Mama June, Anna Cardwell. Paras Griffin/Getty Images for WEtv; MEGA
Mama June Shannon claimed that her late daughter Anna Cardwell’s ex-husband Michael Cardwell abused Anna during their relationship and is therefore not a suitable guardian for her granddaughter Kaitlyn.
“During his marriage to Anna, Plaintiff frequently physically abused Anna and the child,” Shannon, 44, alleged in court documents obtained by Us Weekly. “And it would not be in the child’s best interests to be in Plaintiff’s care and control.”
Shannon noted in her filing, which was submitted to the Superior Court of Wilkinson County in Georgia on Monday, January 15, that Michael is not the biological father of Anna’s eldest daughter, Kaitlyn, 11.
The identity of Kaitlyn’s biological father is unknown. In addition to Kaitlyn, Anna was the mother to daughter Kylee, whom she welcomed with Michael in December 2015. Anna died in December 2023 at age 29 after battling stage IV adrenal cancer.
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Shannon pointed out on Monday that although Michael met Kaitlyn when she was “approximately 2 years old,” he hasn’t been a part of her life since Anna and Michael split in 2017.
She argued that Anna’s widower, Eldridge Toney, “has been the only father figure to the child since a few months after” Anna and Michael “separated.” Anna and Michael were married from 2014 to 2017. Us confirmed that Anna wed Toney in March 2023.
In the new filing, Shannon insisted that her granddaughter Kaitlyn “has spent her childhood regularly seeing and spending time with [her],” alleging that Michael “has been an inconsistent presence in the child’s life.”
The reality star explained that she hopes the court grants her “sole legal and physical custody of the child.” Shannon also asked that Michael’s petition for custody be denied and dismissed.
Following her daughter’s passing, Shannon was granted temporary custody of Kaitlyn last month. In the filing, Shannon claimed that it would be in her granddaughter’s best interest to continue living with her in Georgia.
“[Shannon] is not aware of any person not a party to this case who has physical custody of the child or claims to have custody or visitation rights with respect to the child,” the December 2023 court documents read. “[Shannon] is not aware of any other actions involving custody of the child pending in this or any other state.”
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Michael claimed in his own filing last month that he and Kaitlyn had built a connection over the years. He alleged that there was a strained relationship between Shannon and Anna prior to her death, which reportedly made for an inconsistent relationship between Shannon and Kaitlyn.
Shannon denied the accusations in her January filing, stating, “Outside of one short period of disagreement, Defendant and Anna had a stable parent-child relationship.”