ExclusiveMama June, Husband Justin Shroud Reveal How Her Daughters Feel About Him: ‘Progress’
Onward and upward. Mama June Shannon and her husband, Justin Shroud, revealed how her daughters, Alana Thompson, Anna Cardwell, Lauryn Efird and Jessica Shannon, feel about their stepdad during an exclusive interview with In Touch.
“It’s a work in progress just like it is for every family,” Justin, 34, tells In Touch, referring to how he and his wife’s children get along now while promoting the season 6 premiere of Mama June: Family Crisis.
June, 43, legally tied the knot with her husband in March 2022 at a Georgia courthouse. Nearly one year later, they exchanged vows for a second time on February 18. Although Alana “Honey Boo Boo,” 17, Anna “Chickadee,” 28, Lauryn “Pumpkin,” 23, and Jessica “Chubbs,” 26, were all present for their mother’s recent wedding ceremony, Alana and Lauryn, in particular, were still skeptical about June’s new spouse.
“I didn’t feel any ill will toward the girls at the beginning because I want them to be, you know, hesitant about new people that they meet,” Justin explains. “You know, you always [have got to] protect you at the end of the day and protect yourself. So, that guard always has to be up, you know, and peel that onion layer back one at a time and get to know that person. And from what it looks like, it’s been moving in the right direction. So, hopefully we can just keep it moving that way.”
For her part, June says the wedding was “amazing” since both her and Justin’s respective families were there to support the happy couple.
Two months prior, the Mama June: From Not to Hot alum reflected on the doubt that she and Justin received over their relationship.
“[A lot] of people didn’t want us together or thought we wouldn’t make it, but we have been through [a lot] to say the least as friends and as a couple that most would not be able [to] handle,” June captioned a lengthy Instagram post on March 23 in celebration of their anniversary. “[We] have done it together and have figured out every situation together. I have never experienced that before, so it has been very nice.”
While Justin has settled into the blended family, June’s daughters have been making headlines for their personal lives — most notably Anna, 28, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in March, In Touch confirmed at the time.
“She has had two rounds of chemo. She goes for her third round next week. She is doing OK,” the Georgia native tells In Touch. “The second round was a little bit rough on her. She’s been, like, sleeping. She’s just going through the emotions like anyone would be in cancer stage 4. We’re going through emotions as a family.”
June adds that she and Justin have been supporting Anna as much as they can by taking her to chemo treatments. However, she also reveals that others in their family haven’t “been around” Chickadee in some time, “which is sad.”
“We also go, and the people that are there is me and Justin and the girls [sic],” she continues. “So, like nobody else is around besides her boyfriend. But I tell everybody that whenever the time does come or when she gets very sick, they have to live with that at the end of the day, not me. But outside of that, most days, you know, she’s pretty good. But you know, everybody has their bad days, and I know as her mother, if I’m struggling some days, I know she has to be really struggling some days. You know, we have her good and our bad days.”
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