In August 2022, Shauna Rae walked into a county clerk’s office with her stepdad Mark beside her and legally dropped the last name Lesick — the name of a biological father out of contact since she was four, according to reports. “One small change that means a lot to me!” she posted that day.
That one afternoon is the whole show in miniature. Honest note: no breaking news today, and TLC has still not announced a Season 3. Here are the five people who shaped her most, counted down from No. 5 — with the top two guaranteed to start a fight.
No. 5: Naiyh — The Friend Who Never Made It Weird
Every show needs one person who treats the star like a normal friend. For Shauna, that was Naiyh. In Season 2’s “Shauna in the City,” Shauna, Rylee and Naiyh headed to New York City for Shauna’s birthday and the Pride March — just three friends on a girls’ weekend. Naiyh ranks last only because she appears least. She is the proof that Shauna’s life was never only a family project.
No. 4: Tara — The Sister Who Fought Her Like an Equal
Tara never treated Shauna like something fragile. In Season 1’s “Get Off Your High Horse,” Shauna went hands-on at a farm, hit her own limits, asked Tara for advice — and ended up arguing with her instead. A week later, in “Cranky at the Club,” the sisters threw Tara a bachelorette party in Pittsburgh. Her wedding planning filled Season 2. The point is not that they fought. The point is that Tara fought with Shauna the way sisters fight — as equals, not as a caretaker and a patient.
No. 3: Mark — The Stepdad Who Showed Up Quietly
Mark Schrankel never gave a speech about who Shauna should be. He just kept showing up — at the clerk’s office for the name change, at the sunflower farm photoshoot, and in the suggestion he and Patty floated that Shauna try living in New York. He also gave the show one of its strangest, sweetest running bits: his puppets, the WhoBuddiez. Mark ranks third because his influence was quiet — but quiet is not small.
No. 2: Rylee — The Sister Who Moved Out With Her
If Patty is the person Shauna had to grow past, Rylee is the person she grew with. Rylee drove Shauna to her first blind date and started her first job with her. Then, in the Season 2 finale, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?,” Shauna and Rylee packed a bag and tried living in Brooklyn together. The Brooklyn trial run tested everything, migraine included. Rylee also shared her own coming-out story in Season 2 and made a comic book to share at NYC Pride. She was becoming an adult at the same time, in the same house.
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Nobody shaped Shauna Rae more than her mother — and nobody had to be pushed against harder. Patty spent two seasons doing what protective mothers do: asking who Shauna was out with, who was driving, when she would be back. She sat beside Shauna for the driving test and floated the Brooklyn idea herself. But she is also the person at the center of the protect-or-control debate around Patty, and that tension is the engine of the whole show. Every milestone Shauna hit was a negotiation with Patty’s worry. You do not get this Shauna without the mother who held on tight.
So here is the fight. Patty gave Shauna something to push against. Rylee gave her someone to push with. Team Patty or Team Rylee: who actually shaped Shauna Rae more — the mom who protected her, or the sister who moved out with her?
