Courtesy of Taylor Lewis/Facebook; Jenelle Evans/Twitter
‘Teen Mom’ Alum and Jenelle Evan’s Former Friend Taylor Lewis Dies in ‘Possible Homicide’
Teen Mom 2 alum and Jenelle Evans’ former best friend, Taylor Lewis, died at a hotel in Eden, North Carolina, on Thursday, January 5, In Touch can exclusively confirm. She was 29 years old.
Taylor’s sister, Haylee Lewis, tells In Touch that the cause of death is still unknown but that detectives are investigating a possible homicide.
“I’ve been speaking with detectives too, and they are saying they saw footage of two men with Taylor in the hotel room,” she explains, adding that Taylor was found by a housekeeper “hours later.”
Jenelle, 31, mourned the loss of her friend via social media on Friday, January 6.
“Taylor what happened?!” the former reality star wrote via Facebook, alongside a series of photos from their youth. “We were once best friends, and we went our separate ways because of the diff crowds we chose to hang out with. I wanted to see you eventually flourish as a woman from a distance but was always rooting for you.”
The North Carolina native continued, “I don’t know what happened but I am very saddened to hear this news and hope you’re resting easy.”
Taylor and Jenelle have a complicated history as Taylor was the first wife of Jenelle’s ex-husband, Courtland Rogers. Courtland and Taylor welcomed daughter Jordan before their split and his subsequent relationship with the Read Between the Lines author.
Jenelle and Courtland were romantically linked in early 2012 and by December of that year, the two tied the knot in a hasty courthouse wedding. Just one month later, the couple called it quits on their relationship.
Fans watched as Jenelle confided in her friend after finding out she was pregnant with Courtland’s baby during the season 5 premiere in January 2014.
“I did relapse [on heroin] one time and that was when I met Courtland,” Jenelle recalled to her friend at the time. “Me and him, we got married only after three months of dating. I’m so mad at myself for marrying someone that I didn’t think through.”
She continued, “I went to the doctor the other day ‘cause I was sick. And they were like, ‘We can’t give you a chest X-ray because you’re pregnant.’”
Jenelle admitted to being “upset” with herself and ultimately decided to have an abortion.
While It’s unclear why the former besties had a falling out, a resurfaced tweet shows the MTV star replying to another Twitter user in October 2013, saying, “Correction Taylor and I are not friends.”
However, following Taylor’s death, Jenelle revealed that her former friend reached out to her last year.
“I’m so sorry and sending your family prayers,” she wrote in her Facebook tribute. “I feel awful for not answering her in March 2022, but I felt like she wasn’t doing her best.”
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. In Touch Weekly does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
