Tragic Details About Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Efird

The show "Toddlers & Tiaras" spawned an unexpected breakout series, thanks to outspoken pageant mom June "Mama June" Shannon, sassy youngest daughter Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, and their family's embrace of stereotypical rural Southern life. Fan favorite "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" ran for five seasons, featuring antics such as raising a pet pig, creating a pickup-truck hot tub, and attending the Redneck Games featuring a "mud pit belly flop" challenge. 

But all wasn't "sassisfied" fun behind the scenes, and among those most affected by the family drama was sister Lauryn Shannon, or "Pumpkin," as she's better known. By the age of 25, the reality star had experienced more headaches and heartaches than most young women her age; her struggles have been highlighted in the spinoff show "Mama June: From Not to Hot," later renamed "Mama June: Road to Redemption," and then "Mama June: Family Crisis." 

Through it all, Lauryn has faced her challenges head-on and worked to create the best life possible for herself and her family. That determination will surely help her tackle whatever else comes her way.

The third of June Shannon's four daughters, Lauryn grew up believing that her father was Mark McDaniel, who is also the father of oldest sister Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell. "Since two months to almost six years, she knew nobody but him," June told Entertainment Tonight in 2014. The two never had a typical relationship; McDaniel was convicted of child molestation — his victim was Anna — and served 10 years in prison. At some point, June confessed to Lauryn that McDaniel actually wasn't her biological father. She arranged for the two of them to meet shortly after his release so Lauryn could ask him the questions that had been troubling her for years. "It was a conversation that she wanted her answers: what happened, why did he leave, you know, if he was her real father," Shannon told the outlet. "He admitted to her, no. I had already told her that but, you know, she wanted to hear from both sides of the story."

Mama June also revealed to ET that Lauryn's real dad was Michael Anthony Ford, also the father of her second daughter, Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon. But this is hardly a happy-ending situation: Ford is also a convicted sex offender whose victims were minors. "Jessica and Pumpkin have the same dad, but Jessica's dad has had nothing to do with her over the years," June said. 

The father figure who was most prominent in the girls' life growing up was June's ex Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson, the father of Alana. He was one of the featured cast in "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," where he joined in the family antics. However, once he and June parted ways, Thompson opted to stay out of the picture altogether. "Honestly, I'm unaware of how he's doing at all," Lauryn told People in 2023. "We literally have no type of communication. Neither does Alana."

As a child, Lauryn had a rare and scary experience that still haunts her. As Mama June explained on an episode of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" (seen here), Lauryn was playing a video game at home during a thunderstorm. "It started lightning. The lightning hit the house. The game system was plugged up, the lightning conducted, and zap! She was electrocuted," June explained. "Pumpkin's never been the same since she got her brain fried." Lauryn, who was 12 at the time of the episode, agreed: "I believe that me getting struck by lightning has changed me forever."

Young Alana, brash as ever (she was around 6 at the time), drew a series of crayon drawings about the incident: Lauryn with the game controller; then a bolt of yellow lightning striking the house; finally, her sister lying on the ground with a black spiral over her head. "As you can tell, she's not as happy here [in the final picture] as she was here [in the first]," she pointed out. "Normal Pumpkin, crazy Pumpkin. Happy Pumpkin, stupid Pumpkin. Uncooked Pumpkin, cooked Pumpkin."

Like her mother before her, Lauryn was a teen mom. She'd been together with Josh Efird for three years when she learned she was pregnant at 17. "So happy to be starting this new adventure with him," she announced on Instagram. The couple welcomed Ella Grace Efird in December 2017 and wed the following year in a Vegas ceremony chronicled on "Mama June Family Crisis." However, the drama surrounding June made life difficult for the new parents. June split from Sugar Bear and began dating Eugene "Geno" Doak, a relationship marked by fighting and drug use. With a $3,000 daily crack habit, they quickly blew through the million dollars June had earned from the shows. Lauryn's reaction to June's expensive drug habit was heartbreaking. She confessed in one interview that she felt a little resentful that her mom never gave her any financial help.

Lauryn and her sisters tried to help their mother get clean, even taking her to a rehab facility in 2019. But June spent less than a day there before leaving. Days later, she and Doak were arrested on charges of domestic violence and drug possession.  They were ordered into rehab, where June finally got sober. Lauryn took over guardianship of her younger sister, former child beauty pageant star Alana Thompson, and juggled the needs of her toddler with those of a traumatized teen. Adding to her responsibilities, Pumpkin had her second child, a son named Bentley, in 2021, followed by twins Sylus and Stella a year later. Sister Jessica moved in with her for a time to help with the busy household.

June's struggle to reconnect with her family was the focus of their show, which changed its title to "Mama June: Road to Redemption." The girls were skeptical of their mom's ability to stay sober and earn their trust. After several years, though, the family is closer to a place of peace. Anna, Jessica, Lauryn, and Alana were the honor attendants when their mother married boyfriend Justin Stroud in 2023.

Just as Pumpkin's family life was starting to fall back into place, it once again took a tragic turn. In 2023, her eldest sister, Anna Marie Cardwell (seen here), was diagnosed with advanced adrenal cancer. Cardwell underwent chemotherapy and radiation, but the disease was too aggressive. By autumn, she was living with Mama June and receiving care from a hospice nurse. The family tried to make her last days as happy and comfortable as possible; in October 2023, they attended a local fair. By early December, as Lauryn was arranging a Christmas get-together, Anna's health sharply declined. On the 9th, she died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones. Alana made it back home from college in Colorado just in time to say her final goodbyes.

The heartbreaking time was filmed for their reality show. "We can't see her again. Now I have to live with that. You know, I gotta pull myself together to keep going," Lauryn reflected on the episode (via Today). 

Just months after losing her sister, Lauryn Efird was faced with another personal blow. She and Josh Efird separated in July 2024 after six years, leaving her the single mom of four children. Mama June claimed to People that she had always been wary of their relationship and had urged Lauryn not to marry him. "But as far as Pumpkin goes, I think our relationship has got better since her and Josh have separated," she said.

The split also put an end to an unconventional plan that was once on the family's table. Lauryn's sister Jessica Shannon, now engaged to her girlfriend, once floated the possibility of having Josh be a sperm donor so that she and her fiancée could be parents. In an interview with ET, Lauryn seemed ambivalent about the idea: "I don't know. There's a lot that ties into it more than just doing."

Lauryn wasted no time in jumping back into the dating scene. She's currently seeing a new man, Darren Kitchens, who is himself the father of a daughter from a previous relationship. The couple seems happy, but as June notes, Lauryn is still quite young. "Who knows if her and Darrin are going to last," she mused to People. "Right now, they're together. Nobody knows what the future holds."