Husband Of Former 'Teen Mom' Star Jenelle Evans Admits To Killing Her Dog

Months after the allegations first surfaced, the husband of former “Teen Mom” star Jenelle Evans has admitted to killing her dog.

Speaking to PEOPLE on Monday, David Eason said that he took the animal’s life in order to keep the couple’s daughter, 2-year-old Ensley, safe.

“It was a situation where my daughter, her health, her safety was in danger,” he said.

Eason attracted backlash in April after posting a video of the dog, a French bulldog named Nugget, snapping at his daughter, and suggesting in the caption that he put the animal down.

“I dont give a damn what animal bites my baby on the face … whether it be your dog or mine, a dog is a dog and I dont put up with that s–t at all,” he wrote, according to Page Six. “I’m all about protecting my family, it is my lifes mission. Some people are worth killing or dying for and my family means that much to me.”

The post was quickly deleted, but Evans seemed to confirm the animal’s death in a post of her own, writing that she’d been “crying everyday” over what happened. The 27-year-old reality TV star also opened up about the incident to Us Weekly, telling the outlet that her husband took the dog in the woods and shot it, and that she was “shocked and upset” by it.

It was enough to prompt authorities to launch an animal cruelty investigation into Eason — and for the couple to temporarily lose custody of their children — but the Columbus County Sheriff's Office later closed the inquiry and claimed that the couple made up for the story for “publicity.”

Speaking to PEOPLE on Monday, Eason explained that he did in fact kill the dog, though it wasn't something he took pleasure in doing.

“This was something that nobody wants to ever have to do. The dog was aggressive. Yes, she might not be huge or whatever, but you know when a dog bites a child on the face more than one time, then it should never be around the child again,” he said. “If you give the dog up for adoption, one day it’s going to be around children again.”

“If you call the authorities at that point, the law says the dog has to be euthanized,” he continued. “I’m not going to pay anyone to euthanize my dog when I could do it myself.”

Eason, 31, went on to say that he “loved” the dog.

“I still think about her every day,” he said. “It’s really hard for me. A lot of people put me down for it, they hate me for it, but like I said, it was not something I wanted to do.”

Evans, for her part, described the ordeal as a “private family issue that happened within our household,” and said that she didn’t want the story in the news, according to PEOPLE.

Evans attributed Eason's actions to his “country lifestyle,” and said that he “just thought what he was doing was best,” the outlet reports. Evans went on to say that her husband regrets what happened, and that he is “learning from everything that is happening.”

The couple went to counseling and “got over it,” Evans said.

MTV, who cut ties with Eason in 2018 after homophobic tweets surfaced, ended their relationship with Evans in April, Page Six reports.