Teen Mom Jenelle Evans has a long and storied history of trouble with the law. She’s combative, she’s arguably crazy, and she’s a drug addict. So that’s why I was surprised to see a dash cam video of her during her boyfriend Nathan Grifin’s DUI arrest on Saturday in South Carolina. (That video is below, via Radar) Jenelle was much more cooperative and friendly with police than I expected. She wasn’t argumentative, she didn’t pull a Reese Witherspoon or mention her reality show fame, and when the cop recognized her she was low-key about it. She only said “yeah, unfortunately” when the officer asked her if she was on MTV. Jenelle also gave consent to search her car before the police even asked. (I’ve heard that you probably shouldn’t do that.)
While we don’t hear Jenelle’s boyfriend Nathan in the video, he was not as friendly with the cops. He was arrested for resisting arrest and DUI after leading police on a high speed chase. Jenelle bailed him out afterwards.
In the video, Jenelle admitted to the cop that she’d had two shots and two or three drinks that night. When asked why her boyfriend was driving erratically she said “we were trying to have sex.” The officer asked if Jenelle’s boyfriend was touching her, and she said “no” and then agreed that they were rushing home to have sex. The cop suggested that to her though, I got the impression that she was messing around with her boyfriend while he was driving. She also denied doing drugs at all or having any drugs in the car.
Later in the video, another officer asked Jenelle if she knew that her boyfriend didn’t have a driver’s license and she said “uh, no. He told me he got it… restated.” The cops found some kind of pills in the car, and she slurred that they were Nathan’s and that she didn’t know what they were.
Radar reports that Jenelle’s boyfriend later puked in the back of the police cruiser. Classy.
So these idiots were either drunk and rushing home to screw or drunk and messing around while trying to operate a moving vehicle. They’re lucky they didn’t hurt themselves or anyone else. Jenelle is on probation for multiple other offenses, including assault, drug possession and violation of probation. I doubt that this will violate her probation since she wasn’t driving. In August, she was ordered to spend 48 hours in jail for failing a drug test while on probation. The mugshot above is for that charge. She usually smiles for her mugshots, judging from the large collection at Starcasm.
Following her boyfriend’s arrest, Jenelle joked around on Twitter with such witticisms as “Fantastic way to end the night! [fist and explosion emojis] #POW @GroundLevelUp” and “don’t drink and drive! lol”
Do you blame MTV for this? Jenelle would probably be just as messed up if we weren’t paying attention, she just wouldn’t have the money or the fame.
I think this is the place to put this meme I saw recently.
Update: This story gets weirder. Apparently Nathan didn’t stop for police until he pulled into Jenelle’s driveway. He then attempted to get out and run away . The cops tasered him, which explains why Nathan later puked in the back of the cruiser. Also, Jenelle says she’s going to move again because she’s being “harassed” by the police. She just moved three months ago.
Here’s the dashcam video:
What a waste those idiots are.
Wow, that poor child of theirs. As for the meme, there are teen mums out there that actually work really hard to make better lives for their kids, being 34 and financially stable won’t always mean that you’re going to be a better parent than a teen mum. I know plenty of financially stable parents that have still failed their kids in one way or another.
I disagree with you. Just because a teen mum purportedly “works hard” does not make her a good mum. A teen is a teen, and meant to be doing teen things, like running around and exploring life, studying, working, etc. etc. Most teens are just categorically not mentally or emotionally prepared for the full responsibility of bringing up a baby into the world and for the transition from child to adult, when she herself is not yet even an adult!
These women are sad, and I feel even sadder for the kids they are recklessly and irresponsibly bringing into the world in an unprepared (financially, emotionally, mentally) state.
My mum had me at 37. I feel so happy to have been brought up by a wise mum, who was not only financially stable, but was grounded and knew enough about life to teach me about it.
I agree with a lot of what you’re saying but not every person is the same, but your statement “a teen is a teen” – no two people are the same, my mum had her kids really early in life and then when her kids were older she studied up to the phD level and she’s a doctor today, by your assessment, she should have been doing teen things and was not ready for kids. Our mothers are examples of how people with different circumstances can do really well as parents.
And trust me, when I’m talking about teen mums who are working hard and doing by right by their kids – I’m not citing the mums from teen mums as an example (look at Janelle). My point is that there are exceptions – not everyone is the same and you can’t rule out the possibility of a teenage mother being a good parent.
I do not think teenagers should have children. But my niece became pregnant at 17, and she had the baby, and she was and is a wonderful mother. I’m not recommending it. She struggled financially and in other ways, but for some reason, she knew how to put her child first and do all of the right things after the initial mistake. It’s not fair to say that all teenagers are bad parents.
A friend I grew up with ended up pregnant with her son at 17 and I have to say that I am so incredibly proud of how she has handled being such a young mom.
While living with her parents, she managed to start college at the same time that all her friends did, while working weekends to support her son.
Today, at 23, she is now a registered nurse and just had a brand new house built with her fiance (who is not the child’s father) and her son is doing fantastically.
Therefore, I agree with the original poster that just because you are a teen mother it does not always mean you will ‘mess up your kids’. It really depends on the person and the situation they are in.
You’re right, it won’t *always* mean they are better parents. But it is far more likely. I’m sure we all know or have known good teen moms (I count my own mother among them) but you can’t twist the statistics and facts-financially stable adults almost always make better parents than teenage parents. You do get wiser with age so while a teen parent and an adult parent can start off in the same idiotic new parent place when they have a baby, the adult will have more resources and life experiences and won’t usually have to rely on being told what to do as much. Adults are just typically far more self sufficient and can handle surprises and unexpected turns better than children. My mother has said time and again that she was a better parent to the children she had when she was older than those she had at 18 and 20. Sure, that’s anecdotal but it fits into what legitimate studies have told us. Teenagers should be teenagers. Hell, they should be teenagers until they’re 25.
Totally agree that for both their own and their child’s sake, waiting is better. As I said, teenagers should not have children. I agree with everything you say. Just couldn’t bear the idea of my beloved niece, who has broken her back to do all the right things to correct her mistake, being called a bad parent.
I’m not sure why you chose 25 as a magical number that women are capable of becoming parents. It might be the age where YOU matured, but you can’t set yourself as the precedent for everyone else’s personality and upbringing. On that same note, your mother may have been a better parent when she was older, but to assume that is the same for everyone else is illogical.
There are women who have told me, personally, they wish they had children younger because by the time they hit their thirties, they were busy and lacked the energy and stamina they had in their twenties. It’s only been in the past century that women have felt the need to wait so long, and I would argue that is because of feminism. Not because women are “better Mothers” as they age. It’s because we are so damn busy with trying to “make it”.
By the way, if you have statistics that prove that age has a direct correlation on the quality of parent one is, please produce it. Just because someone is thirty five, doesn’t mean they are financially stable. God, if life were that simple. To say that age is THE main correlation on parenting and quality is, to the best of my knowledge, incorrect. However, OTHER factors–such as addiction, abuse, financial troubles–certainly contribute. But these are factors other than age.
I’m not going to toss shade at someone who says that maybe it’s not the best idea to have a kid when you’re that young. Sure, there are outliers but the Gilmore Girls is utter fiction and there’s a reason people freak out if you announce your pregnancy in high school, hypothetical circumstances or not. And no teenager is nearly as mature as he or she believes him or herself to be.
Well student loans the way they are now even 35 doesn’t seem to be the stable age. I mean I’ll be bogged down in loans. I gotta go to grad school, I gotta buy a house, I gotta pay for health insurance. When will I ever be stable enough for kids???? *rolls up into fetal position*
Yet I don’t despise her as much as Ferret… uh, Farrah.
I have nothing more to say about this waste of space of a girl. On the side note: her boyfriend looks like a young Val Kilmer.
Val Kilmer – yes! That’s it! I couldn’t place the face.
This girl and her partners are so awful. It makes me sad when I realize how many people like this actually exist.
He looks like Val Kilmer’s long-lost love child.
Meh.
But not Handsome Batman Val Kilmer, Current Bloated Fat Kilmer
Also: Her Chin Wont Quit
…But her brows did
This gal would be a major screwup with or without MTV, she just wouldn’t have as much money! Violate probation & get 48 hrs in jail? Seriously? Good grief!
What amazes me is her legion of followers who excuse all of her behavior. Within a week they scream THAT’S IN THE PAST
That’s freaking sick.
Meh. Everyone has kids at different ages. I don’t understand why women need to constantly promote one certain age as the “best age”. Who cares? We all know that a mother who is that “perfect age”, may just as likely struggle with drug addiction, alcoholism, violence, etc. Certainly, a young woman isn’t as financially stable or mature. However, that’s not grounds to discredit their potential as a loving parent. It isn’t age that makes one a good or bad parent–however you define that–it’s a mixture of nurture and values. Sure, Mama is in a great career and is married, but she ignores her children and secretly despises them. Meanwhile, the 19 year old has to borrow money from her family to support her and her child, but she invests all her time and energy into that baby. People are too concerned with other people’s parenting, anyway. It’s a complete freaking buzz kill. I hope Jenelle gets help, but sadly, I think she will end up like her own Mother.
They’re teenagers. We can go on with qualifications until the cows come home but what remains is that they’re teenagers and that makes a difference, whether some older people are bad parents or not.
This way of thinking is why there are so many fricking teen pregnancies in this country. Teenagers are not fully matured. This is a scientific fact; their brains are not done fully forming and they are not able to grasp the severity of consequences. You can have a couple of case studies where teenagers were good parents but to say that there is just as much of a possibility that a teenager will rise to the occasion as an older woman is just plain scientifically wrong.
I’m not aware that there was a scientific study done which proved that AGE, and age alone, had any direct correlation on parenting ability. Please, cite the study and I will bite my tongue.
The age is not the factor. It is the things that might come along with the life of a teenager. Booze, drugs, financial instability. Regardless, to make a claim that all or even most teenagers are bad parents, is without any type of factual basis and is merely an opinion of bias.
There is a picture of this chick next to the definition of “trashy”.
The sad reality of many teen moms is that they tend to not stay/live with the child’s father. When mom then moves on to a new “relay”, the BF then starts assuming child-care obligations that he may be ill-suited for. So many babies/toddlers are injured/killed by the mom’s BF- statistically, children are at greatest risk during the “colicky” phase and then during toilet training. Sure there are great BFs, but there are also alot of not-so-good ones.
When isn’t she trying to have sex?
Only thing I can say us that her tonguelooks cleaner than Miley’s.
I hate that MTV made me know who this is.
That meme rocks. It makes a point of saying that kids aren’t tools or commodities and that you should try to be older and stable when bringing a child into the world. Stop glamorizing and giving money to these girls, MTV. Most of these girls are struggling with chemical dependency, emotional issues and are biologically parents but barely bother to raise the kids that are making them famous. Of course, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re a great parent if you’re married and older (see Dina Lohan) but it is generally a good idea to be in a stable situation and know you can care for your child(ren) before you have them. So many teens want babies, but they don’t really want to be parents. And the kids suffer.