Kieffer Delp became famous for dating Jenelle Evans, one of the young mothers whose life was laid bare in the reality television show “Teen Mom 2.” Their tumultuous on-again-off-again relationship might have been over a long time ago, but he was never completely gone from the minds of her fans, as he was one of Jenelle’s more controversial boyfriends. He continued to make headlines over the years, because of his run-ins with the law.
Background on “Teen Mom 2”
In the past, girls who became pregnant in high school were tucked away and rarely talked about, so as not to bring shame to the family. These days, however, viewers became a voyeur of sorts in their lives through reality TV shows.
In “16 and Pregnant”, aired on the cable channel MTV from 2009 to 2014, stories of unplanned pregnancies of American teens were readily shared with the public; a different girl who was four to eight months into her pregnancy was featured in each episode. As their stories ended when their babies were a few months old, there was a clamor from fans to see how these teens were coping with motherhood. A series of spin-offs were then produced, including “Teen Mom” (renamed “Teen OG” in its fifth season), “Teen Mom 2,” and “Teen Mom 3”, featuring those who appeared in the original show.
The MTV series was advertised as a cautionary tale about the difficulties that these teen moms faced, including some raising a child alone, lack of funds, custody battles, and cheating boyfriends. Despite presenting their stories as a documentary, the moms became reality stars, and their every movement became fodder for gossip. The men in their lives were also thrust into the spotlight. People still remembered them long after they stopped appearing in the show, as fans were curious about what became of them. Kieffer Delp was one of the most memorable.
Jenelle Evans, her life before meeting Kieffer Delp
With a father she barely knew, an overbearing mother, and troubled siblings, Jenelle kept diaries as a way of dealing with her dysfunctional family. In her autobiography, “Read Between the Lines: From the Diary of a Teenage Mom,” published in July 2017, she shared what her growing up years were like, in the hope that its readers would better understand how she got from ‘point A to point pregnant and beyond.’ Not that she was trying to pin the blame on anyone or make excuses for her mistakes, as she said that this was about her journey to the person she had become. She further said that there was more to her than people saw in the show, because the truth was actually more complicated.
Jenelle Evans was born in 1991, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her memories of what her life was like in her hometown weren’t good, as she was unhappy with everything. Her mother, Barbara, reached the tipping point in her 10-year marriage when her dad, Robert, fell from the top of the stairs while he was carrying three-year-old Jenelle. Although she was relatively unharmed, her mom filed for divorce, and it was finalized in 1994. Jenelle couldn’t help but think that even if her mom did everything she could to cut her dad out of their lives, he didn’t make an effort to fight for custody of his children.
The family moved to Oak Island, North Carolina in 2004. While it was a fresh start for Jenelle, for her siblings the move was a tough one; she could only describe them as strange and broken, even when they were still young. Her older sister, Ashleigh, was constantly stressed out, and went through a dark phase, dabbling in weird things including witchcraft; she ended up seeing a therapist regularly. Her older brother, Colin, was the violent one, who set his toys on fire when he was nine and ended up burning a huge portion of their house to the ground in July 2000. He was sent to a special group home.
Jenelle was ‘boy crazy’ back in the day, as she was talking to some guy online and at the same time seeing another one. She thought she was in love with both of them, but her feelings were fleeting as she would move on to another guy in just a few weeks. She admitted to having a short attention span when it came to boys, as she said, ‘I clearly enjoyed the chase more than the relationship. Once I got a guy, I got easily bored and wanted a new one.’ This phase of her life lasted for quite some time.
Jenelle in MTV’s reality shows
Her story was featured in the second season of MTV’s “16 and Pregnant,” which aired on 16 February 2010. The episode began as 17-year-old Jenelle was eight months pregnant, and out on the beach with her friends. She talked about partying, but drew the line at drinking in her condition. However, she thought nothing of smoking weed, as she claimed that some doctors recommended it, if one was feeling nauseous.
Letting baby Kaiser's balloons gone after the baby shower! @GroundLevelUp 🍼🎈 more pics later.. pic.twitter.com/D5d2dgL7EO
— Jenelle Evans (@PBandJenelley_1) June 1, 2014
Jenelle was 16 when she met Andrew Lewis online. After a couple of weeks of exchanging messages, the two finally saw each other in person in 2007. Being six years older than her, she looked at him with awe and thought everything he did was cool, even if he was mostly wasted when they were together. She became a doormat for him, and looked to him on what they would do or talk about whenever and wherever he wanted. Jenelle was 17 and attending South Brunswick High School located in Southport, North Carolina, when she found out that she was expecting. She was sexually active, and had been taking birth control pills until she and Andrew stopped seeing each other. When they got back together, they had unprotected sex.
After giving birth to Jace Vahn Evans in August 2009, Andrew broke up with her and left, as he claimed to have a modeling job in China. She had a gut feeling that he wasn’t interested in becoming a father, so she wasn’t surprised that he didn’t stick around. Motherhood didn’t change her at all, as she continued to party and rely on her mother to take care of her baby. Later on, she asked for her mom Barbara’s support, as she wanted to finish high school and get a job. By June 2010, she signed over the primary legal and physical custody of her son to her mother. In 2012, she revealed that she had no choice in the matter, as Child Protective Services said that if she didn’t, Jace would be placed in foster care. Over the years, she would go to court to get custody of her son.
Kieffer Delp in “Teen Mom 2”
MTV’s “Teen Mom 2” kicked off on 11 January 2011, and followed the lives of Jenelle Evans, Leah Messer, Kailyn Lowry and Chelsea Houska as they navigated motherhood while they were still in their teens.
Kieffer Charles Delp from New Jersey, who was 20 years old at that time, was introduced to the public as the boyfriend of Jenelle. They first met when she visited a friend’s house, and hit it off as they stayed out all night. Before long they began dating, and became a couple. It was clear from the get-go that he was a bad influence on her, or that she’d found someone who had a penchant for trouble, like herself. Her mom Barbara was against their relationship, as it was allegedly Kieffer who introduced Jenelle to heroin and got her addicted to it. Also, it seemed that this was how her run-ins with the law began. Their relationship was featured in the early seasons of the reality show.
Caught breaking and entering
Prior to the premiere of “Teen Mom 2,” news emerged that Kieffer and Jenelle broke into a vacant property in Oak Island that belonged to the mother of one of their friends. The police arrived on the scene and made their presence known, entered through the back door, and found Jenelle in the bedroom; Kieffer immediately left but was caught near the house. The two were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia; the breaking and entering charge was dismissed. Apparently, the two were staying with a friend temporarily, but were later asked to leave as the mother didn’t want anyone other than immediate family to be there. It was their friend who called the cops on them.
Reportedly, the judge ruled that the drug possession charge would be dropped if she completed 24 hours of community service. She was also sentenced to one-year probation. Kieffer, on the other hand, got away scot-free. Some said that it was Jenelle who took the blame for everything, as she pleaded guilty to the charges. They were spotted outside the courthouse, and both looked happy with the verdict, however, in a video clip that was released online, Jenelle was quite emotional about the possibility of being caught violating her probation sentence, such as having beer and wine in the house when she wasn’t even drinking, because they were Mike’s and Barbara’s. On top of that, Kieffer reminded her that she couldn’t smoke marijuana, and she knew it was going to be hard for her, because she needed that whenever she was feeling anxious.
Arrested for domestic violence
It had only been a week since Kieffer had been in jail and Jenelle already missed him to the point that she wanted to bail him out. Christmas was just around the corner, and she felt bad that he would be all alone, and that she was the reason for it. Apparently, she pressed charges against him for domestic violence. When they met up at a restaurant after he got out of jail, she was happy and really excited to see him.
She admitted that he didn’t beat her up, but only shoved her out of the way. While he acknowledged her right to do what she did, he said that they could have settled it between themselves. Kieffer opened up about his family, saying that they didn’t sit down and talk about their problems, but just shouted at each other. He couldn’t quite understand how he and Jenelle could profess to love one another one moment, and then the next they were fighting and arguing; she didn’t know why they were like that either. Jenelle went back to living with her mom after things fell apart with Kieffer.
Filed charges against Jenelle
Kieffer accused Jenelle of repeatedly punching him in the face, so he filed a restraining order against her. Some said that this was the reason why he shoved her. He was actually just trying to make her stop, or he wanted to get away from her. This wasn’t the first time he involved the law when dealing with her, having reportedly pressed charges against Jenelle for injury to personal property, as she allegedly destroyed his iPhone, and caused more than $200 in damages.
Caught smoking weed
One time, Kieffer and Jenelle were out on the porch smoking weed, and it didn’t escape Barbara’s notice. She accused both of them of being high, and stated this as the reason why she went to court to get custody of Jace. She couldn’t quite grasp why her daughter chose to be with him, when he had no job, and even insinuated that it was Jenelle who was giving him money. Barbara wanted him out of her house but said that her daughter could stay. Jenelle left with Kieffer, after hugging her son.
On-again, off-again relationship with Jenelle
Jenelle was then in an on-and-off relationship with two guys. After breaking up with Kieffer, she hooked up with Gary Head in 2012; he proposed to her by April, but when he discovered that the two still had communication and that she even provided Kieffer with the means to visit her in North Carolina, Gary broke off their engagement. When Gary allegedly strangled her with a bed sheet around June, she found comfort in Kieffer’s arms, but it didn’t last. She went back and forth between the two, and she and Kieffer tried to rekindle their romance in 2016, but she ended up marrying David Eason – when did he enter the fray?.
Leaked nude photos of his girlfriend
Jenelle had breast augmentation in 2012, and the before and after photos of her surgery surfaced online. She could only think of one person who would do that, and it was Kieffer because he was with her during that time. She claimed that she was still under anesthesia when those photos were taken. Kieffer didn’t deny her accusation and said that he only did it because she broke his heart. Some believed that Jenelle retaliated by selling his woodworking tools, and revealed via Twitter that he had a son; however, Kieffer refused to talk about him.
Back on MTV
Just when fans of the show thought that they had seen the last of Kieffer after his split from Jenelle, MTV released a special entitled “Teen Mom 2: Jenelle, The Ex Files” in 2017. Most of the viewers who had been part of her journey since the start were happy, as they were most curious about Kieffer. Jenelle admitted that out of all the guys she’d been with, she considered him the sweetest. For his part, he remembered having more bad times than good times with her. At the time the special was filmed, Kieffer was single and playing the field. When it came to his drug use, he claimed, ‘I don’t do drugs anymore … well, not hard drugs.’
Operated a methamphetamine laboratory
He was often arrested on drug-related charges, but it seemed that he’d taken his habit to a new level. Kieffer was arrested in 2018 and charged with operating a methamphetamine lab, and possession with intent to deliver along with risking a catastrophe, which was a felony of the third degree. Apparently, the police received complaints about a meth lab in an apartment in McKees Rock, Pennsylvania. After conducting an investigation, they executed a search warrant and found the lab in Kieffer’s basement apartment. He served his sentence of 18 months at the state correctional institution, and was then on three years probation. When he was released in February 2020, he was arrested again after failing to report to his parole office, and proceeded to spend another five months in jail.
The latest on Kieffer was that he was arrested in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in June 2022 charged with one count of criminal conspiracy, which was eventually dropped, and one count of misdemeanor theft. Not many details were released on the charges, but this wasn’t the first time he’d committed such an act. Back in 2011, he was caught trying to conceal a couple of steaks at a supermarket in Oak Island. It was said that he didn’t sign the citation issued to him.
Many would agree that the two years that Kieffer and Jenelle had been together, even if it was-on-and-off seemed like a lifetime. Some might say that they were better off apart. However, they also didn’t do well on their own or with another partner. Fans said that it all boiled down to the choices that one would make. Kieffer had yet to get his act together, and make the right one, but then, the same had applied to Jenelle.
