Chantel Everett is taking back her name amid her divorce from ex-husband Pedro Jimeno. In a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Monday’s all-new episode of The Family Chantel, the 90 Day Fiancé alum decides to officially ditch her ex’s last name and take back her maiden name – a “liberating” move her mom Karen certainly supports.
Still reeling from her emotional meeting with Pedro in last week’s episode, Chantel admits she’s been “on edge” since coming in contact with her ex for the first time in nine months. “I feel like every time I talk to him, I’m going to just slip back and back further from healing and finally moving on,” she tells the camera. “But I’m trying to get back into the motion of being a divorced woman and shake it off the best way that I can.”
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It’s that feeling that sparked Chantel’s desire to change her name back sooner rather than later. “It’s going to feel so liberating to have my old name back,” she confesses. “You do not understand how burdensome it is to carry the last name of your ex-husband. Every time I have to sign my name, I’m reminded of my painful divorce, and I’m ready to get rid of it.”
While Chantel works out the legalities, her mom is more focused on the spiritual side of her daughter’s healing, as the camera cuts to her practicing Naihanchi Shodan in the other room. “Naihanchi Shodan is a form of self-defense,” Karen explains. “It helps me to stay focused on my enemies.” As Chantel asks her to bring down a pen to sign the name-change forms, Karen is compelled to finish her sequence.
“My protective energies are encompassing Chantel and my entire family because I can feel that they are under attack. I can feel it,” she explains. “I have to protect them at all times, especially Chantel, from negative vibrations that Pedro and his family are directing our way.”
Once she feels her protective practice is complete, Karen is happy to make herself a part of the legal proceedings, handing over a pen during what she knows is a “stressful” and “traumatic” time for her daughter. “I told her seven years ago not to take his name, but what can I say? She was blinded by love,” she says in a confessional alongside husband Thomas. “Thank God she’s taking a step forward, taking her name back, and that is part of her healing.” The Family Chantel airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
