The Blended Bunch: The Tragic Death Of Spencer Shemwell's First Wife
If there's a network that knows how to do reality television shows, it's TLC. The network that brought you Kate Plus 8, 90 Day Fiancé, My 600-lb Life, Welcome to Plathville, and more is back with another show called The Blended Bunch — and it's another big one. The show follows Erica and Spencer Shemwell's life with 11 children from previous marriages, according to TLC.
Per People, Erica has seven children in total — Landon, 12; Emma, 10; Lily, 9; Sophie, 8; Tanner, 6; Amelia, 5; and Caleb, 3 — while husband Spencer has four children of his own — Brayden, 12; Harper, 8; Avery, 6; and Bexley, 4.
To audiences, the couple's union may seem surprising, but their backstories are filled with tragedy and loss. Both of them were widowed after losing their former spouses to tragedy. Read on to find out what happened with Spencer's first wife, Aimee Shemwell.
Spencer Shemwell's first wife died in a car accident
Before Spencer Shemwell connected with Erica through an online widower support group, he was married to Aimee Shemwell. In a blog post posted on March 1, 2021, ahead of The Blended Bunch's premiere on March 16, Spencer revealed that he and Aimee dated in 2007 and got married in the same year. Aimee loved having children because of "her natural ability to lead, nurture, guide, and understand others."
Unfortunately, Aimee died in November 2017 when she was in a car accident with Spencer while they were on their way back home from dinner. The couple's car "was T-boned by a tractor trailer on a major intersection near their home in Virginia," and Aimee died at the scene along with their unborn baby, according to the blog post.
Aimee's death was agonizing for Spencer, who had to deliver the news to his children. "I remember sitting the kids all in my lap and I said, 'Mommy passed away,'" Spencer recalled while in tears in the trailer for The Blended Bunch. "I thought there was no way I could ever love anyone like Aimee."
Aimee will be a point of discussion on the show with Erica struggling to live up to her legacy as the stepmom to Spencer's children. "Sometimes, I really just wonder if there are moments when Spencer wishes that Aimee was here instead of me," Erica confessed in the trailer.