Glenna Bevin denies abuse, abandonment claims in ongoing child support dispute with adopted son

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB+WAVE) — Former first lady Glenna Bevin spoke out for the first time about the ongoing child support case involving her ex-husband, former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, and their adopted son, Jonah Bevin.

“We are not perfect parents but we tried our best in a very difficult situation,” Glenna Bevin said in a statement.

Glenna Bevin said she has long stayed quiet about the family matter in an effort to protect her adopted son, but now she is speaking up after her son’s legal team released a statement last week on his behalf, making claims of abandonment.

Glenna Bevin testified in court July 28, saying that she and Matt Bevin provided consistent support to their adopted son, Jonah Bevin, while he was a minor. She denied the claims of physical abuse and financial abandonment.

Less than two months later, Glenna Bevin shared similar claims publicly for the first time.

Matt Bevin was arrested last week and sentenced to 60 days in jail.

The active bench warrant against Matt Bevin was for failing to turn over financial documents related to his ongoing child support case involving Jonah Bevin, who is seeking retroactive child support.

He was booked into Metro Corrections.

The president of Louisville’s Fraternal Order of Police said Tuesday that he is investigating allegations that Matt Bevin is receiving special treatment inside Metro Corrections following his arrest last week.

Video of Matt Bevin being booked in Bourbon County was released Wednesday.

Following his sentencing, Jonah Bevin’s legal team released a statement, prompting Glenna’s response.

Jonah Bevin said in the statement, “The sad reality is that adoption is supposed to be forever.”

“And this makes it clear that my parents haven’t felt that kind of love for me in a long time,” he said.

Glenna Bevin claims the divorce settlement between her and Matt Bevin states that each of their children has money they can use to go to school and get a four-year degree or an equivalent.

According to Glenna Bevin, he refused to attend school of any kind.

“Jonah has basic supports in place and he knows this,” Glenna Bevin said in a statement.

When it comes to Jonah Bevin’s accusations of abuse, Glenna Bevin claims he was the aggressor in the home.

Glenna Bevin released audio recordings that she said document alleged attacks, but WDRB is still working to verify their authenticity.

She claims his behavioral health struggles required them to remove him from their home and place him in out-of-state and non-domestic programs.

In a statement, Jonah Bevin’s lawyers said, “Glenna’s official statement is just an example of ongoing emotional abuse and manipulation.”

The full statement from his lawyers can be read below:

“Matt had an opportunity to present any evidence that showed he and Glenna had fulfilled their parental obligations to Jonah. He did not come to trial. Glenna had the same opportunity. She came to trial and testified that she made no effort to ensure Jonah’s specific educational and mental health needs were meant as far back as 5th grade. This statement and the alleged recordings of Jonah are irrelevant to whether and how Glenna and Matt provided for Jonah’s educational, mental health, or even medical needs when they institutionalized him. Glenna’s Official Statement is just an example of ongoing emotional abuse and manipulation.”

The full statement from Glenna Bevin can be read below:

“This case was never about securing basic support, educational remediation, or stability for a child for several reasons. The first is that all of those things were in place if Jonah wanted them. He did not want them. The second reason is that Jonah is not a child. He is an adult who is legally allowed to make his own decisions.

Prior to his eighteenth birthday, Jonah was in a residential, fully funded program in Utah that we were paying thousands of dollars a month for. This was a cost we were happy to pay, as we hoped it would help Jonah feel supported while also living independently, as he had told us for years he wanted to do. Jonah chose to leave that program against the Director’s advice, the counselors’ advice, and our advice the day before he turned eighteen because he was unwilling to follow the program’s rules.

Regarding the charge that we did not attend to his educational needs, that has been demonstrated to be untrue. We recognized that there would be a learning curve when our adopted children arrived and we were intentionally sensitive to that. To avoid Jonah and our other kids feeling left out of attending school, we brought all our children back home for schooling and hired two full-time professional teachers to help us bring their English and general education up to speed before introducing them to in-person school. Once those initial goals were addressed, we encountered daily difficulty in getting Jonah to take his education seriously. We hired private licensed educators and private tutors, and all of us, including our eight other children, tried to help Jonah with his schoolwork, but he refused to put in any effort. You cannot encourage enough, make, or incentivize a child to learn if he refuses to put in any effort.

In our divorce settlement it states that all of our children have the available funds to attend college or the equivalent up to four years, if they choose. Following his high school graduation, Jonah repeatedly refused to attend any post-high school educational programs. He left the Job Corps application process, as well as turned down his acceptance to the Kentucky Welding Institute. Beyond these opportunities that he rejected, he has not applied to any further education programs that he would need us to pay for. Which, as stipulated in the divorce agreement, we would do.

Jonah has basic supports in place if he wants them, and he knows this. Up to and until he filed the protective order that he flew across the country from Utah to file, stating that he “feared for his life,” we were still helping him to the degree he would allow us. We are currently still paying for his medical insurance and medical bills.

As to the accusation of abuse, and his comment that our “public life was very different from our private life,” yes, it was very different, but not in the way he has described. We were on the receiving end of my son’s conduct, not the other way around. It was testified to at trial on July 28, 2026, and it was not denied, that Jonah was charged with assault following an incident in our home. That charge is the reason he could not remain in our home, and it is why he was placed in programs out of state. Those placements were not us sending our son away. They were the options that were left to us after what had happened.

There are also recordings. They were made at the time, by Matt, who was present for both assaults. I am releasing them unedited, because our family has now been described publicly in a way that is not true, and because everything short of this has been ignored. I want to be clear that I take no satisfaction in this. No mother wants the public to hear her child at his worst. I am doing it because the alternative is to let a version of our home stand that never existed.

We are not perfect parents, but we tried our best in a very difficult situation. Please consider that we have eight other children who are not joining Jonah in these claims, and that for four of the key years Jonah is alleging abuse, we lived under the constant watch and care of the State Security Detail, who are second to none in their duties and take their responsibilities very seriously.

Please use this information to make your own informed opinions."