It’s out with the old and in with the new over at MTV!
When Chelsea Houska announced that she was quitting Teen Mom 2 late last year, many fans worried about the future of the franchise.
Chelsea was the most popular Teen Mom, and many feared the worst when it became clear that MTV had plans to replace her.
There were rumors that the franchise would revisit a very dark place by re-hiring the likes of Farrah Abraham or Jenelle Evans.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Instead, a fan favorite was called up from the minors to the big leagues.
Yes, Ashley Jones, of Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant fame has been chosen to replace Chelsea.
Producers shared the news on the show’s official Instagram page back in December.
“Ashley Joins Teen Mom 2!” the post read.
“Surprise! @ashleysiren is officially joining the #TeenMom2 family. Here is the most special look at what’s to come for her next season!”
But for many fans, the move didn’t feel official until this week, when Ashley introduced her first preview clip with the help of frequent reunion show host Nessa.
“I’m so excited to join Teen Mom 2. I can’t give too much away but check out this ‘OMG’ moment from the upcoming premiere,” Jones told fans.
From there, we saw a brief montage of Ashley interacting with her daughter Holly and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Bariki Smith.
At first, it seemed as though this would be a standard introduction for fans who weren’t already familiar with Ashley.
But the end of the preview clip offered an unexpected twist.
To the sound of audible gasps from the studio audience, Bariki got down on one knee and popped the question to Ashley.
“I’ve messed up the other ones and I want to apologize and tell you that I appreciate you,” he said in the clip.
“You’ve been with me through a lot.”
Ashley became so overwhelmed with emotion that she could barely bring herself to look at Bariki.
But did she accept his proposal?
Well, it looks like you’ll need to watch the upcoming season of Teen Mom 2 in order to find out.
But if you’re eagerly shipping these two and you just can’t wait that long, we’re afraid we have some bad news:
As far as anyone knows, Ashley and Bariki are not currently together.
So not only did their engagement go bust (assuming Ashley accepted), they went so far as to call the entire relationship off!
Currently, we’re clueless as to how it all went down, but we’re sure all of the Ashley vs. Bariki drama will be featured on TM2.
So in the end, were producers able to find a suitable replacement for the incomparable and much-beloved Chelsea Houska?
Well, Ashley has already amassed a large and loyal fan base, and in some ways, she might actually improve upon Chelsea’s presence.
After all, if it’s drama that keeps you tuning in, a fully contented, married mother of four from South Dakota might not fit the bill.
