Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird Reveals Divorce Sparks Accidental Weight Loss Journey
Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird shared that her divorce led her
Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird opened up about her unexpected weight loss during an interview with a news outlet, revealing how her divorce from ex-husband Josh Efird set off this transformation.
Source: @laurynmychelle.efird/Facebook
“A lot of people think that I’m on like a weight loss shot or, like, I had a weight loss surgery. I haven’t had any of that,” Lauryn, 25, stated, promoting Season 7 of Mama June: Family Crisis. “The only thing I’ve ever had done was, like, my gallbladder got removed and I did have, like, incisions where someone, like, who did get lipo or something would have those, but I only got my gallbladder removed.”
Rather than turn to medication or surgical procedures, Lauryn credits her divorce for her change in physique.
“I … stressed myself out, like, in my marriage and trying to paint such a pretty picture and, like, kind of pretending to be something that I really wasn’t,” she explained, reflecting on her past struggles.
“I think that that caused me a lot of stress. And I was, like, overeating at the time,” she continued. “So, I did become overweight and then when I did file for a divorce and that kind of weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I just kind of felt like it just, like, literally just fell off.”
Lauryn emphasized that she “wasn’t even trying” to lose weight during this time.
The couple, married in 2018, welcomed their daughter Ella in 2017, son Bentley in 2021, and twins Sylus Ray and Stella Renae in 2022. While they initially appeared to be a solid pair, Lauryn and Josh shocked fans when she filed for divorce in August 2024, with the split finalized the following month.
Lauryn’s mom, June “Mama June” Shannon, and sister Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson also shared their thoughts on the couple’s separation.
“I’m not gonna say I was completely surprised just because, I mean, I lived there, I knew what was going on. I was old enough. They didn’t like hide anything, you know?” Alana, 19, remarked, acknowledging her awareness of tensions between Lauryn and Josh.
Alana, who previously lived with the couple, expressed her desire for them to reconcile. “I wanted them to fix it every other time they just, you know, fix it. So, I thought like they would just fix it, but it got worse than it normally does. I mean, at the end of the day, Pumpkin wasn’t happy. So, I get where she was coming from,” she stated.
June, 45, further elaborated, stating she “knew for many years” that Lauryn and Josh were “bound to” part ways.
“[Lauryn] could even say to her own mouth, like, I think Anna passing away opened our eyes to a lot of things that were happening around us that we were just kind of like, ‘Oh,’” June explained, referencing the death of Lauryn’s sister Anna Cardwell in December 2023 after her battle with cancer. “We [were] on back burner when Anna passed away. It was an eye-opener for all of us.”
