Former Teen Mom 2 co-stars Leah Messer and Briana DeJesus agree that former castmate Jenelle Evans deserves another chance to appear in the franchise.
Jenelle is arguably one of the most controversial stars in the Teen Mom franchise after sharing her storyline with Teen Mom 2 viewers for a decade.
MTV fired Jenelle in 2019 after news broke that her husband, David Eason, shot and killed their family dog, Nugget, after it nipped their daughter, Ensley. David was released from MTV a year prior after posting homophobic tweets.
With a new spinoff, The Next Chapter, premiering next month, Leah and Briana recently spoke with Page Six and shared their thoughts about Jenelle possibly joining them in filming.
For her part, newly engaged Leah said of Jenelle’s possible return, “I think that I’m eager to see where she’s at in her life and whatever ultimately the executives decide is what they decide. I wish her the very best.”
Leah added that although she and Jenelle were once Teen Mom 2 castmates, they no longer follow each other’s lives nor have a relationship. “I haven’t talked to Jenelle in a very long time. She was one of the original cast [members] of the show. And I knew her very well in that time.”
Leah Messer and Briana DeJesus support Jenelle Evans returning to Teen Mom franchise
“I don’t know [her] currently,” Leah added. “Right now, I don’t have a relationship with her, honestly.”
As Teen Mom viewers might have seen, Jenelle will be making at least a cameo appearance, as seen in the Teen Mom: The Next Chapter trailer, at Briana’s “Bash Kail” lawsuit victory party in May of this year.
Unlike Leah, Jenelle and Briana share a relationship. Briana said of Jenelle attending her party, “She put the effort in to make it, and she came, and it was good vibes.”
Will Jenelle be a regular cast member on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter?
Briana claimed that her party wasn’t aimed at bashing Kail; however: “It wasn’t like a bashing party where we were like, ‘eff this, eff that.’ No, we were celebrating the next chapter of my life because that whole lawsuit was so stressful. Like, you can’t even imagine. It was crazy.”
The 28-year-old mom of two added, “I won, and I had to celebrate, and Jenelle came. And I feel like it was great.”
Jenelle, who revealed last year that she’s open to working with MTV again, disclosed earlier this year that she signed an agreement to allow MTV to film her during Briana’s party. Whether or not Jenelle will appear more than once in Teen Mom: The Next Chapter remains to be seen.
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter premieres on Tuesday, September 6 at 8/7c on MTV.