Anna Cardwell/Instagram
Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell Secretly Married Husband Eldridge Toney 9 Months Before Death
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell married husband Eldridge Toney on March 4, nine months before her death from stage 4 adrenal cancer on December 9, In Touch can confirm.
The couple’s wedding took place in Wilkinson County, Georgia, according to their marriage certificate. A camera crew for Anna’s family’s reality show, Mama June: From Hot to Hot, was reportedly filming the nuptials, according to TMZ.
The site reported that Anna, who was 29 at the time of her death, wanted to have her wedding while she was still feeling well enough for a ceremony. She was undergoing chemotherapy at the time of the event.
Anna was previously married to Michael Caldwell from 2014 until 2017. They have a daughter, Kylee, together, while Anna also has a daughter, Kaitlyn, from a previous relationship. She started dating Eldridge in June 2017.
Although Anna and Eldridge wore promise rings before they tied the knot, she was admittedly not in a rush to have an official ceremony before she got sick. “I always tell him marriage is just a piece of paper saying, ‘Hey, you’re married,’’ Anna told The Sun in June 2021. “I told myself if we make it past four years, then we can talk more about it.”
In a statement released via Mama June’s spokesperson on Sunday, December 10, it was revealed that Eldridge was by Anna’s side when she died at June’s home. The statement referred to him as her “husband” and confirmed that Anna’s daughters, sisters and other close family members were also at her bedside.
Anna received her cancer diagnosis in January. Although she revealed that her chemotherapy treatments seemed to be “working” in May, her health took a turn for the worst just months later.
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that [Anna] is no longer with us,” Mama June shared on Sunday, December 10, via Instagram. “She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12pm. She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months. She passed away with her family around her. We will be updating y’all with more information as we get it today. We love y’all and continued prayers and thoughts for our family [during] this difficult time.”
Anna’s younger sister Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson also posted a tribute to the late TLC star. “I really don’t know what to say as my heart is completely broken,” she admitted. “Watching my 29 year old sister this last year battle this horrible disease hasn’t been easy. Anna was a fighter [and] still is.”
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