MTV has reportedly found a replacement for Chelsea Houska for the upcoming season of Teen Mom 2. Ashley Jones, who previously starred on the spin-off Teen Mom: Young + Pregnant, will join Teen Mom 2, which also stars Kailyn Lowry, Leah Messer, and Briana DeJesus. Jane Cline, another former Young + Pregnant star, joined in 2019 after Jenelle Evans left.
Sources close to the Teen Mom 2 production confirmed to PEOPLE Jones, 23, was cast in the series Friday. Jones shares 3-year-old daughter Holly with Bariki Smith. The two ended their engagement in Young + Pregnant Season 1, but they reunited in November. Smith posted a video showing Jones wearing the engagement ring. “I’m marrying her y’all,” Smith wrote. Jones also published a photo showing the engagement ring on Nov. 15, with Smith smiling behind her. She later confirmed she was joining Teen Mom 2, writing on Instagram, “About to make Teen Mom 2 watchable again.”
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Rumors that Houska was leaving Teen Mom 2 first arose in late October, and she confirmed her decision herself a few weeks later. Houska and her husband, Cole DeBoer, decided to leave the series to focus on raising their growing family. Houska is expecting another child, a baby girl. She and DeBower are already parents to son Watson, 3, and daughter Layne, 2. She and ex Adam Lind are parents to daughter Aubree, 11.
“MTV’s Teen Mom 2 has been a big part of my life for almost 11 years,” Houska wrote on Instagram on Nov. 10. “After much thought and discussion with my family and friends, Cole and I have decided that this season will be our last. We are forever thankful to MTV and our crew, who are like family to us. We’re parting on the best of terms and will stay in touch long after this. We’re proud to have been able to share our story and are so grateful to the fans who have followed our journey from the beginning.”
Houska said she plans to focus on her brand and expanding her family business. “Please tune into our last moments on the show and continue to follow along our journey on social media,” she wrote. “We are so excited for this next phase of our lives and hope you all will be a part of it in some way!” Houska first appeared on MTV during 16 and Pregnant in 2009 and was one of the original stars on Teen Mom 2 when the show launched in 2011. She married DeBoer in 2014.
