The Untold Story Of How The Blended Bunch's Erica And Spencer Met
It's no secret that everyone tunes into TLC for their famous reality shows. After all, the network is responsible for bringing us some of the most captivating stories on television, including 90 Day Fiancé, Outdaughtered, Welcome to Plathville, Counting On, and more. Now, the network is adding another surefire hit to their lineup, and fans everywhere are already buzzing about TLC's latest family-oriented show, The Blended Bunch.
The Blended Bunch, which premieres on TLC on Tuesday, March 16, follows Erica and Spencer Shemwell as they navigate life with their 11 kids. The couple often refer to themselves as a "modern-day Brady Bunch," which totally makes sense, considering Erica has seven kids from a previous marriage: Landon, 12, Emma, 10, Lily, 9, Sophie, 8, Tanner, 6, Amelia, 5, and Caleb, 3 (via People). And her husband, Spencer, has four children from a previous marriage: Brayden, 12, Harper, 8, Avery, 6, and Bexley, 4.
While The Blended Bunch's Erica and Spencer are happily married now, their love story stems from tragedy
Both Erica and Spencer Shemwell were previously married, and it's their individual tragedies that brought them together in the first place. "My husband, Tony, passed away from brain cancer three years ago — I feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest," Erica shared in the trailer for the upcoming series premiere (via YouTube). Spencer's story of losing his first wife is also incredibly sad, as she and their unborn baby tragically died in a car accident.
"I said, 'Mommy passed away," he tearfully revealed. "I thought there was no way that I could ever love anyone like Aimee." After the deaths of their spouses, Spencer and Erika joined a widower support group online, where they met and eventually fell in love. A little over a year after meeting, the pair tied the knot, and the rest is history.
"We feel blessed to have this opportunity to share our story of heartache, healing, love, resiliency, failures, and successes with the world," Erica wrote on the Shemwell family's personal blog. "We are not a perfect family, and are still figuring things out, and will continue to face challenges in our future. But we hope that by sharing our story you will feel connection, validation, healing, gratitude, love, belonging, and above all, continual hope in your life."
The Blended Bunch premieres on TLC on Tuesday, March 16 at 9 p.m. ET.