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Mama June Shares Update on Daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell’s 2 Kids After Her Death
June “Mama June” Shannon shared how her granddaughters Kylee and Kaitlyn are doing following the death of their mother, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell.
“Kaitlyn currently lives with me and Justin [Stroud]. Then, Kylee, she lives with her biological father, but we all knew that,” June, 44, told People in an interview published on Thursday, March 7. “People will see that also probably they’re talking about the situation as the season goes along.”
Anna shared Kylee, 8, with ex-husband Michael Cardwell, while the biological father of Kaitlyn, 11, has never been revealed.
After Anna died at the age of 29 in December 2023 following her battle with stage 4 cancer, June and Michael began a custody battle over Kaitlyn. The mother of four was ultimately awarded custody of Anna’s oldest daughter in December 2023.
“We are following Anna’s wishes at the end of the day. People will see that all this season of the show,” she told The U.S. Sun in January after she was granted custody. “A lot was covered on camera. The world will hear it from Anna’s mouth.”
Anna revealed she was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma in March 2023. Meanwhile, June confirmed her death in an Instagram post. “With the breaking heart, we are announcing that [Anna] is no longer with us,” the TV personality wrote on December 10, 2023. “She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM. 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.”
Her final days are currently being documented on Mama June: Family Crisis, while fans watched June wonder what would happen to her granddaughters in terms of custody during the March 1 episode.
“It’s a hard subject to talk about but like, when that time does come, like whenever Anna was to pass away, Eldridge [Toney] has told all of us that he’s not going to be able to handle [raising her kids],” June told husband Justin, 36, about Anna’s husband. “So like, I want to be able to have that place to be like, OK, you can come here.’”
After pointing out that Anna didn’t “have her f–king affairs in order,” she said her daughter wanted Eldridge to adopt Kaitlyn. “But when it comes about to go do that … There’s always like — kind of like it’s brushed off,” June added.
After June said there was a good chance she and Justin would get custody of Kaitlyn, she pointed out that signing away the “rights” to a child is “not the easiest f–king thing to do” and will be a “hard pill to swallow” for Anna.
“At that point, it’s going to become real to her,” the matriarch continued. “She’s not going to be able to see her graduate, she’s not this. She’s not going to see her turn 18, like that’s her realizing like, ‘F–k, this is true. This is my destination.’”
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