Judge Lynn Toler's Husband, Eric Mumford, Passed Away Unexpectedly at 72 Years Old

It goes without saying that Judge Lynn Toler is most famous thanks to her longtime role on the daytime television show Divorce Court. Her proceedings have ruled over many a nail-biting situation between dissolved couples. She has even leveraged that fame into other shows such as Commit or Quit.

Right by her side for over three decades has been her husband Eric Mumford. A frequent face on her Instagram and an ever-present part of her life, Eric was a glimpse into the personal world of everyone's favorite TV judge. Unfortunately, Eric passed away at 72 years old, leaving a void in Lynn and all of his loved ones' lives. With that being said, what was Eric's cause of death?

Lynn posted about Eric's passing on Instagram. There, she shared an image of the two sitting together alongside the caption "Eric Mumford BigE January 1, 1951 – December 23, 2022. I am in a million pieces." Unfortunately, Lynn did not specify what Eric's specific cause of death was and still hasn't come forward with a public statement. However, during a July 2023 episode of the Hardly Initiated podcast, she opened up about the day she learned her husband had passed away suddenly.

“I was on the phone with Dr. Ish,” she recalled, and went on to mention that she kept getting a phone call from a hospital but that “it wasn’t the hospital [her husband] was going to getting a test.” After ignoring the caller several times, she finally answered, and after confirming her identity, she was told, “We have your husband in our emergency room and he’s in critical condition, you need to come.”

Lynn and one of her sons then drove to the hospital to find out what was going on. She was met by a woman whom she asked, "just tell me he’s alive," and the staff member responded with, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” Lynn was later informed that her husband had passed away.

In a 2012 op-ed for The Huffington Post, Lynn got candid about her relationship with Eric. She shared details about their early days and what manifested into a decades-long relationship.

After being born in Ohio on Jan. 1, 1951, he met Lynn in 1986. Eric was already a parent to four children from his previous marriage at that time, but Lynn took them in as her own. The duo went on to have two more children of their own.

Despite preceding over a divorce court, Lynn doesn't have all of the answers to relationship woes herself. She revealed in the op-ed that she and Eric, who she only ever referred to as Big E, "were off the road and deep in the weeds." Basically, Lynn cited issues in their communication style that were resolved when the couple took a year to reevaluate.

"We no longer act on that right-now feeling without considering long-term consequences," she said at the time. Later, she added, "We have made a conscious decision to be consciously married."

It's clear Eric's death has taken a toll on Lynn, as one would expect, and we only hope she's