David Eason has lost custody of his daughter Ensley.
The Ashley can exclusively confirm that the fired Teen Mom 2 dad was declared “not fit and proper to have custody of the child” by a North Carolina judge at a court hearing held earlier this month, which David failed to show up for. Jenelle— who filed for custody of the seven-year-old shortly after she split from David in February— was awarded temporary sole and legal custody of Ensley by the judge.
“The best interest of Ensley would be served for sole physical and legal custody to be awarded to Ms. Eason today, with there to be supervised visitation [held off] unless and until a psychological evaluation [for David] has been completed,” the judge told the court during the hearing.
(It should be noted here that, on the day the hearing was held— and David was due in court to fight for his rights to see his daughter— he was on TikTok Live with his new girlfriend Kenleigh Heatwole, literally doing cartwheels for spare change given to him by TikTok users.)
The Ashley can also exclusively confirm that, during the hearing, the judge went on to declare that she does not believe that Ensley should be visiting David while he’s living on Jenelle’s broken-down boat.
“Based on the evidence and testimony presented here…the defendant [David] does not reside in a place that would be safe and suitable for the minor child,” the judge said.
The judge declared that Jenelle has been doing well caring for Ensley on her own since the split in February.
“The Plaintiff [Jenelle] is physically, mentally and emotionally able to provide consistent active care for the child, as she has done so, as evident in the exhibits of her medical care, insurance and the like,” the judge said.
This decision will have a direct effect on Jenelle’s ability to have Ensley appear on-camera while she’s filming for Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. The Ashley can confirm that, while on the witness stand during the hearing, Jenelle stated that her sons Kaiser and Jace are currently filming for the show, but Ensley is not, due to David refusing to sign off on it.
“David will not sign the paperwork [to allow Ensley to film],” Jenelle told the judge on the witness stand.
Jenelle said that when she asked David to consent to letting Ensley film, he wouldn’t because he was using it as leverage to get his stuff back.
“He was stating that he wants his property that’s left back at the house, and then he’ll talk about it. Like his dirt bike,” she said. “I explained to him that this is in her best interest and that all [my] other kids are being compensated but she’s not.”
Later in the hearing, Jenelle explained what she was hoping the judge would grant her.
“I’m looking to have sole and legal custody of Ensley and I think I’m a fit parent,” Jenelle said. “I think I’ve done most of the raising of Ensley, or all of the raising of Ensley since she’s been born, making sure she’s healthy and doing well in school, and making sure she’s at school on time, making sure she’s in extra-circular activities. I pay attention to her mental health.”
Jenelle’s lawyer then reminded the judge that David hasn’t participated in the divorce or custody proceedings and hasn’t spoken to or checked in on Ensley since March, not even when Ensley had surgery.
“She can make these educational decision, medical decisions, financial decisions for the benefit of the minor child [without David’s input],” Jenelle’s lawyer said, when asking the judge to give Jenelle sole legal and physical custody.
Jenelle stated that David has not asked to see or speak to Ensley in months.
“He asked one time to speak to her back in March,” Jenelle said on the stand. “He cussed at me [while asking] to speak to her in text. Even though we weren’t getting along, I still let him talk to her for 15 minutes and ever since March he has not asked to see or speak to her.
“At first, he acted like he cared back in March, then after March he completely cut off, there was no contact,” she said. “I have no idea why he hasn’t reached out. I know he’s out living on my boat in Wilmington. He’s been living there ever since. He’s not far away but he hasn’t even tried to reach out or see her.”
Jenelle’s lawyer clarified that David clearly has a working phone, since he’s been able to access the Internet and go Live on social media frequently. (Who could forget this recent horror show?!).
However, Jenelle’s attorney pointed out that, despite obviously having a working phone, David hasn’t attempted to contact Ensley at all since March.
Jenelle also stated that David hasn’t contributed any money at all toward Ensley’s care.
“Right now, I don’t think he currently works. I haven’t spoken to him in months. I’ve heard through friends that he is struggling,” Jenelle told the judge. “He has not been paying our boat slip [rental] and I’m having to pay that, which is like a $1,000 a month.”
Since David didn’t appear in court, and he has no attorney, the judge asked that David be emailed all communication of the case.
Jenelle’s lawyer said they’ve reached out to David to try to get him to participate in the scheduling of that they will “take the necessary court and with the mediators to get child custody mediation prepared.”
He also asked that the court make a visitation schedule for David with “potential safeguards to make sure he’s properly fit and he’s able to parent and visit with” Ensley.
According to one of The Ashley’s production sources, Jenelle should be able to film for the show with Ensley, now that she has been granted temporary sole custody.
“David has been taken out of the equation, temporarily at least, and now Jenelle is the only parent who needs to sign off so that Ensley can film,” the source said.
Jenelle and David’s next court date (to handle divorce- and custody-related issues) is set for October.
This is not related to the criminal case that David currently has pending for the child abuse and “assault by strangulation” charges filed against him for his alleged physical attack on Jace in September 2023. Recently a hearing was held in that case and The Ashley will have more info on that soon.
RELATED STORY: Fired ‘Teen Mom 2’ Dad David Eason Posts Cringey Lip-Syncing Video With His New Girlfriend Kenleigh Heatwole: A Recap
41 Responses
Please tell me she really said “ extra-circular activities” and it’s not a typo
So the creepy mountain man has lost custody of 2/3 of his kids, has no job, is a professional moocher/freeloader at this rate, abuses animals, women, and kids, multiple mugshots and arrests, is a well known racist, and is basically a danger to society. Wow he’s such a catch, good job Chinilda 2.0.
Chinilda 2.0 wake up, run far and run fast from this man or this will be your future. I’m telling y’all there’s going to be a pregnancy announcement in the next 3-4 months. The cycle is going to repeat itself; right now creepy mountain man is trying to seem all normal and sweet, then he’ll convinced Chinilda 2.0 that they need to have a baby cause everyone is ruining his dreams of being a dad, then around the holidays we’ll get a smug pregnancy announcement, then mountain man’s true colors will slowly start coming out, by the time the baby is born we’re going to hear about him either being arrested, cheating on her, or both, then we’ll hear about another upcoming custody battle. Rinse, lather, and repeat.
The real question is will Megamind try to get pregnant with Temu Pitbull just to compete or way? We know she has her tubes tied but those can be reversed.
Sadly Jenelle is the better choice for Ensley. Jenelle is selfish and stupid. David is actually dangerous.
Jenelle is not and never was “mentally and emotionally able to provide consistent active care for the child”, for ANY of her children. She just wants to put Ensley on-screen and make money out of her.
Poor Ensley with two absolute POS as parents.
Janelle being able to “mentally and emotionally able to provide consistent active care for the child” is laughable. For so many reasons. I guess she’s better than some (but not all) foster care arrangements?
Wasn’t Jace under the care of David’s sister before Janelle left David so she could regain her MTV paycheck?
Janelle sure can’t wait for Ensley to start earning that sweet MTV paycheck! Hope that money goes into a trust that cannot be touched until Ensley is an adult.
Someone should send this to Jenelle Juniors family.
He didn’t fight for custody of his other 2 either, so.it checks out. Dead beat dad & super jobless bum.
Yep!
And not long ago Jenelle was singing his praises….best father, best child ab*#er, best dog be@ter, best child support payer and best at avoiding paid employment.
What a winner UBT is.
It’s not surprising but we’re living in a world where the Mistress of the Swamp is granted full custody of a child over Sasquatch. A man she defended when he abused her children and killed her dog. These poor children, they all lost the parent lottery.
Jenelle didn’t do it ALL raising Ensley and she has provided proof of that if anyone cared. Also isn’t there a OP against David which included Kaiser and Ensley? But they expect him to contact her regarding Ensley?
U must be David’s bird beaked lover
I remember reading that he just couldn’t contact Jace. I still think Jenelle is trash since she badmouthed his other baby momma’s & said he should get to see his son because he’s such a good dad. Does she think no one remembers her defending him all the time? She is just as bad as he is & I hope all the kids turn out okay.
My dad didn’t turn up to court to fight for custody of my sister and I do the judge awarded my Mom with full custody. Sad that David couldnt even be bothered to pretend he cares about his daughter and show up in court. But Ensley would be better off without him. Jenelle is doing better, as long as she stays away from unstable men and keeps focussing on her kids.
But she’s already with a new guy that will come before the kids and given her track record with men, he’s probably another turd. Still seems like a mystery as to who was watching the kids in Vegas while Janelle was in NC.
WTF – David was doing cartwheel for cash on TikTok at the time he should’ve been at court?!? There is soooo much wrong with him.
She already has a new man. She moved her and the kids to Vegas for him.
Just imagine the state of things for Jenelle to be considered the more fit parent.
She used to always say what a great dad he was to the kids. Soooo messed up.
I’m confused … where were the kids when Jenelle was partying in her wheelchair? … maybe I got the wrong impression but it seemed like she was partying for Daaaaaayyyzzz! … not that wheelchair-bound parents shouldn’t Partay … 🤭
That’s her new man.
August/Daniel
Well Jenelle, we know you just did this to make sure that Ensley can film. It will backfire once David’s permanent residence becomes his girlfriend’s trailer and you have to let her go there. David is not going to let this go easily, once the restraining order is dropped.
If David cared at all, he would have been in court fighting for custody. So I think him not showing up, means he doesn’t give a shit
This bum has no means to fight her, judge 100% made the right decision.
I would stop paying the boat slip, and let the boat slip into the sea.
I would put the land up for sell.
I would have a dollar sell for all the crap on the land, whatever motorized wastes of money that they’ve accumulated and I’d move tf on.
wait, ensley had surgery?
no surprise that swamp king 🧟♂️ had nothing to do with that, but hopefully swamp queen 🧟♀️ stayed with her and wasn’t gallivanting about with her latest trashy 🗑️ soulmate.
(also wouldn’t put it past swamp queen 🧟♀️ to escalate a doctor appt into ‘surgery’ ~ she’s certainly been known to exaggerate re: medical issues)
I know people were talking about her daughters breathing, maybe it has something to do with that
It does Ensley had her tonsils and adniods removed and JE fed her Pizza the same day.
Omg I was gonna guess adenoids! It’s a pretty common thing for kids that age I suppose nowadays.
She’s definitely not the first kid I’ve heard of getting adenoids “deflated” or removed.
Was that the time she was accusing Ensley about being a liar when Ensley said she was sick?
“I think I’m a fit parent” proceeds to leave Ensley and Kaiser alone across the country with a stranger for weeks. And you know what? I do think that she thinks that she’s a fit parent.
They were with Kaiser grandmother who lives in Las Vegas.
@Taheera- that’s actually not true. Kaiser’s grandma Doris lives in Tennessee and was not with the kids in Vegas. -The Ashley
Reddit said Dorris had surgery 4 days ago according to her FB.
Who were they with?!?!?!
Lurch is too busy being enamored with his Handsome Squidward lookin’ gf to pay any attention to Jenelle’s mini. I would sign a petition to force MTV to pay for these kids’ lifetime therapy bills in a heartbeat.
Not Handsome Squidward! 🤣🤣🤣
💀💀💀
She looks like if Handsome Squidward and Randy Stair had an unfortunately plain baby.
Well didn’t David move in with his girlfriend where he paid to fix up the place? Doing all those tiktok vids with the new gf and skipping out on the hearing isn’t a surprise.