Mama June Cries and Says It’s ‘Rotten’ Anna’s Daughters Have to Live Without Their Mom

Two months to the day after Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell died of cancer, June “Mama June” Shannon filmed a selfie video reflecting on her daughter, sharing with fans that it’s “rotten” Anna’s children have to grow up without her. 

Posting the video to Instagram on Friday, February 9, Mama June, 44, said that she “never thought” her family would be in such a sad situation. She accompanied the video with clips from the forthcoming season of Mama June: Family Crisis – also dropping on February 9 – capturing Anna in her final months. 

“I don’t want to have the conversations,” Mama June told producers in one of the clips from the season. “Life insurance … her kids. Nobody understands.” 

The reality TV star’s post was flooded with supportive comments from fans, with one saying, “So sorry for your loss June. No one ever expects to bury a child. Praying for your family.” Yet another viewer looked towards the new episodes, telling Mama June, “Im going to be bawling this entire season. Her poor babies. I can’t imagine how heavy her mama heart was knowing she was going to be leaving her sweet babies. Prayers for all of y’all.” 

A whole chorus of fans paid tribute to Anna, with one thanking Mama June for “sharing her story with us, especially those who have watched Anna from the very beginning. My thoughts are with your family.” 

Mama June’s tearful video comes not only amid the new season of her family’s show, but also on the heels of her heated custody battle with Anna’s ex-husband, Michael Cardwell, for parental authority over his and Anna’s daughter Kaitlyn. 

Michael and Anna were married from 2014 to 2017. Following her December 2023 death, he filed a lawsuit against Mama June in a Georgia court for custody of 11-year-old Kaitlyn, who Anna had from a previous relationship. Michael received custody of his and Anna’s 8-year-old daughter, Kylee, following her death and pointed to Anna’s strained relationship with Mama June in his court filing. 

Mama June, meanwhile, said that Anna’s custody wishes were captured while filming Mama June: Family Crisis, and told The U.S. Sun that her daughter’s wishes should be honored. 

“We are following Anna’s wishes at the end of the day. People will see that all this season of the show,” she said. “A lot was covered on camera. The world will hear it from Anna’s mouth. This is a hard season to watch, for sure. Like I said when I’ve been going live on TikTok, a lot of people need to realize that a lot of our life has been documented.”