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How did Erica Shemwell's husband die? 'The Blended Bunch' star worried as 4 of her kids have same deadly disorder

Her ex-spouse Tony Means lived with Li-Fraumeni, which causes patients to be susceptible to cancer, and died of brain cancer
UPDATED MAR 30, 2021
Tony Means with his six children, while he was still alive, and his wife Erica Shemwell from 'The Blended Bunch' (Instagram/Shemwellbunch)
Tony Means with his six children, while he was still alive, and his wife Erica Shemwell from 'The Blended Bunch' (Instagram/Shemwellbunch)

The series premiere of 'The Blended Bunch' aired just a couple of weeks ago and the network is about to air its third episode on Tuesday (March 30) night. Like all TLC shows, the drama has been simmering as two people Erica and Spencer each with 7 and 4 children from their previous marriage, got married to each other and blended their family. 

Some of the kids don't like each other, while some of them miss their own dead parent and it seems like the "blending" has been rushed and only works for Erica and Spencer, instead of doing so for the whole bunch. To top that, Erica's brother Quinn as well as her parents, have been adding to the drama. Audiences feel that Erica and Spencer were "selfish" to not have waited for everyone to be comfortable around each other before living together, and the recent episode is going to add fuel to the fire, which is likely to affect Erica more. Continue reading to know more about it. 

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Erica Shemwell and her six kids who appear in 'The Blended Bunch' with her late husband Tony Means (TLC)

How did Erica Shemwell's husband Tony Means die?

Erica's husband Tony Means died after his long-drawn battle with cancer. He had Li-Fraumeni Syndrome and the long and short of it was that his body was missing one of the two cancer-fighting genes. His mother, grandfather, uncle, three cousins, an aunt, and an uncle had all died due to cancer. Tony was diagnosed with a brain tumor in his second year of being married to Erica and even though he beat cancer thrice, it returned to claim his life in December 2016. 

Audiences have been branding Erica and the late Tony's decision to have children "selfish" because of this reason. Li-Fraumeni is known to be passed down as a hereditary disorder and the fact that they went ahead to have 7 children out of which 4 – Landon, Emma, Sophie and Caleb have tested positive to LFS didn't sit right with people. LFS is "an inherited familial predisposition to a wide range of certain, often rare, cancers," according to the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Association. 

Erica Shemwell and her six kids who appear in 'The Blended Bunch' with her late husband Tony Means (TLC)

Erica Shemwell takes her kids to their annual MRI scans alone

All four of Erica Shemwell's kids get yearly scans to detect if they're cancer-free and the fact that they have a higher chance of getting cancer is an "unexpected burden" that she carries. It's something that her brother Quinn does not appreciate and expects that her brother-in-law Spencer steps up to support her during these times. He confronts Spencer and asks him the reverberating "what are you doing?" and you can watch the rest of their interaction in the trailer below. 



 

'The Blended Bunch' airs Tuesday at 9 pm ET on TLC. 

 
 

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