‘Teen Mom’s Ashley Jones Prepares for the ‘Biggest Fight of Her Life’ in ‘The Next Chapter’ Season Finale Exclusive Sneak Peek

Ashley Jones is reading for the “biggest fight” of her life as the Teen Mom star takes on ex Bar Smith in family court.

In a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Thursday’s Teen Mom: The Next Chapter season finale, Ashley prepares to fight for custody of 7-year-old daughter Holly amid her divorce from Bar.

Calling sister Chris on her way to court, Ashley admits she’s “nervous” but also “ready” to fight for her daughter.

Chris advises her to bring up the fact that Bar was recently released from jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of battery constituting domestic violence in connection with his July 2024 kidnapping of Ashley.

“He can’t even be responsible with just calling his daughter, you know what I mean?” Chris continues. “So at this point, why would he get any type of decision-making rights?”

Ashley agrees, “Also, I don’t trust that [he] wouldn’t just be hella drunk and just have her in whatever environment.”

“Or get upset!” Chris continues. “In every situation he’s been in that’s been tough, he’s shown himself to not be able to handle it. He’s not fit to be a parent right now.”

Ashley is also cognizant of making sure the words she uses during the hearing are “just based in fact and concern for the child, versus coming off bitter or trying to throw up every negative thing about him.” Chris agrees that she’s taking the right approach, reminding her to focus on Bar’s inability to make good “decisions” for Holly.

As Ashley pulls into the court parking lot, she points out to Chris that she’s “on time on time” this go around, having previously missed a hearing due to lateness. “I’m an hour early,” she says. “I’m not playing with them.”

Once Ashley gets out of the car, she’s met by Tara, an advocate for the nonprofit SafeNest, which helps victims of domestic violence in Southern Nevada. Tara asks Ashley to notify her if she sees Bariki on the court grounds but advises her just to subtly tell her what he is wearing. “Don’t point at him and don’t interact with him,” she says. “Don’t engage with him, even if he comes up. I will definitely notify the marshal, so this way you don’t have to worry about interacting.”

Going into such a high-pressure environment is hard for Ashley, who admits later in a confessional, “I’m not gonna lie, it’s a lot of emotion, fighting for my kid.”

“It was very scary, because even though I feel like I’ve done everything right, when it’s not in your hands, you just don’t know,” she continues. “And the only thing I have in this world is my kid, so this really was the biggest fight of my life.”

Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.