 2018. “My name is Jenelle Eason … and my husband, he just assaulted me,” she could be heard telling the dispatcher in a clip obtained by TMZ. “He pinned me down on the ground … in the yard and I think I heard my f–king collarbone crack. I can’t move my arm,” she continued, adding that David had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident. Days later, Jenelle told E! News that the whole thing was a “drunk and dramatic misunderstanding.”

Jenelle continued to shoot the following season of Teen Mom 2, which was incredibly difficult for production as they couldn’t film her at home due to David’s presence.

The mother of three was eventually fired in April 2019 after David shot and killed her beloved French bulldog, Nugget, which he claimed had nipped at Ensley, 7.

“MTV ended its relationship with David Eason over a year ago in February 2018 and has not filmed any new episodes of Teen Mom 2 with him since. Additionally, we have stopped filming with Jenelle Eason as of April 6, 2019, and have no plans to cover her story in the upcoming season,” MTV said in a May 2019 statement.

The couple’s drama continued to play out online, as Jenelle publicly asked David why he blocked her phone number via a Facebook post on December 11, 2022. She then accused him of ruining her December birthday. “I don’t want to explain but just know that my birthday was ruined because of a narcissistic a—hole,” Jenelle wrote via Instagram Story.