Eldridge Toney, the widower of Anna Cardwell, took to social media this week to reflect on his grieving process following Anna’s death, while seemingly confirming that he’s in a new relationship.
As fans of Mama June: Family Crisis know, Anna– the eldest daughter of Mama June Shannon– died in December 2023 at the age of 29 following a nearly year-long battle with cancer. She was survived by daughters Kaitlyn, 11, and Kylee, 8.
Shortly after Anna’s death, it was revealed that she and Eldridge– who began dating in 2017– had secretly married in March 2023 after Anna was diagnosed with cancer.
On Monday, Eldridge shared a photo to Instagram of himself, his stepdaughter Kaitlyn and a woman whom he is presumably dating, telling followers in the caption that losing his wife “was the hardest chapter” of his life; however, he knows that his late wife would have wanted him to “keep living.”
“ … The grief, the silence, and the empty spaces she once filled were overwhelming,” Eldridge wrote. “There were days I didn’t think I’d ever feel whole again. But healing doesn’t mean forgetting. It means honoring the love we shared while finding the strength to keep living– truly living. She would have wanted that.
“Not for me to stay in sorrow, but to smile again, love again, and build something meaningful from the pain,” he continued. “I carry her memory with me every day– not as a weight but as a reminder of how deeply I was loved and how deeply I can love in return.”
Eldridge went on to tell fans that moving forward doesn’t mean that he’s leaving Anna’s memory behind, insisting that he’s actually “letting her love inspire” the way he lives his life going forward. He also shared an encouraging message to those in the same situation.
“ … To anyone facing similar pain: be gentle with yourself,” he wrote. “Healing has no timeline. But hope, joy, and love can return– even if it looks different than before. Here’s to new chapters, and to the strength it takes to turn the page.”
Eldridge later posted a photo and message to his Instagram Story, assuring fans that he was “working on finding peace and learning to [be] present again.”
“I know moving forward isn’t a[n] easy thing to do but I know it’s good for me,” he wrote.
As The Ashley previously reported, Eldridge spoke out about his wife’s death in late 2023, recalling the emotional final moments of Anna’s life, as well as the vow he made to her to maintain a close relationship with her daughters. Eldridge also opened up at the time about how hard it would be to go back to the now-empty home he once shared with Anna and the girls, admitting it was “going to be very lonely.”
“[Anna] was the one I was supposed to grow old with,” he said. “She was my one true love, she was that for me. I will never stop loving her. There will never be another Anna.”
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(Photos: Instagram)
4 Responses
he’s a really good guy and we wish him the best! also i got so happy to see he still has a relationship with kaitlyn, i hope the same can be said for kylee
This is sad. What a loss. I wish him all the best
Just a little advice, when using ChatGPT change a few things to make it sound more personable. Remove the dashes too, that’s a dead giveaway. But beautiful sentiment. I’m sure she would want him to be happy.
Nice try, but assuming that the use of dashes automatically equals the use of AI is blatantly incorrect. I am a writer — not for this website but for other websites for 20+ years — and I also use dashes.