Teen Mom 2 alum Jenelle Evans was admittedly “mind blown” as she celebrated her eldest child, Jace’s 13th birthday.
It’s hard for Teen Mom 2 viewers to believe that Jace is a teenager, having watched him grow up before their eyes during Jenelle’s time on the show.
Jace made his grand entrance in 2009. At the time, Jace’s father, Andrew Lewis, was absent from his and Jenelle’s lives and has continued to earn his title as a deadbeat dad as he’s no longer involved in Jace’s life.
Jenelle’s turbulent story as a teenage mother struggling to raise her child while living at home with her mom, Barbara, aired first on 16 & Pregnant before she graduated to Teen Mom 2.
Jace is among several other kids from the Teen Mom franchise who recently celebrated their 13th birthday this year. Among the other 13-year-olds from the franchise are Leah Shirley, daughter of Teen Mom OG alums Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley, Bentley Edwards, son of Teen Mom OG alums Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards, Sophia Abraham, daughter of Teen Mom OG alum Farrah Abraham and her late boyfriend Derek Underwood, and Carly Davis, Teen Mom OG couple Catelynn and Tyler Baltierra’s firstborn daughter, whom they placed for adoption in 2009.
Jenelle took to Instagram ahead of the weekend to share Jace’s milestone birthday with her 3.1 million followers in a Reel she captioned, “JACE IS 13 YEARS OLD ???,” adding the hashtag #MindBlown.
Jenelle Evans ‘mind blown’ that son Jace is 13 years old
Jenelle provided voiceover for the video, saying, “Thirteen years ago Jace was born. That’s right – it was his 13th birthday this week.”
Next, Jenelle provided a recap of Jace’s special day, which included lunch at a famous Italian restaurant chain and a personalized dirt bike cake.
“We went to Olive Garden for lunch, picked up his cake… here’s a better view of the cake,” Jenelle continued, as the video showed Jace’s cake, which was shaped like a stack of tires with dirt on the top with a plastic dirt bike toy as the topper.
Sharing video footage of Jace getting geared up to ride his dirt bike as well as the family singing Happy Birthday to Jace, Jenelle continued, “He literally wanted to spend all day riding his new dirt bike. Next it was time to blow out his candles. He hates our horrible singing. Honestly, I didn’t need to get a cake this big.”
Jenelle’s followers took to the comments to wish Jace a happy 13th birthday, most of them in disbelief, like Jenelle, that he was already a teenager.
Teen Mom 2 viewers can’t believe Jace is 13 already
One fan commented, “13 already? Happy Birthday Jace. Dang I’m feeling old now lol.”
Another had trouble believing Jace is already a teenager: “Happy Happy Birthday Jace! Can’t believe you’re a teenager.”
Recounting Jace’s time on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom 2 as a baby, another one of Jenelle’s followers wrote, “Awww Jace!!! Happy Birthday! I remember when you were just a newborn on the show.”
“We all remember when he was a baby!” penned another Teen Mom 2 viewer. “Feels like we’re all family! Happy birthday kiddo.”
During her time on Teen Mom 2, Jenelle and her mom Barbara fought viciously and frequently, mostly over parenting responsibilities when it came to caring for Jace. Jenelle refused to give up her hard-partying ways to care for Jace, prompting Barbara to file for custody of her grandson. Eventually, Jenelle signed over custody to Barbara when she was just 17 years old. Barbara retains primary and legal physical custody of Jace to this day, with Jenelle granted visits.
However, Jenelle recently shared that her decision wasn’t easy and claimed it had nothing to do with partying or using drugs but everything to do with being scared.
In October 2021, Jenelle tweeted, “I gave my mom temp. Custody when I was 17… it had nothing to do with drugs and everything to do with being a fearful little girl and felt like I would lose if I fought against my mom.”
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter is currently in production and is slated to premiere in the near future.