Jenelle Evans, 27, may be fighting furiously in court to win back custody of her three kids, but one of them — Kaiser, 4 — is supposedly happy right where he is, at father Nathan Griffith’s house. Nearly a month after Child Protective Services reportedly removed Kaiser from Jenelle and David Eason’s home in North Carolina, Nathan’s best friend, Katlyn McCormick, 28, EXCLUSIVELY gave HollywoodLife an update on Kaiser’s new living arrangements. Katlyn actually met Jenelle in 2013, and the Teen Mom 2 star introduced her former “good friend” to Nathan (he and Jenelle were dating at the time, and welcomed Kaiser in 2014). Even though Nathan and Jenelle called off their engagement in 2015, Katlyn remained close with both Nathan and Kaiser — even up to the point of Kaiser’s big move to his dad’s house in May 2019.
“Nate is an incredible father and he’s so hands-on with Kaiser,” Katlyn told HollywoodLife, after we asked how Kaiser has been doing since moving off “The Land.” She continued, “He’s really been able to take Kaiser out of his shell and change everything that he went through. Nathan truly is the best friend and guy I know. I FaceTime with Kaiser often and he’s in such a good place. His demeanor as a little boy has changed so much since being with Nathan. Kaiser is so happy and he even told me he isn’t scared anymore.”
Kaiser is barely out of his tot years, but he’s well aware of the shooting of his mother’s dog, Nugget (which David fessed up to) and other family drama, Katlyn told us. “With everything that happened with Nugget and such, Kaiser knows all of that and at four years old, he’s aware of what happened,” she explained. “He just feels so much love now and attention and everything he’s supposed to have.”
But Kaiser needed help getting up to that point, according to Nathan’s close friend. Katlyn revealed that Nathan, his girlfriend Ashley Lanhardt — who’s been a “great mom figure” — and Kaiser all went to therapy to help the young boy “find out the root of everything and to make him feel better and get past this trauma that he’s been going through.” Nathan has especially encouraged his son to open up in the wake of the controversial headlines that have followed Jenelle and David: “Nathan’s just like, ‘It’s OK dude, you’re 4. You’re allowed to cry, you’re allowed to be a boy and not get in trouble for those things.’” On that note, Katlyn emphasized, “Kaiser is so happy, you can just tell the difference in him.”
As for what exactly Kaiser’s new home life looks like, Katlyn said he and Nathan are “on a routine now.” Fun is often on the agenda, as the father-son duo like to frequent the water park and bowling alley! “They do everything together now and have fun,” Katlyn added. “It’s not stuck in a house being scared anymore.”
As for Jenelle’s current situation — she just returned to court, again, on June 4 — Katlyn sympathized with her ex-friend but speculated why the mother of three keeps appearing before a judge. “I also watched the video where Barb [Jenelle’s mom] said Jenelle is playing everything up for the cameras and it’s true, she is. Jenelle couldn’t care less, she’s going to court because she has to because cameras are following her,” Katlyn claimed. “It’s Jenelle, she’ll just have another kid, that’s just how it is. She did it with Jace so she’ll do it again. If she doesn’t get her kids back she’ll just have another one.” Jenelle’s two other children, Jace, 9, and Ensley, 2, are currently living with their grandmother Barbara Evans (Barb).