Mama June Shannon and Justin Stroud secretly wed in May.
Fans weren't the only ones surprised to learn about Mama June's secret marriage to Justin Stroud in May. ET's Rachel Smith spoke with Mama June's daughters, Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird, who revealed they too were "shocked" by the news.
Lauryn explained that she first learned about the marriage when she received a letter in the mail from the Georgia courthouse where June and Justin got married, sharing that she initially thought it was a notice for a court date. "Sure enough it was a receipt addressed to her for a marriage certificate," Lauryn said. "I didn’t say anything. I did not say nothing at all."
"Genuinely I was waiting for her to be like, 'OK y'all, I went up and got married,'" Lauryn said, before sharing that June later denied her marriage when she and Alana confronted her following a custody hearing. "We got out to the parking lot and said, 'Well congratulations on being married, I got the receipt in the mail' and she was like, 'No, no, no, I didn't get married. I didn't get married.'"
Lauryn said that June finally "admitted to it in text message" just before her daughter gave birth to twins Sylus Ray and Stella Renae on May 19.
Alana, meanwhile, shared with ET, "I wasn't hurt. I was more shocked because my mama always said that she would never get married and that she would never go off and just get married with somebody."
"She was scared of marriage to say the least," Alana continued. "And now she just got married with this dude she hadn't even known a whole year yet."
Lauryn added, "I’m not saying that Justin’s a bad guy by any means, but I also don’t know him that well. Alana chimed in, "I’m not gonna speak on him."
In May, the Deputy Court Clerk in Wilkinson County confirmed to ET that June and Justin had wed at a Georgia courthouse on March 23. The news came shortly after June denied engagement speculation after she and Justin were spotted shopping at a jewelry store.
"I've had this ring on my hand for nine years. There is no different ring," June told ET's Deidre Behar at the time. "Kay's is my favorite jewelry store and who knows what the future holds, honestly. So we're going to see."
June's rocky relationship with Lauryn and Alana is currently playing out on this season of Mama June: Road to Redemption, and has also followed her new romance with Justin, which included the newlywed's move to a new trailer home in Georgia, just down the street from where her daughters live.
The season finale of Mama June: Road to Redemption airs Friday at 9 p.m. on WE TV.
RELATED CONTENT:
