Judge Lynn Toler and Her Husband Were Married More Than 30 Years Before His Death
Updated Jan. 5 2023, 5:12 p.m. ET
These days, Judge Lynn Toler can be seen co-hosting WE tv's popular reality series Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition. Putting celebrity relationship drama front and center is something she's all too familiar with. The former attorney-turned-judge presided over the show Divorce Court for 13 years until she decided to hang up her gravel back in 2020.
Lynn has brought a wealth of experience to the show, and cast members seem to like her. If you're a fan of the judge, you're probably wondering if the woman who works with so many others on their relationships has one of her own.
As it turns out, she was happily married to her husband, Eric Mumford, for more than 30 years before his death.
Judge Lynn Toler's husband was Eric Mumford, who died in December 2022.
Lynn Toler met her husband, Eric Mumford aka "Big E," in 1986. After a year of dating, followed by a two-year engagement, the couple tied the knot on April 6, 1989, according to Lynn's Facebook page. Eric and Lynn share two children, William and Xavier Mumford, who are now in their 30s. Big E also had four sons from his first marriage.
Sadly, Eric died in late 2022.
Lynn posted about his death via Instagram, where 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.
While there's very little information about Eric online, we do know that he was a retired accountant. Eric didn't appear to have any social media accounts of his own, but if you take a look at Lynn's Instagram, you'll notice she has occasionally posted photos of her and her husband.
Judge Lynn Toler has been honest about the struggles that come with marriage.
Lynn has also been open with fans about the ebbs and flows of her marriage. In a 2012 op-ed published by HuffPost, Lynn shared that she and Eric were having issues during their 19th year of marriage and couldn't stand to be in the same room with each other. Interestingly, Lynn said she had Divorce Court to thank for saving her relationship.
"I know the show is a bit extreme, voyeuristic, and often a little silly," she explained. "But when my husband and I were staring into the marital abyss, I learned a valuable lesson from Divorce Court that helped me out at home."
Lynn said the show and the people she met because of it helped her to realize that a lack of communication was ruining their marriage. The relationship guru wrote, "I started to address my own fears and learned how to communicate effectively. He followed suit because he saw that I had changed in a way that was in his best interests. We then decided to fight the problem instead of fighting one another."
On Marriage Boot Camp, Lynn always stresses to couples that communication is the key, and now we see why. However, she acknowledges that sometimes it's still not enough. "This does not guarantee we'll get to happily ever after," she said. "We have made a conscious decision to be consciously married. We also have our fingers crossed."