Shenandoah (Shen) Williams opened up about the shocking reason that her son, Teen Mom 2 alum Bar Smith, entered a rehab facility.
Bar and his wife Ashley Jones’ storyline has played out for Teen Mom viewers since 2018 when they joined the cast of 16 and Pregnant. Ashley was promoted to Teen Mom 2 following Chelsea Houska’s departure from the franchise in 2020.
Teen Mom 2 fans have watched Bar and Ashley navigate a rocky marriage – one they hid from the public for months – while raising their 4-year-old daughter Holly.
Bar’s past is riddled with legal problems, having been arrested on several occasions. Most recently, Bar was arrested and is currently serving time behind bars in Oregon without bail, where he was picked up as a “fugitive from another state.”
As a cast member for the latest Teen Mom spinoff, The Next Chapter (TMTNC), Bar’s personal life has been exposed even further. MTV teased that during Season 1 of TMTNC, viewers will watch as Bar voluntarily checks himself into rehab, a move that turned Ashley’s world “upside-down.”
Bar’s mom, Shen, recently appeared on the Hot Tea Happy Hour podcast, where she opened up about her son’s struggles that were more serious than Teen Mom fans might have imagined.
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter star Bar Smith’s mom Shen Williams reveals reason he checked into rehab
Shen shared that she went to Teen Mom executive producer Larry Musnik and pleaded for help: “This [rehab] program part, that was my idea. I went to the producers and said, ‘My son needs help.’ I was tired of getting phone calls of [Ashley and Bar] drunk and fighting and police coming. It was constant. And I knew my son had a problem… I just didn’t know how bad it was.”
Bar’s addiction to Xanax was causing drug-induced seizures
Shen then revealed that Bar was addicted to Xanax and was ingesting so many that he was having drug-induced seizures. She said that Bar had a seizure in the back of her car and that’s what prompted her to get her son professional help.
“He had one in my backseat…it was a full-blown seizure,” Shen added. “It stopped and then it happened a second time. I couldn’t get him to go to the hospital. That’s when I finally went [to see him] in Las Vegas, and my daughter finally got him to go [to rehab].”
It looks as though TMTNC viewers are in for a dramatic storyline from Bar and Ashley this season. In addition to their legal battles, drug addiction, and marriage woes, Ashley and Bar are currently expecting their second child. Ashley confirmed the news after her rival and castmate, Briana DeJesus, leaked the news on social media.
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on MTV.