Mama June Shannon shared a new emotional tribute to her husband Justin Stroud on Instagram over the weekend. Shannon, 42, and Stroud, 34, exchanged vows in a Georgia courthouse on March 23, but their nuptials were not reported until The Sun broke the news on May 31. The next day, Shannon and Stroud confirmed the news on Instagram. The Mama June: From Not to Hot star and Stroud dated for about five months before their wedding.
In her June 4 Instagram post, Shannon said she “fell for” Stroud from the moment they first met. She felt they had a real connection and Stroud showed her “what true love really is to feel love for the first time in 41 years.” She said Stroud is “so awesome so caring so loving and you put up with all my bulls— and goofy and even when I get on your nerves you still love me through it all.”
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“U are my best friend my forever my husband my voice of reason at time the person helps me deal with s— when no one else is around and can know exactly what I’m thinking or going through with out me saying a word,” Shannon continued. “We have connection like no else I love that you are the my person since day to person I get to kiss good morning and the person I get to lay down with every night and say good night I love u and I won’t have it any other way u r my forever I’m so lucky to have in my life and no matter what storm or what is happens in our life we will get through it TOGETHER no matter who likes it I’m the luckiest girl in the world as u have brought so much happiness into my life true love and so much more I will always love you forever.”
Shannon said she is also “so proud” of the person Stroud has become over the past year and the changes he continues to make. She feels “blessed to be here” so she can witness him becoming a different person. “I can’t wait to see what amazing things life has in store for us TOGETHER,” she wrote.
Shannon and Stroud, a car mechanic, began dating earlier this year. Stroud helped Shannon put her life together after she broke up with her troubled ex-boyfriend, Geno Doak. “We’ve known each other going on a year now. We were best friends and we decided to take it to the next step in the last eight months,” Shannon told The Sun. “It’s been amazing like you know, he’s helped put the pieces back together.”
However, Stroud also has a troubled past. When the couple was attending a party, police arrested Stroud on an outstanding Florida warrant in February. The warrant was issued in October 2021 because Stroud violated his probation related to past drug and burglary charges. The warrant never stopped Stroud and Shannon from traveling though. They were pictured in Los Angeles before they returned to Georgia.
“Justin is an amazing person and he understands everything I’ve been going through,” Shannon told The Sun. “I’ve been able to share stuff with him that I’ve never been able to share with other people – not even my kids and so it’s really nice to have that partnership.”
Shannon’s dating history is filled with controversy. In 2014, TLC canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo after it was revealed that Shannon was dating convicted sex offender Mark McDaniel. Shannon’s daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson also revealed she was sexually assaulted by McDaniel, beginning when she was 8 years old. Doak and Shannon were also arrested on drug possession charges in 2019. Doak is now wanted by police for allegedly failing to attend a court-mandated community corrections program.
Shannon has also reportedly lost custody of Thompson, 16, to Shannon’s older daughter, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 22. Shannon is required to pay Lauryn $800 a month in child support until Thompson becomes 18. In May, Shannon defended Alana dating a 20-year-old man. The Shannon family’s tumultuous lives are playing out in Mama June: From Not to Hot – Road to Redemption, which airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on WEtv.