The news that Jenelle Evans and David Eason had regained custody of their kids hit Teen Mom 2 fans like a crushing blow to the temple.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say that Jenelle and David regained custody of most of their kids, considering her son Jace and his son Kaden will continue to reside with more stable relatives.
It would also be more accurate to say that former Teen Mom 2 fans were stunned by the news, as many vowed to never again support the series that made this appalling situation possible, even though Jenelle was fired from the show several months ago.
Anyway, as when Donald Trump was elected president or the New England Patriots won yet another Super Bowl, reports of the judge's ruling left many with the feeling that the bad guys had pulled off a surprise victory.
But according to one person who's very well-acquainted with Jenelle and her parenting style, the situation played out in the best way possible, and the Eason kids are back where they belong.
Heather Griffith is the sister of Jenelle's second baby daddy, Nathan Griffith, who was as stunned as everyone else when his son Kaiser was returned to The Land by a judge who had apparently been experimenting with LSD.
Heather says she only really got to know Jenelle once the kids were taken away (?!), and she claims that the mother of her nephew has been misrepresented by the media and is actually a devoted parent (?!?!?) who deserves custody of her kids.
“I think a lot of things have been exaggerated and blown out of proportion. I don’t see Jenelle as an unfit parent or someone that doesn’t love her kids,” Heather tellsHollywood Life.
“I watch her go through this process, and she’s tried to remain so positive but she was just so sad."
Heather goes on to say that all the coverage of Jenelle's arrests, accusations of neglect, and frequent substance abuse episodes are nothing more than fake news:
"After getting to know her over the past few months — we recently became closer when the kids were taken away — I don’t see her as this horrible, vindictive person that she’s constantly being played out to be," Heather says,
"I think she is just constantly under attack and I don’t think that she’s unfit as a parent.”
Nathan, of course, strongly disagrees, and he'll continue to fight for custody of Kaiser in hearings that are set to begin next month.
“I think just with her situation I would be more fit as a parent,” Nathan told TMZ earlier this week, adding that he believed Kaiser isn’t receiving proper “love and affection.”
Heather says she supports Nathan in his fight for custody, but somehow, she's also 100 percent #TeamJenelle these days.
“I have talked to her pretty much ever since the kids were taken from her,” Heather tells Hollywood Life.
“We check in with each other every day to make sure things are going well throughout the whole process."
In order to appreciate how weird this situation is, we encourage you to pause for a moment and imagine becoming besties with your sibling's violent, abusive ex-fiance -- but only after that person has her kids taken away following a scathing CPS investigation.
ee"We’re building a friendship now. It’s hard because Nate’s my brother and I can never be in her corner, but I can referee and make sure she gets a fair fight. I see so much promise and potential in her," says Heather.
"She’s a go-getter; she’s doing what she has to support her family," Nathan's sister adds.
"One thing I can say about her is that she totally respects the rules of not saying anything bad about my brother," she continues.
"She has never bashed my brother to me or said one bad thing [about him].”
Well, to be honest, "rule-respecting go-getter" isn't exactly the description that jumps to mind when we think about Jenelle Evans.
But then again, maybe Heather Griffith knows much more about the former Teen Mom 2 star than we do.
After all, they did grab lunch together during a custody hearing and now they send each other funny memes, or whatever.