Mama June sued by Chickadee’s ex-husband over custody of the late reality star’s oldest daughter

June “Mama June” Shannon is headed to court to fight the ex-husband of her late daughter, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, over custody of Chickadee’s 11-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn.

Michael Cardwell filed the suit against the “Mama June: From Not to Hot” reality star this week in a Wilkinson County, Georgia, court. Cardwell is not Kaitlyn’s biological father — he entered her life when she was 8 months old, he said — but nevertheless says he has been a consistent parental figure in her life.

Chickadee died on Dec. 9 at 29 years old after a battle with cancer. She was reportedly diagnosed with Stage 4 adrenal carcinoma earlier this year. Cardwell, who married Chickadee in 2014 and separated from her in 2017, is the biological father of Chickadee’s 8-year-old daughter, Kylee. In the court documents obtained by The Times, Cardwell claims that Kaitlyn’s biological father was never involved in her life and refused a paternity test, insisting he was not interested in being involved.

Cardwell, who received full custody of Kylee after Chickadee died, claimed via the court documents that he’s “fully and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed, and responsible parental role” in Kaitlyn’s life. He said he was engaged in “consistent caretaking of the child and established a bonded and dependent relationship with the child.”

He further stated via the filing that Chickadee “fostered and supported” him forming an “independent relationship” with Kaitlyn after their split, despite his not being her biological father. According to the legal documents, Cardwell had the same visitation arrangement with Kaitlyn that he did with Kylee.

“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,” read the filing.

Cardwell claimed the relationship between Mama June and Chickadee had been inconsistent. “Anna has had a very sordid relationship with her mother throughout her life and went various periods of time without speaking to her,” the filing reads. “Likewise, June’s presence in the minor child’s life has been inconsistent.”

On Monday, Mama June told TMZ that she “can see him in court.” The reality television star said that Kaitlyn wants to stay with her and her husband, Justin Stroud, and insisted that Cardwell obtaining legal custody “would be going against her wishes.”

“At the end of the day, the girls have lost their mother, so why put them through this,” she added.