Mama June's Husband Justin Shares Why He Fell for Her in First Interview (Exclusive)
A whirlwind romance. Mama June Shannon and her husband, Justin Stroud, are opening up about finding love in dark times.
The pair recently sat down with ET's Rachel Smith -- ahead of the premiere of a new season of Mama June: Family Crisis -- and reflected on their relationship and how they first knew they were meant for one another.
"It was just her personality, and she didn't judge me, and she allows me to be me," Justin shared. "She fights for me -- and it's hard to find someone that will fight for you even when you're wrong. That says a lot about somebody."
"So I had to hold on to her, I had to grab on," he added.
Looking back at when she was first contacted by Justin over social media, June recalled, "Honestly, I was going through some crazy diet mess in my life, I was getting to know who I was for the first time and I was taking care of June for like the first time ever. [I was] learning about trauma that happened a long time ago with my mom... and he was just texting me like, 'Hey, how're you doing?'"
June explained that, unlike other people in her life, "Justin didn't want nothing."
"He didn't want me for my money, he didn't want to be around for the attention, he didn't want all that," she said. "He was genuinely just asking me, 'Hey how are you doing today?' And at that time, I needed that."
June and Justin recently celebrated their 1-year wedding anniversary back in March. The pair tied the knot at a Georgia courthouse last year. Then, in February 2023, the couple got married again, this time in an oceanfront ceremony in Panama City, Florida.
The second wedding, which will be featured in the upcoming season of Mama June: Family Crisis, was held at the SpringHill Suites and included all of Mama June's family -- daughters Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird, Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon and Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell, as well as Mama June's grandchildren Stella, Sylus and Bentley.
Mama June previously told ET that she met Stroud in 2021 after a chance encounter, and she scoffed at the suggestion he was chasing her for clout. When they met, Mama June told ET, Justin didn't know about her reality stardom.
"We just started chit-chatting, and I started stalking him. Everybody always says he's a clout chaser. F**k, I was chasing him!" Mama June said at the time. "People don't realize [that] when me and Justin first met, I moved in with him, to his home. We both had our separate homes, but I moved in with him. And no, he's definitely not a clout chaser. He does his own stuff. I do my own stuff, but we do a lot of stuff together."
Mama June: Family Crisis premieres Friday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on WE tv. New episodes will follow every Tuesday on the AMC streaming service ALLBLK.
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