Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's Husband Not Ready To Sleep In Bedroom Following Her Death

Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's widower, Eldridge Toney, is still battling with her absence two months after her tragic demise.

The media personality, best known as Mama June's oldest daughter, lost her battle with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma in December 2023. Her death left a massive hole in the hearts of her loved ones, with her husband unable to sleep in their marital bedroom.

Toney recently opened up about his emotional state amid Cardwell's death, revealing he only just found the emotional strength to start his healing journey. The first step involved putting away his late wife's belongings after leaving them untouched since her death.

"I haven't been in the bedroom because everything was just how she left it," he shared. "The last night we were in the bedroom was actually the day before she had decided to go to hospice."

"All those feelings that are tired with that room down there, especially with all her stuff being exactly how it was when we were there...," Toney continued, confessing that it was challenging to enter their bedroom. In his words:

"It was just hard to go down in the room, and I feel like it was like one major thing that was kind of, like, giving me anxiety about the house, but it kind of was in the same sense time."

Toney understood that he couldn't move forward without sorting Cardwell's belongings and had to start the emotional process. He said: "We have two closets in the bedroom, and I folded all of her clothes and put it in bins and a lot of other things that were important to her. I hung up her wedding dress, and I closed the door."

He continued: "I have access to it, but it's not out anymore the way she had left it. So yeah, I got everything in the back closet with the door closed, but I did leave out some stuff, you know, she had out that I wanted to keep out."

Despite his willingness to reorganize the couple's home, Toney confessed that he could not get a good night's rest in their bedroom. "I am going to work towards it," he explained, adding:

"It's a process, but some days I'll just go in there and lay down. I won't go to sleep, but I just spent some time in there. I'm gonna keep spending more time in the room so that when I do make the decision to sleep in there, it won't be so right in my face."

Before this heart-to-heart interview with PEOPLE, Toney previously told the outlet how Cardwell's death had affected his life. "It keeps hitting me again," he said of his grief at the time. "It's going to be a lot different."

Toney admitted that the thought of "going back to our home with no Anna and without the girls" was difficult to accept. Additionally, he acknowledged that waking up to find Cardwell missing was painful. "It is going to be very lonely," he added. "It's getting harder."

Cardwell and Toney secretly tied the knot nine months before her death, as revealed by their wedding certificate. Their marriage record showed the couple said their vows on March 4, 2023, in Wilkinson County, Georgia.

Cardwell reportedly pushed to have the ceremony with Toney after learning of her cancer diagnosis in January 2023. She wished to get married while she felt strong enough to participate in the event.

Per her wishes, she and Toney got hitched in March, the same month she was said to have started undergoing chemotherapy. The wedding ceremony was an intimate affair, with the couple's close family members in attendance.

The camera crew recording footage for her family’s WE TV reality show, “Mama June: From Not to Hot,” also attended the event. Before her death, Cardwell did not welcome any children with Toney; however, she has two daughters from a previous relationship.

Toney isn't the only loved one who is struggling with Carwell's tragic passing. Her daughters, Kaitlyn and Kylee, were reportedly also struggling to cope with their mother's death. In December, sources claimed the family was considering seeking therapy to help the girls navigate through the grieving process.

According to insiders, Kaitlyn, who is now in the custody of her grandmother, Mama June, actively supported her mother during her battle with cancer. The little girl ensured she took her medicine and provided constant companionship.