Kriti Mehrotra
TLC’s ‘The Blended Bunch,’ as the title suggests, is a series that follows Erica and Spencer Shemwell, a relatively newlywed couple, as they bring together their 11 kids and help them adjust to their new lives under one roof as a blended family. Erica, a mother of 7 young ones, lost her first husband, Tony, to cancer, whereas Spencer, a father of 4, lost Aimee, his childhood sweetheart, in a fatal car crash before they eventually found each other and fell in love.
After losing their spouses in incidents that left them uncertain about ever finding love again, the universe gave them another chance in a way that neither of them could have anticipated. Erica and Spencer met via an online support group for grieving widows, where they became friends before turning into something more. And because this tale seems too good to be true, you must be wondering if it’s actually that way or not, right? We’ll we’ve got the answers for you.
Is The Blended Bunch Real or Scripted?
Not only is the story of how Erica and Spencer Shemwell met and began their journey real, but the entirety of ‘The Blended Bunch’ seems to be unscripted. TLC is a network recognized for giving us one exciting reality-series after another, especially when aspects like emotional backgrounds, romance, religion, and big households are involved. So, this show is no different. One might assume that it is a sham due to the drama that gets incorporated, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Sibling arguments, family disapproval, and struggles over adoption are things that even normal couples face every-day; the only difference with the Shemwells is that a camera is there to follow them around and make it publicly known. Of course, we can’t deny the possibility of the show’s creators giving the stars a baseline regarding how an episode should proceed so as to make things more interesting, but what we see of an individual’s personality or the events is genuine.
Some scenes of ‘The Blended Bunch’ are bound to be filmed in controlled environments so that no leaks are made before an episode’s air date or to secure a reality star’s safety. However, that doesn’t imply that the series is scripted. Moreover, if you want confirmation directly from the mouths of those whose lives we follow here, all you need to do is head over to the Shemwell family’s blog, Shemwell Bunch, and check out their very first post. There, they make it clear that the show profiles what truly happens in their lives.
“We feel blessed to have this opportunity to share our story of heartache, healing, love, resiliency, failures, and successes with the world,” Erica Shemwell wrote. “Our kids…chose to be a part of this experience [because they] “want to help other people.” We are not a perfect family, and are still figuring things out, and will continue to face challenges in our future. But we hope that by sharing our story, you will feel connection, validation, healing, gratitude, love, belonging, and above all, continual hope in your life.”
