Mama June’s Husband: Everything To Know About Her Spouse & Past Exes
Mama June has only been married once — but she’s had several serious relationships, resulting in four daughters. Here’s what to know about her relationships.
- Mama June is a reality TV icon.
- She is best known for TLC’s hit ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.’
- She is currently married to Justin Stroud after two ceremonies.
- Mama June has several exes and has continuously courted drama in her relationships.
Mama June, 43, is a happily married woman! But the TLC reality star, whose last name is Shannon, hasn’t had it easy when it comes to relationships. Before she settled in with Justin Stroud after two wedding ceremonies, (one private, one very public) she had a string of relationships that were sometimes fraught with drama. None of them lasted, but she did have children with some of them, leading to even more famous family relationships for the matriarch.
From the early days on TLC to today, here’s everything to know about each of Mama June’s serious relationships.
David Dunn
Mama June was just 15 years in the 1990s old when she had her first daughter, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, with her boyfriend at the time, David Dunn. David and June never married, but he did go on to some alleged notable criminal activity. David was arrested in 1995 and 1998 for theft of a handgun and cigarettes, respectively.
David never did appear on television, but he did tell The National Enquirer in 2012 that he wanted to know his daughter. “Anna looks just like me,” he reportedly told the outlet. He further alleged that Mama June wouldn’t let him see her. “They wanted me to sign away my rights to Anna, but I refused. I don’t know who my own daddy is, and I always want Anna to know who her father is. But June won’t let me see her.”
Anna later said that she didn’t know her father until he was released from prison work detail.
Michael Anthony Ford
The TV star’s next relationship would be with Michael Anthony Ford. Michael is the sometimes rumored father of Lauryn Michelle “Pumpkin” Shannon Efird, born on January 7, 2000, and is the confirmed father of Jessica ‘Chubbs’ Shannon, who was born in October of 1996. They dated for only a few months before Mama June became pregnant with Jessica.
Mama June herself claimed he is the father of both. “Jessica and Pumpkin have the same dad, but Jessica’s dad has had nothing to do with her over the years,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2014.. “So, why the hell would I open up that can of worms until today? I lied to my family and told them it was somebody else.”
In any case, Michael did nothing to dampen the family’s history of drama. Back in 2005, he spent over two years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor online and thus became a registered sex offender. He also allegedly wrote bad checks and was caught shoplifting at a local Wal Mart.
“June and I only dated for a few months, and she became pregnant,” he told The National Enquirer. “I left June and went with another woman a month before Jessica was born. Now I can’t see my daughter. The last time I called and asked to see her, they told me if I came down there, I would be arrested for harassment.” He also claimed to have paid $300 per month in child support “for years.”
Mark McDaniel
Mama June’s relationship with convicted child sex offender Mark McDaniel may be her most infamous. He was around when Lauryn was born, and she was actually raised for a time with the belief that Mark was her father. He confessed guilt in an aggravated child molestation charge against him in 2003. Sadly, Anna Chickadee was identified as the victim in the sexual abuse case.
Even worse, June later returned to Mark in 2014 and began dating him again. The move has continued to cause strain on the relationship between Mama June and her eldest daughter.
Mike ‘Sugar Bear’ Thompson
Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson is known for being June’s longest relationship — and for showing up in occasional appearances on Mama June: From Not to Hot. Even more notably, he is the father of her most famous child, Alana Frances “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, born August 28, 2005. In an episode of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, Sugar Bear admitted to cheating on Mama June with both men and women, and she later accused him of being abusive during the relationship — he flatly denied the allegations.
Mike went on to marry Jennifer Lamb Thompson, but they split in January of 2022.
Eugene ‘Geno’ Doak
The TV personality next dated construction worker Eugene Doak — another love interest with a significant criminal record and two children from a previous relationship. They took up together in 2017 and dated until 2021, but not before a domestic violence incident stirred up significant press attention at a gas station in Alabama. Both were allegedly in possession of drugs, and Geno allegedly threatened to kill her during the altercation.
The duo never did become engaged, despite Mama June’s pressure to get married. He presented her with a promise ring instead.
Justin Stroud
Mama June and WE TV star Justin Stroud were a match made to last from the beginning. They admittedly met via TikTok, and were married in a super-secret ceremony in March of 2022. “We became friends originally, and he didn’t know who Mama June was when he met me,” she told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY during a podcast interview. “I had been told I wasn’t his type, that he wasn’t single. But it turns out I was his type, and he was single!”
They later exchanged vows again in an all-out beach ceremony in Panama City, Florida, in February of 2023. Heartwarmingly, all of Mama June’s four daughters were in attendance and walked their mother down the aisle.