Oh no… Things just got messy for the Honey Boo Boo family. We were afraid of this.
On Monday, The US Sun reported the late Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell‘s ex-husband has filed a custody lawsuit against her mother, Mama June Shannon.
Michael Cardwell is the biological father of 8-year-old Kylee, and after Chickadee’s passing he was granted custody of his own child. Makes sense. However, Mama June got custody of Chickadee’s eldest daughter Kaitlyn — and now Michael is suing to get Kaitlyn, too. And no, he’s not the 11-year-old’s bio dad.
OMG.
In court documents obtained by the outlet, which were filed on Sunday, Michael argued he has “fully and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed, and responsible parental role” in Kaitlyn’s life, and has “engaged in consistent caretaking of the child and established a bonded and dependent relationship with the child.” He says this bond was encouraged by Anna, from whom he split back in 2017.
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He argued that while they may have been separated for over six years now, he continued an “independent relationship with” Kaitlyn, “which was fostered and supported by a parent of the child.” That’s in addition to his shared custody of her little sister Kylee. The court docs continued:
“Both petitioner and parent understood, acknowledged, accepted and behaved as though the petitioner is a parent of the child and accepted full and permanent responsibilities as a parent of the child without expectation of financial compensation.”
Michael further claimed he’s been paying for Kaitlyn’s schooling, while her alleged biological father Caleb Clark — whose paternity he says has never been confirmed by a DNA test — hasn’t ever supported the mother-daughter duo, and therefore has no legal custody rights over the child.
Of course, it isn’t Clark who has custody now. It’s Mama June. In his filing, Michael argues Anna and Mama June’s relationship has been strained throughout the years, alleging in the filing:
“Anna has been raised by her maternal grandmother in Griffin, Georgia since she was approximately eight years old and only returned to the home of June Shannon when she was 17. Anna has had a very sordid relationship with her mother throughout her life and went various periods of time without speaking to her. Likewise, June’s presence in the minor child’s life has been inconsistent.”
Well… we do know a lot of that is accurate. Anna and June have had a strained relationship the past few years.
Michael added that, as her kid sister’s dad, he’s been a mainstay in Kaitlyn’s life since before she was even a year old:
“Petitioner has been a stable and consistent part of the minor child’s life since she was eight months old and has continued to do so even after years from his divorce from Anna. Petitioner is the only living person that has shown a constant and continuous interest in the child’s minor child’s well-being, and being in the custody of the petitioner will be in the child’s best interest”
This is some serious stuff! We just hope it doesn’t cause too much of a negative effect on the girls… They’re already going through so much.
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[Images via Michael & Anna Cardwell/Instagram & Entertainment Tonight/YouTube]