NEED TO KNOW
Mama June Shannon has some thoughts about daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird’s new boyfriend.
In an exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE ahead of this week’s new episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, Pumpkin reveals that she is dating her ex-husband Josh Efird’s cousin, Darrin Kitchens — much to her mom’s shock.
It all starts when Mama June catches Pumpkin smiling at her phone while they’re at a family dinner with Mama June’s husband, Justin Stroud, and Pumpkin’s sister, Jessica “Chubbs” Shannon.
“Up here smiling. What’s up with that?” Mama June asks.
“So, I’ve been, like, kinda seeing this dude,” Pumpkin answers.
When Mama June asks if they know him, Pumpkin says he’s “been in Josh’s family for a long time.”
“It’s his cousin,” Pumpkin adds, quickly clarifying that “they’re not blood cousins.”
Mama June asks which cousin it is and, when Pumpkin reveals it’s Darrin, she’s left speechless.
“The divorce ain’t even dried on the ink yet,” Mama June says.
Lauryn Mychelle Shannon/Facebook
Jessica then pieces together that she recently watched Pumpkin’s kids while she went on a date with Darrin.
“Oh, so that day I watched the kids…” Jessica asks, with Pumpkin admitting, “That was a date.”
In a flashback, Pumpkin says she is going on a “business dinner” while Jessica quizzes her about who will be there.
“Quit asking me so many questions. I’ll be back,” Pumpkin says.
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Back at the family dinner, Mama June is still trying to come to terms with Pumpkin’s big announcement.
“Why in the world?” Mama June asks.
Pumpkin continues to hammer home that Josh and Darrin are not related, saying, “it ain’t no blood, baby girl.”
In a confessional, Jessica draws a family tree to prove her point. She explains that Josh “knows his real dad, but doesn’t have a relationship with him,” and that Josh’s mom is in a relationship with another man, referred to in an earlier scene as Bubba.
“Darrin is kin to Josh’s stepdad. That is his uncle,” she proclaims. “No blood, no nothing.”
Jessica asks if Josh knows about Pumpkin dating Darrin, to which Pumpkin replies that he doesn’t and that she wants to be the one to tell him.
Mama June reminds Pumpkin that they live in a small town, to which Pumpkin replies, “That’s why we don’t go out and about.”
Mama June then tells Pumpkin she needs to “process this for a little while” and that she’ll call her later to discuss it further.
“Process all you want,” Pumpkin says.
Lauryn Mychelle Shannon/Facebook
Pumpkin filed for divorce from Josh after six years of marriage in August 2024.
The former couple share four children together: Ella, 7, Bentley, 4, and 2-year-old twins Sylus and Stella.
They finalized their divorce in September 2024, and Pumpkin told PEOPLE they agreed to a “50/50 custody” arrangement.
In a separate interview with PEOPLE, Pumpkin said she was focused on putting herself first after her divorce from Josh and that “things are really, really great” with Darrin.
Mama June: Family Crisis airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on WEtv.
