Season 16, Episode 1
Jennifer
Age: 35
Location: Southern Ontario
Addiction: Anorexia, painkillers
What’s Memorable: I have to say, this one really disgusted me. The way she has normalized shooting up as a regular part of her young childrens’ daily lives is really troubling to me. Not only does she inject many times a day right in front of them, with them actually sitting next to her asking her questions as she does it, she also leaves the needles lying around on the table and the floor where they’re easily accessible to her kids. I sympathize with Jennifer’s addiction but I cannot sympathize with the level of selfishness and neglect it takes to do that to your kids. And while I also sympathize with her husband, I don’t understand why he can’t at least pick the needles up off the floor or suggest that maybe she go into another room. Ugh, it just all really sickened me. This was some of the most irresponsible, dangerous parenting I’ve ever witnessed. If she couldn’t get clean after treatment, I’m at least relieved to find out that she’s no longer living with her children.
Official Synopsis: A young mother’s eating disorder has been a life-long affliction, now compounded by drug and sex addiction–but to get rid of all of her demons she’ll have to eliminate more than just her food. (Canadian produced.)
Date Aired: November 2016
Interventionist: Maureen
I couldn’t believe it when Jen said to Doug ‘Not in front of the kids!” (arguing) “you always do this in front of the kids!”.
While she’s sitting there getting her dope ready to take a shot. Um… Really Jen????!!?? Agreed! Most disturbing addict behavior ever on Intervention.
Reading at the beginning of the show and I’m only 5 minutes into it and so disgusted and based on these comments I don’t think I can even make it through it just so disgusting and unreal. intervention drop the ball on this one for sure. I don’t even know what to say. this makes me so sad
This was by far one of the most difficult episodes to watch. I have watched Intervention from the beginning so I’ve seen many episodes. A&E absolutely missed the mark in this episode by not intervening and filming Jennifer while she. openly injected drugs in front of her children. Leaving dirty needles everywhere was so gross and such a safety hazard. I absolutely appreciate that the show wants to give an accurate depiction of the addict’s life; however, this episode is blatantly gross and dangerous for Jennifer’s two children. The other aspect that was so repulsive was watching her chew up and spit out food. Absolutely disgusting to see that. Typically, I feel a great deal of empathy toward the person being profiled in each show; this woman did not elicit one iota of caring from me. I pray her children are doing well and that they are loved.
This episode really got to me. I cannot imagine the trauma these kids will live with for the rest of their lives and I sincerely hope the grandmother gets therapy so she can do better for the grandkids now that she has custody.
I found a couple of recent photos and Jennifer does look better, but who knows
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1691194684569485&id=100010369097476&set=a.193855167636785&mibextid=qC1gEa
I found the 2 photos from Jennifer’s mom’s FB that had Jennifer in them and yeah. . . she looks as one-track minded and partially brain-dead as ever. So sad for her kids.
Jennifer is a disgusting excuse for a human being, and her husband was not much better.
This one floored me. The little girl calling the needle “The needle monster” like it’s some kind of game shows how normal the presence of drugs around her is, and that crushed me. The fact that brother said she was a fantastic mother astounded me since using drugs and leaving needles around are the farthest thing from being a “great” parent. I’ll be hoping and praying that those children have gotten the help that they’re going to desperately need to heal from the things they’ve witnessed.
I have seen some pretty good intervention shows but,, never and addict who shoots up in front of her kids or sitting at a table chewing and spitting up cake infront of her family or throwing up in the bathroom while her 7 year old daughter watched she could run and steal or go to her boyfriends house but she couldn’t even clean her house sorry but she was more then an addict she was nasty felt sorry for her kids
The fact that she had a side piece that her entire family knew about threw me for a LOOP.
YouTube recommended me a short clip that a&e posted about this episode and I was audibly yelling at the kids being present. Then I come on here and see she was also shooting up. Holy shi* this is episode is by far one of the worst I’ve seen. I hope those kids are getting the help they need, they’re going to need it.
I have never commented on here before. I think this episode crossed an ethical line. Those children were neglected and traumatized. The producers should have made sure that the kids were removed from the home as soon as they got there. Even more so, leaving the kids in that situation with Doug was wrong. He needed to be offered help with co-dependency and the kids needed a lot of help from social services. Leaving him to parent alone was basically a death sentence. I can not believe that the family’s first action was to call Intervention rather than a social services agency. How sick. Yes, everyone deserves recovery but in a situation where there is clear child neglect, something needed to be done to help those kids first. How sad. Please do better, Intervention. And shame on her family and Doug’s family for not taking those kids out of there.
As someone who worked on the show Intervention in the past, it’s sometimes difficult to read comments. So much happens after, sometimes months of trying to get them into multiple centres, CAS calls, family programs, cop calls, that don’t make it to air. And that’s across the board, not specific to this episode. I don’t want to be specific, I know people who work on the show read these boards. I don’t work on the series anymore, but I do come here to find out how many people may have passed away. 🙁
Well someone who worked on this episode needs to speak up about what they tried to do for these kids. It’s absolutely disgusting they allowed this to happen and even continue to filming with these kids present watching their mom self destruct.
when I saw the category for most disturbing episodes this is the first one that came to my mind. I’m an addict/alcoholic. I hate to judge any addict but what these kids were exposed to at the hands of their mother and father (he allowed it to happen) was haunting. I pray for these kids.
Omg I cannot believe how Jennifer would shoot up in front of her 7 year old daughter and little boy, and have her needles all out like nothing. Wtf is wrong with the husband too? He is even more fucked up because he’s not trying to keep them from seeing it. I always can’t believe how Jennifer left treatment after 2 weeks like how unappreciative and retarded and careless and selfish she is so not a mom at all and she does not have that motherly instinct. I think it’s so sad how she got an opportunity of a lifetime I’m sure those centers that intervention sends these addicts to is not cheap I’m sure it’s really expensive. For her just to leave after 2 weeks even after they told her that she would not be able to see the kids and everything she still left it’s just messed up I cannot believe what the hell is wrong with her ? I was so shocked that she didn’t accept the help because she left early and she’s probably dead by now. It’s been 6 years since then she probably already overdosed and died by now.
This was BY FAR the worst addict/episode I have ever seen. Hearing a 7 year old girl say “did it hurt? Did you miss?” As her mother shoots up next to her was jaw dropping. The level of sickness that those children had to witness as normal activity was shocking. I can usually find some bright spots for the people on this show, but I have absolutely no sympathy for Jenn. Shame on intervention for not calling CPS immediately, shame on the dad for allowing that sick woman near his kids, shame on every adult to witnessed those babies around a woman who openly spits out her food and sticks needles in her veins.
This is the first time I’ve seen Maureen as an interventionist, but I don’t think she was the right choice for Jen’s family. She is so boring with her words and monotone. That family needed a lot of tough love and to know their decision to allow those children to be subjected to her drug use was extremely inappropriate. Maureen sounded like she was half awake. For such a serious situation, she was the wrong choice. I know this was a Canadian episode but Seth would have done a much better job, in my opinion.
Maureen is by far the worst interventionist in the show’s history. Whoever thought she would be a good fit for television should be fired. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think she’s the only interventionist to not be a former addict. I think it explains why she never really connects with the person who needs treatment.
in response to rob:
I totally agree. she SUCKS. plain and simple!
She is a former addict. During this intervention she said “One thing I learned in my recovery…”
You are correct. Her son was an addict or alcoholic. It’s what brought her into becoming an interventionist.
THIS IS FOR SAM WHO COMMENTED BELOW (I’m unable to reply to his comment):
SAM: She was in recovery as in “family recovery”. Family/addicts/enablers…..they can all go to recovery but it’s different for each one of them. That is what she meant by recovery. She is an interventionist based off the fact that she had a son who was in addiction. She is not a former addict at all. Look her up.
Dizzy should make a separate page just to kindly let viewers who enjoy this show point out all of the crap she’s not doing correctly in most of the episodes. I also feel like it’s slightly insidious to use your son’s drug addiction as a way to build your career. Drug interventionists should ALWAYS be ex DRUG addicts. Eating disorder interventions should ALWAYS have gone through an eating disorder as well. This is people’s lives at stake. Sorry I somehow saw like 3 episodes with her in it earlier…
I gasped when Jenn’s mother, who identified that she had a childhood characterized by “children should be seen but not heard” and who finally expressed that she felt like she hadn’t found a voice was straight up SHUT DOWN by Maureen when she tried to speak. She raised her hand to participate, and Maureen silenced her. How terribly insensitive.
Yes this is true, I recently saw an episode where Maureen tells the addict “No, I’m not an addict myself, but my son was.”
Can’t find this episode anywhere in Australia
Definitely a terrible episode to watch yet a total train wreck on so many levels. The highly codependent husband and the selfish, disgusting “mother” , a title Jennifer does not deserve to hold, who are too careless and egotistical to understand that they have two little children to look out after. Jennifer is pathetic on so many levels. The biggest problem in the situation unfortunately is her husband. If he healed and got help maybe the children could be spared a bit. He enables, allows, and promotes Jennifer’s behaviours. The dialogue between the two is so awkward and very paternal/materal versus marital. In Doug’s defence his ailments are what make me feel more sorry, but still. inexcusable.
I somehow managed to make it through this episode. I was sad to hear of Doug’s passing, I could tell he wanted to do all he could for those kids but was manipulated so heavily by Jen. And to watch her shoot up and have no regard for who is around, wow. So messed up. I really, sincerely hope, those kids got therapy because they really need it. I’m glad they are now in the custody of her mother. I hope Jen is doing well, but she needs a lot of therapy herself. This episode was one of the most disturbing I’ve ever seen.
Did anyone else notice the huge age difference between Jennifer and Doug? I feel like the edit was really generous with him because he clearly has a lot of problems on his own but yeesh. This girl went from an abusive dad to reform school to damn near child bride.
There was a 9 year age difference. When she married him at 21, he was 30.
Where can I find this episode to watch? It being a Canadian episode, it’s extremely hard to find via Prime searches. Can anyone help?
I have Comcast Cable and this episode is On Demand.
Roku tv
This was the most awful episode I have ever seen. I’m echoing every post on here, but I wish someone would take those kids away. If I was in Canada and could report her and her family, I totally would. In this day and age, on social media you can find pretty much anything on anyone. Those kids need serious therapy now, or they will end up in this cycle. Her daughter will think this is normal behavior by adults because thats all she has seen and knows — not to mention her father died. They need to be extricated from ALL of the family as they have done nothing to protect these children after seeing and experiencing the dysfunction. They should all be ashamed, and Jennifer should be in jail, at least. Terrible behaviors that will last a lifetime from the children’s parents need to be addressed and dealt with as a number one priority.
The kids are with her mother.
Anyone have an update on her?
I think I was more furious with Doug for allowing that shit storm to continue and have his children exposed to it. Seems to me like he didn’t care either.
The part where she’s getting pissed off at him for bringing up her boyfriend in front of Jordyn and saying she hates him for always doing it in front of the children blew my mind. She’s saying this while chewing on cake, spitting it out, shooting up, and a smoking a cigarette all at the same time in front of the kids…..is she that demented?
I have somewhat of an update. Jennifer is living on her own and is doing “okay” while the kids live with their grandmother who loves them dearly. Jennifer sees the kids but from I understand it’s not too often.
Thank you for sharing…that’s good to know. Jennifer is not equipped for parenthood even if she’s sober.
if the kids are living with grandma does that mean Doug passed away and Jennifer was disgusting she could cheat on her husband shoot up in front of her kids spit and chew food out infront of their kids take her son shoplifting she ,made zero attempt to even clean her home I mean Doug couldn’t do it
Addiction can explain A LOT of behaviors but it simply doesn’t account for a complete and utter lack of protective parental instincts. We have seen countless addicted parents profiled and most of them go to great lengths to shield their kids from the ugliness of addiction. Jennifer makes ZERO attempt to provide her children any kind of structure or normalcy. On the contrary, she appears to get a lot of her identity from being the sickest one in the room. I have a very hard time empathizing.
Agreed. It’s like she wanted everyone to suffer even her own children whether that was intentional or not. So vile. Perhaps she had a b cluster disorder.
You might be on to something
I agree. And Doug really had NO excuse. As a sister and aunt, I can’t imagine why not one of those other family members put the kids first. If they did, the show didn’t make that clear. I wish Candy did this intervention bc she would have handed those adults their as*es!
Just when I thought I’d seen every episode…..
Came across this one searching for an update on someone else, but yeah, no sympathy for her at all & I’ve always managed to have some for everyone. When someone wants to drive drunk, producers step in. But when someone is shooting up in plain view of small children & leaving needles on the floor they don’t? & this is opinion only, but she is definitely not clean in the most recent photo posted here.
After reading all the comments on this episode I didn’t want to believe that someone could be so careless and selfish. After watching the episode what was most shocking is the intervention producers and cameramen filming these children being abused in so many ways and not having those children removed. Every single person from the parents, to the family and the show failed those children. I am not sure where the children are but this is a case that they might be better off being adopted and not with family – they didn’t care while they were living through that hell, they should not be around to help them recover.
Yes! Exactly what I’m thinking. I’m a big fan of the show but this particular episode made me so disappointed in Intervention. They chose to make “good content” over helping abused children? At what point do you pull the plug on the whole thing and help these kids when their family clearly doesn’t care enough?
Also, Doug sucks so bad. There isn’t one thing that I wouldn’t do to protect my children. Not one. He’s just as guilty as her. She needs to be in prison and those kids need a completely new start. A whole new family.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1313373919018232&set=pb.100010369097476.-2207520000..
This is the only thing I managed to find of Jennifer now, she’s still very skinny, can’t tell if she’s sober, but she’s with her daughter.
Wow, yeah. She does not look great. Really sad to see she still has a relationship with her kids if she isn’t clean. Her whole family seems like a bunch of pushovers with no chance of holding a bottom line for her. I have such little sympathy for all of them Except for those poor kids.
Obviously, she had to go to court to make herself the guardian of these children. You don’t know what the court order calls for. Legally, she might be obligated to give visitation time to their mother but perhaps supervised if she’s not clean.
Where is Jennifer at now?
9/14/2020
I would love to know a more on Jennifer, too. This family and their story has always stuck with me! Does anyone know her Facebook or any way to see what’s going on?
As previously mentioned Doug died at the age of 46 on October 22, 2017.
Doug was a hockey player recruited to the Boston Bruins at age 19.
Three days before he was supposed to report to training camp, he was hit by two teenagers racing on Highway 400, Del Grande said. Doug ended up a paraplegic.
Poor guy couldn’t catch a break.
Jennifers mother now has custody of their children.
https://www.toronto.com/community-story/9784520-random-acts-of-christmas-how-a-family-s-holiday-in-thornhill-was-made-a-little-brighter/
Wow. I imagine had he not been a paraplegic he never would’ve met Jennifer or even given her the time of day.
Stefan, i think you hit the nail on the head. i’d bet the accident majorly affected his self-esteem and he resigned himself with Jennifer because he didn’t feel as if he could do better. he was inexcuseable in how complicit he was in the horrible shit the kids saw, but i think that was the root of the relationship still going on despite all the horror for those poor children
You know for a very long time I always defended Intervention, the show, and it’s interventionists. Some ways exploitative in many levels, and some ways informative and helpful in many other ways. It’s a Catch 22, but with this episode I CAN’T. I think everyone deserves help and second chances but this woman was beyond help and the most manipulative and selfish person, addicted with mental health issues or not, that I have ever witnessed. I’ve known addicts. I still know addicts. I know they are not in their right mind but this was both shocking and infuriating. As a producer or camera person I WOULD NOT stand there and film as this woman shoots up every 15 minutes in front of her children as she’s making it a fucking game. Watching as they walked over filth and open needles with their tiny bare feet. FUCK THE TV SHOW. The police would’ve been called quietly but IMMEDIATELY. Those kid’s lives in that moment mattered a hell of a lot more than her getting help. They don’t have a choice in the matter and at the end of the day she does but chooses the latter. Their safety and well-being come BEFORE her. And don’t even get me started on her husband because he was no better and is just as much to blame. God rest his soul but he needed just as much if not more help than her. Who lets their children around that? They should’ve been protected from the BOTH of them but instead everyone failed them . I sort of understand legally there would be nothing her family could do to get police to knock down her door if they have no proof or evidence of her drug use and neglect. However I’d be knocking down that door and risking jail time and fines if it meant my actions would get those children removed from that home. I’ve never been so angry watching an episode of Intervention, ever, and I’ve seen every last one. I rewatch Intervention episodes a lot but this one enraged me so much it’s been about 4 years since I could bring myself to watch this one again. Truly disgusting watching every single person witness those children experiencing what will later be severe mental trauma and do absolutely nothing but write the show, and film children in a highly dangerous and psychologically damaging situations for viewers and money. Un-fucking real.
Watching this episode now and I cannot believe it. I read these comments beforehand and thought that it can’t be that bad, people must be exaggerating. WOWWW I was wrong. If anything, its WORSE. Her daughter asking “did it hurt? did you miss?” I’m literally 2 minutes in and I want to throw up. Those kids are either going to be fucked for life, or be miracles and thrive. I hope and pray for the latter. She truly robbed them of a childhood and that makes me so angry and sad. I know when you’re an addict your thought process changes and stuff, to say the least, but really?? TO not even go to another room AT LEAST? Spitting your food up in front of your children? I hope they don’t not only develop a drug habit but an eating disorder too. My god. The family should’ve taken the kids away a LONG time ago. Geez man.
Absolutely the most disgusting episode I’ve ever seen. HOW did family and friends leave the kids with those animals ??!!!!!! Where are the police ??!!! Shame on the family. How dare you leave those precious innocent kids with them. I hope those children never see them again and are able to be adopted. So disgusted. Why did producers camermen allowe this to happen in front of the kids ??? Child services should have been called immediately. Shame on everyone. I cannot imagine how many times those kids must have been close to dying in that place. I’m so worried they were failed by soooo many.
Agreed!!!
It was really difficult to have any sympathy for this woman. I’ve dealt w addictions and have behaved in selfish ways, so I always try my best to remember it’s the substance and mental health issues.
But I have a feeling Jennifer is a POS with or without drugs. She shouldn’t be allowed to have children. Found her to be absolutely disgusting.
I wish the best for her poor children. I hope they are being better taken care of and are also receiving proper psychological treatment. Poor things 🙁