The legal baby mama drama may be over, but the ongoing scandal continues. After nearly nine months of battling it out in court, Kailyn Lowry’s defamation lawsuit against her Teen Mom 2 costar Briana DeJesus has been dismissed in the Florida native’s favor, Us Weekly can confirm.
“I won,” DeJesus, 27, said in a statement to Celebuzz on Monday, April 18. She also shared several screenshots on her Instagram Story of her buying a clown costume and a mirror from Amazon, alluding that she was going to send the items to the “Coffee Convos” podcast host. “Alexa play ‘bitch better have my money’!” DeJesus wrote in the gift message.
Lowry, 30, shared her own thoughts on the ruling in an Instagram Story statement. “While today’s ruling is unfortunate, I have to respect the judge’s decision. With that being said, I stand by my truth and the information spread about me is still not true,” she wrote. “I would like to thank my legal team for fighting for me, and I am looking forward to life after this lawsuit so I can focus my energy solely on my boys and my future business endeavors.”
The mother of four, who has been feuding with DeJesus for years, filed the lawsuit against her rival in June 2021. The Pride Over Pity author sued DeJesus for defamation at the time, alleging that the Teen Mom 3 alum falsely stated that Kail physically assaulted Chris Lopez, the father of Lowry’s two youngest sons, Lux, 4, and Creed, 20 months, and broke into his home. (Though Lowry was arrested after the alleged assault, the charges were later dropped. She also denied via Instagram “ever [having] been charged with breaking & entering. Ever,” and maintained she never broken into and entered a home “in my life.”)
The judge noted in the court documents obtained by Us, “Soto’s statement about ‘breaking and entering’ does not change the gist of the statement that Lowry had been arrested. It was widely publicized that Lowry had been arrested for domestic violence and Soto’s comments on the issue were substantially true. The damage to Lowry’s reputation, if any, had already occurred when the incident was publicized by news media.”
According to the documents, the judge further claimed, “Even if the isolated statement regarding ‘breaking and entering’ can be considered defamatory, there is insufficient evidence to establish that Soto [DeJesus] knew the statement was false at the time it was made.”
Ultimately, “as a matter of law, Lowry has not met her burden regarding the issue of malice,” declared the judge.
The Teen Mom 2 stars’ feud first kicked off in 2017, when DeJesus began dating Lowry’s ex-husband Javi Marroquin — with whom Kail shares son Lincoln, 8. (The Pennsylvania native is also mom to son Isaac, 12, whom she shares with ex-boyfriend Jo Rivera.) Even though Marroquin and DeJesus’ relationship only lasted for a few months, the drama between the Love Is Bubblegum writer and the Teen Mom: Family Reunion star was just getting started. The two not only continued to trash each other on social media, they also attempted to engage in a physical fight at one of the Teen Mom reunions. Their relationship only grew worse as the various players in the Lowry/DeJesus drama appeared on each other’s podcasts.
Marroquin, 29, spilled the tea on his and DeJesus’ breakup on Lowry’s “Coffee Convos” podcast in 2018. Three years later, the Hustle & Heart author invited Devoin Austin (the father of DeJesus’ oldest daughter, Nova) to be a guest on the podcast, during which he spoke about his fractured coparenting relationship with the mom of two. For her part, DeJesus — who also shares daughter Stella, 4, with ex Luis Hernandez — flew to Philadelphia to appear on Chris Lopez’s podcast in 2021 in a much-discussed scene that was filmed for season 11 of Teen Mom 2.
The lawsuit alone has not been without its fair share of drama.
In December 2021, DeJesus sent Lowry a treadmill amid the legal war, which many fans interpreted as a body-shaming dig.
“I know u are fantastic at RUNNING YOUR MOUTH SO I THOUGHT UR FEET WOULD RUN JUST AS FAST!” Briana wrote via her Instagram Story at the time.
Three months later, in March 2022, the Sunshine State resident filed a motion to prevent Lowry’s legal team from being able to ask any questions about DeJesus’ sex life. (The “Baby Mamas No Drama” cohost claimed that DeJesus slept with Lopez, 28, which DeJesus has denied.)
“We had to file this motion because our unilateral extensions of professional courtesy, class, and decency were not reciprocated. That’s okay,” DeJesus’ attorney Marc J. Randazza explained to Us Weekly at the time. “We will conduct ourselves according to our high standards and we will let them choose their own standards for themselves.”
Us Weekly has reached out for comment from Lowry and DeJesus’ respective legal teams.
