Jenelle Evans told the media on Monday that her baby daddy Andrew Lewis‘ GoFundMe is a scam, but now Andrew is clapping back— with receipts— insisting that the fundraiser (which he started last week to raise money for medical and legal bills he and Jenelle’s mom Barbara have incurred in their fight to bring Jenelle and Andrew’s son Jace home) is very real— and necessary.
On Monday, Jenelle went to TMZ and Us Weekly and warned fans who donated to Andrew’s fundraiser that they have been scammed. In an exclusive interview with The Ashley, Andrew has broken his silence and is insisting that Jenelle is not being truthful. He also revealed that, currently, nobody other than Jenelle knows where Jace is.
On the fundraising page, Andrew— who says he put Jace on his medical insurance plan when the 16-year-old moved back to North Carolina last year— stated that he has already incurred massive medical debt due to Jace being held at a mental health facility for several weeks (at the behest of Jenelle, who has custody of the boy). In her interview with the media, Jenelle insisted that she is paying for Jace’s medical expenses, something Andrew told The Ashley is not true.
“At this time, my son is FULLY covered by health insurance, and I AM currently handling and paying for all of his medical care,” Jenelle told TMZ.
According to Andrew, though, his health insurance plan for Jace has already paid over $35,000 in claims associated with Jace being at the mental health facility, with “more claims coming in every day.”
“My insurance has covered his medical costs, and I have $16,000 in medical claims that I am now personally responsible for,” he told The Ashley. “Yes, I have a job but I can’t afford to pay for that amount, especially since we wanted Jace out of there but she wouldn’t allow it. The medical claims continue to come in for each day Jace was in the facility. They are coming to me, not Jenelle.
“Also, Jenelle’s statement that she is paying for Jace’s medical care is not truthful. They are still billing my insurance,” he added.
According to Andrew, Jenelle recently moved Jace from the facility he was in to an unknown location without anyone’s knowledge. (Jenelle posted a photo to social media over the weekend that showed Jace on a plane, letting the public know he was out of the facility.)
“No one knows where Jace is currently except Jenelle,” he told The Ashley. “She is gloating about it online. Barbara, me and my family are worried because no one knows where she put him.”
As for how Jenelle is paying for Jace’s care at the new location, Andrew insists that the money is not coming out of her own pocket.
“She has told me several times that she has some sort of ‘sponsor’ to pay for it,” Andrew said. “She is not paying the full amount out of her pocket. And Jace is ‘fully insured’ because he’s on MY insurance plan!”
Andrew explained that, as part of Jace’s probation, he was ordered to attend therapies/counseling, etc. last year.
“Jenelle, at the time, had cancelled his medical insurance, so, out of the kindness of my heart, I put him on my medical insurance plan from my work because I knew Jace needed it,” Andrew claims. “From then on, Jenelle has taken advantage of it.”
Andrew also confirmed that he and Barbara are “on the same team” trying to get Jace back home to Barbara’s house, and that the GoFundMe money will also be used to assist her with the legal costs associated with their fight in court against Jenelle.
(As The Ashley previously reported, Barbara, Jenelle and Andrew are set to attend mediation before their hearing on April 13. If the mediation is not successful, the hearing will go on as scheduled and Barbara will fight for a modification of Jace’s custody order so that she can regain custody of him.)
In her statement to TMZ, Jenelle insisted that there’s no court battle happening.
“Additionally, this matter is not being fought out in court as suggested. We are scheduled to go through mediation, which is a more appropriate and constructive path focused on what’s best for our child,” ChatGPT Jenelle said. “I will always prioritize my son’s well-being, stability, and privacy. I won’t be engaging in back-and-forth online, but I did feel it was important to clarify the facts.”
“Barbara still needs a lawyer for all of this,” Andrew told The Ashley. “She is retired and has already spent a ton of money battling Jenelle over the years in court for Jace.”
Finally, Andrew issued a statement to Jenelle personally.
“Please stop threatening my family— my mom, my niece, Jace’s aunt and uncle; just stop,” he said. “I don’t usually speak to the press but I think it is necessary this time.”
As of press time, over $9,900 has been raised via Andrew’s fundraiser, which remains active.
RELATED STORY: Andrew Lewis Starts GoFundMe to Raise Money for Him & Barbara Evans to Fight Jenelle Evans for Custody of Son Jace
36 Responses
Why,on God’s green earth, did Andrew NOT file a missing persons report? I know that Jenelle has sole custody and they know Jenelle has him,but if there’s no clarity on their end of Jace’s exact whereabouts…………not to mention the safety concerns of Swampy Dave being around and the paper trail of police complaints about Jenelle…………..I honestly don’t know why CPS hasn’t just filed for emergency custody of Jace. Either way, I’m praying for him.
Everyone keeps trying to reduce Jace’s struggles down to one person, and that’s just not how childhood trauma or mental health works. Jace is a product of his entire environment, not a single relationship or situation. Not just Jenelle. Not just Barbara. When a child grows up surrounded by instability, conflict, inconsistency, and is exposed to very public dysfunction, that shapes them in ways people on the outside don’t fully understand. Then imagine it being on display for the entire world to see and make an assumption. Mental health issues don’t develop in a vacuum. Chronic stress, yelling, unpredictability, and feeling unsafe can wire a child’s brain into constant survival mode. This is what has happened to Jace his ENTIRE life. Whether it was just for good TV ratings or not, we witnessed Barbara holding Jace as an infant yelling at Jenelle, Jenelle yelling at Barbara in front of him… I mean HELLO people, wake the hell up. All this can look like anger, defiance, anxiety, or shutting down but underneath that is usually a child who feels overwhelmed, unheard, and emotionally exhausted. Especially while these bloggers monetize over it, which is pure disrespect and disgusting. And let’s be real… when multiple adults in a child’s life fail to provide stability, accountability matters across the board. It’s not just about who was physically present. Emotional absence, lack of support, and inconsistency all leave a mark too. Andrews years of financial neglect, like years of unpaid child support, is also part of that bigger picture… he owes thousands in back child support and I’m sure Barbara let Jace know about it. What you think a child who’s daddy has been an alcoholic his entire life that doesn’t even reach out to check on his well being or to just be a father until he is made to by the court system feels? For anyone with common sense, it reflects a lack of responsibility that impacts a child whether people want to acknowledge it or not. Kids who grow up in toxic environments are often triggered by things like yelling or conflict because their nervous system has learned to associate that with danger. Have we just thought Barbara has turned a new leaf and stopping yelling? Nope. So what people label as “bad behavior” is often a trauma response. You can’t expect a child to regulate emotions when they were never consistently shown how in a safe, stable environment. This goes for how all of Barbara’s kids have ended up… I mean ask her where her oldest son is right now.. At the end of the day, pointing fingers might be easy, but it ignores the reality of when a child is struggling this deeply, it’s usually the result of years of exposure to dysfunction, not just one person. If anything, the focus should be on understanding the impact of that environment and what support is needed now, instead of placing blame in a way that oversimplifies something this complex. Jaces issues are deeply rooted and to have those issues exposed by who ever, what ever source or from family that are sharing details is disgraceful behavior. I say all that to say this… in the state of North Carolina; by law it is the father’s responsibility to carry some sort of insurance coverage on the child. Medicaid is an option but because Andrew still has parental rights which honestly should have been terminated; he is held responsible. To make a go fund me page and say it’s for medical expenses is questionable because usually mental health care is covered by insurances at 100%. And whether that’s that’s the case or not here, Andrew should not ask the public to help pay his responsibilities as a father. Because Andrew is a party in the matter, he has the right to court appointed counsel which bare no cost to the defendant. Barbara still has money and if she filed a motion against Jenelle and Andrew without thinking of the money she will pay to an attorney then maybe she shouldn’t of been yelling at him about using all the hot water in the shower that made this episode occur in the first place. I’m not saying he wasn’t upset about the David situation, but that I’m sure with everything else is what made him threaten his own life as well has Barbara’s. Anyone think, why if he was mad at just David’s situation would he threaten his grandma as well? Why was he destroying Barbaras house prior to any claims that his mama was with David again? Why was he destroying Jenelle’s home and threatening his younger siblings? This isn’t just an isolated situation, this is a child with major complex trauma from this entire childhood with the help of everyone who played a role in it and a child who is the subject of every blogger’s payday. Let the child get whatever help he is getting now and leave well enough alone.
You forgot abusive and strangling Nathan and David at his mom’s, plus Courtland, Gary and August. Oh, and intoxicated Tori as the nanny.
Jace’s teacher noticed Jace would do and behave well until he had been to Jenelle for visitation.
Both ladies also alienated Andrew from Jace. No matter how bad Jenelle was doing or treating Jace, she was allowed around him. Andrew’s father really died when they were recording a reconciliation for Teen Mom and Jenelle turned it into something else, Babs went along with it.
Paragraphs, dear. Paragraphs.
Barbara tell prosecutor,that Henelle sent the states main witness Jace to a hidden location, hes missing, from you and his dad. Also show how Jenelle is reunited with the strangler
I’m hoping that this is the incident that FINALLY has a judge hold Jenelle accountable for her severe neglect and extremely terrible parenting. Hopefully, the judge will at least force her to provide proof of Jace’s whereabouts and open up the lines of communication between him and Barbara.
She probably took him out of North Carolina so she can claim that NC courts don’t have jurisdiction over him. She’s a shockingly horrible excuse for a human being.
That would be extremely dumb on her part because it takes more than a few weeks to establish residency in a new state. I’m not even totally sure him being admitted to a treatment center would even start the clock to begin with. But we are talking about Chinelle here. She’s dumb enough to think it would work.
I’m sure ChatGPT told her (and swamp man) what to do, which steps to take and how it will end great. Just like her press release statement. She has never spoken like this, ever, so running her thoughts through AI is her new thing. I’m sure swamp man told her to save on lawyer fees and just use AI to get through this hearing. Please let this be true.
Jenelle kind of gives off the mother who’d kill her kids so she can be with a man vibes.. kinda creepy no one knows where Jace is
Casey Anthony vibes, yes.
When will CPS intervene??
Fuck JE forever but the way Andrew talks still makes skin crawl… “out of the kindness of my heart” and not “my son had a need and as his father I took care of it”.
I thought the same thing when I read “out of the kindness of my heart”.
That was the least he could do since Jace is HIS son and Andrew has been MIA for most of his life. Give me a break. You don’t get a pat on the back for stepping up and taking responsibility for YOUR child. A lot of parents are in debt due to their children’s medical bills- welcome to parenthood.
Praying for Jace’s safety.
He is the only victim in this situation!
Hopefully Barbara can get a good lawyer.
How CPS and the state didn’t see this as an emergency custodial situation is beyond me.
Having proof of Jenelle being back with the man child who abused her innocent child, and still allowing her to take Jace and HIDE him from the only mother he’s ever known, Babs…. It’s disgusting and neglectful. They failed him AGAIN. There’s a special place for parents like her.
Jace was still in the facility so there was no emergency, someone said. That does make sense.
Was literally about to comment the same thing. He is Jace’s father that’s his responsibility. Out of the kindness of his heart, seriously?! You don’t get a gold star for actually being a parent.
I know. I’m conflicted. Also, if Jace is still on his insurance and he gets billed for the new facility, the address will show up. Or at least the facility name.
Andrew said Jenelle told him the new facility is being paid for by “a sponsor”. Knowing how Jenelle lies, they really don’t even know if he’s actually IN a facility
EXACTLY what I thought of that statement from Andrew. He should have been contributing more than just child support for the past what, 16 years and has not. You’re not all of a sudden the hero Andrew
Funny if his insurance is getting billed from the facility he can’t see what facility is charging the insurance
When you get a an explanation of benefits from your insurance saying who billed them for what, can’t he find out where he is that way?
Yes. It might take a week or so for the bills at the new facility to be submitted but he will know the location as soon as the insurance company process the first set of charges.
He can actually call his insurance co and ask what facility is asking for authorization for inpatient stay. No facility just admits someone with insurance without getting their approval. As Jace’s insurance is provided by Andrew, that info is usually accessible to him.
The problem is is that if Jenelle really did get a sponsor or whatever, that means she can have him wherever without it going through insurance. There are places that will give a cash discount rather than deal with whatever insurance charges.
I’d call for a welfare check on the kids every day until she starts answering questions. I don’t actually believe that Jace is either at a reputable facility, more likely that he is just at home with her.
When the claims from the new place come in, he should google the doctors and/or medical companies charging him. If they want to get paid, he gets to know where the people he’s paying to care for his child are located.
This is so fucked, even for Jenelle. Every time I ever thought she hit rock bottom, she just kept/keeps on digging. Jace deserves so much more.
She’s legit rage baiting, right? Profiting off Jace one again.
OMG the names of people donating to the go fund me are comedic gold.
The collective hate for Jenelle is bringing the world together.
Jace should not be allowed to remain with DeluJanelle. She’s using him to “win” over Barb yet again. Not to mention she’s back with Jace’s abuser.
When you dont think Jenelle can go lower, she continues digging the hole.
Jace is only 16, I believe. He has almost 2 more years of being a minor before he can be done with custody fights, which hes been going through since he was a baby.
He will be 17 in the summer, so at least he only has just under a year and a half until 18.
That’s frightening. God only knows where he is. I hope he’s somewhere safe but if Jenelle’s involved, that’s doubtful.
Wowwwww
She is doing everything she can to keep Jace from testifying against Swamp Monster!!! She is the shittiest of shit!!!!
That’s EXACTLY what she’s doing. Since when does she give a shit about his mental health?