‘Blended Bunch’: Erica & Spencer Shemwell Forcing Last Name Change On Kids?
The next episode of The Blended Bunch is sure to receive a reaction from fans of the TLC show. A new preview from the episode shows a touchy subject coming up within the family: changing last names to reflect the melding of the Shemwell and Means families.
Are all the kids on board with the name change?
Erica & Spencer Adopting Each Other’s Children
Before she was Erica Shemwell, the matriarch of The Blended Bunch was Erica Means. She was married to Tony Means from 2007 until his death in 2016. During that time, the couple had six children together. Erica was pregnant with their seventh child, Caleb, when Tony died.
She met Spencer Shemwell through a support group for widows and widowers. Spencer’s wife, Aimee, died in a car accident in 2017. She left behind four children. Sadly, she was pregnant at the time of the crash and that baby didn’t survive.
During the episode airing on April 13, Erica and Spencer talk to their blended family about a major name change..at least for Erica’s kids. Spencer’s four children already have the Shemwell last name.
However, the couple decides that Erica’s seven children will legally have the last name Means Shemwell. Erica tells the kids that it was “really important to carry on Daddy’s name.”
However, not all of Erica’s kids are on board with changing their last name.
Emma Worries She’ll ‘Lose the Memory’ Of Her Dad With Name Change
Spencer’s daughter Harper Shemwell is enthused over name change. She is happy she’ll “officially be sisters” now. But some of the Means kids have reservations about their new name.
Emma is the oldest of Erica’s children and expresses serious doubts about changing her name. In a confessional, she doesn’t like that she won’t have the same name as her dad. She says, “Adding the name Shemwell kind of is like, taking away the memory of my dad [and] having the same last name as him.”
She also expresses anger that the kids weren’t given a choice in the name change. Emma wishes her mom “could have had a conversation” with her and her siblings before making the decision.
Eight-year-old Sophia says she “won’t like” her initials after changing her last name from Means to Shemwell.
Click here to watch the full preview clip on People magazine’s website.
Spencer & Quinn’s Princess Party
Fans of The Blended Bunch adore Erica’s brother Quinn. Amid the name-change drama, the Shemwell family makes time for a princess party with Spencer and the kids. Quinn is quick to join the party.
The men bring out their inner princesses with tiaras and tutus. See the cute clip from TLC’s Instagram.
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Do you think Erica & Spencer should have talked to the kids about changing their names instead of deciding for them? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
The Blended Bunch airs Tuesdays on TLC.
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