Jenelle Evans and her 15-year-old son Jace are turning the page to the next chapter in their lives.
Of course, Jenelle is reinvigorating her reality TV career with a new star turn on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. That follows her departure from a fraught marriage to David Eason. And Jace is right alongside his momma, starting anew while being away from the dangerous world of Eason and his turbulent ways.
Related: Jenelle Evans’ Move To Vegas Was A ‘Shock’ To The Kids — And Jace ‘Hates’ It!
Over on TikTok, the official Teen Mom account shared a clip from the MTV show’s season finale on Thursday. In the touching video, the 32-year-old momma and her oldest child spoke very candidly about where life has brought them. It started with Jenelle thanking Jace for helping out so much around the house:
“Thank you for all the help, because you’ve been helping a lot with the kids and chores, and I see it. So how are you feeling here?”
Quickly, that question moved the discussion to a whole different level. In response, Jace admitted that he was feeling much better now that Jenelle has separated from David and restarted her life apart from him:
“I feel a lot safer without David.”
Oof. So raw, and real, and candid. But so heartening, too. Thank f**king goodness.
Then Jenelle surprised us! She apologized for not being able to get it done even sooner:
“I’m sorry it didn’t happen sooner. But I was trying.”
Jenelle then used the poignant moment to reflect a bit on how far the two of them had come. Of course, Jace was previously being cared for under the custody of Jenelle’s mom, Barbara Evans, before the Teen Mom star was able to get custody back last year. She recounted how difficult and uncertain that period had been for the family:
“I remember you saying, ‘I want all the drama to stop. CPS has been in my life since I was little. I’m sick of them coming in and out. And you said you just want this all to be over.’ With me and Meme [Barbara] it was like, arguing about you and I know you were in the middle of all that.”
Jace nodded, and replied:
“I just wanted everything to calm down, get on a good point. Everyone got on a good thing with everyone.”
Jenelle then asked a really smart question — whether Jace held any resentment towards her for being unable to improve things more quickly in the teenager’s life. Jace thought about it for a while, and eventually admitted to feeling some resentment for a time… before ultimately deciding to let it go:
“In the time, I did. But now that we’re out of all this, like, crazy drama, it’s just calm. Everything’s good now.”
That is seriously SO mature of him. Wow.
Jenelle nodded in understanding at the feeling, and tried to explain herself a bit:
“Well you know I’ve made tons of mistakes all my life. But I just want you to realize that my intentions were never bad. I always tried hard to fight for you. I just feel like you were robbed from me as a baby, you know? And I don’t think it was fair.”
Then, in a tear-jerking moment, she asked her oldest child for a hug — and noted just how amazing it was that he’s now so much taller than her:
“But give me a hug. Stand up, give me a hug. Taller than me. I love you.”
Jace replied warmly as they hugged:
“I love you too.”
You can watch the full moment for yourself (below):
@teenmom A new chapter for Jenelle and Jace ???? Don’t miss the season finale of #TeenMom tonight at 8p on @mtv! ???? #jenelleevans #momsoftiktok
OMG! So powerful. And so sweet. We’re not crying, you’re crying! Ugh!!
We are honestly so happy that Jace and Jenelle’s other two children — Ensley, 7, whom she shares with Eason, and Kaiser, 9, whom she shares with ex Nathan Griffith — are safe and sound now. Thank goodness for that!!!
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Jenelle Evans/Instagram/David Eason/TikTok/Teen Mom/TikTok]
