Shelby Stanga family consists of wife Donna Graff and kids. Shelby and Donna got married in the early 2000s.
Stanga is a widely-known American television presenter and professional logger notable for his appealing talent on History Channel’s Ax Men. He calls swamps and forests his home and is known as the Swamp Man.
Premiered on March 9, 2008, on History, the reality show follows the work of several logging teams in the woodland area of Northwestern Oregon, Montana, and Washington, and the rivers of Florida and Louisiana.
In the Ax Men, Stanga recovered abandoned logs from nearby waterways and woods with his ever-evolving cast -his friends, his dog, his cousins, his nieces, and his wife.
After gaining immense fame following his appearance in the reality series, Ax Men, Stanga returned with the spin-off series, The Legend Of Shelby The Swamp Man, which premiered in August 2013 on History.
Shelby And Donna Graff Are Together For Two Decades
Shelby Stanga has a small family with wife Donna Gaff and their dog Willy. Donna lives with her husband in Louisiana.
The logger’s wife is reportedly a Jehova’s Witness, and the pair also appeared in an episode of Jehovah’s Witness. Stanga met her before he was cast in History Channel’s Ax Men.
Donna has appeared many times with her husband in his reality show. And although many think she is not as tough as her partner, in reality, she has done and still does things that most refrain from doing.
Consider Stanga’s Facebook post of March 2012, where he explained how his wife has been portrayed on the show as a dainty little city girl, but she is far from it.
Graff has jumped in the water, pulled logs, camped under an umbrella in the swamp, driven the boat and the marsh buggy (impressive), and sometimes even outfished the swamp man.
In every way, she is the real Swamp Queen. In Season 4 Episode 16 of Ax Men, Donna appears alongside her husband to help him bring in a special order of Swamp Man. The episode aired on April 10, 2011.
She returned in Season 5 Episode 3 (No Pain, No Gain). In the episode that aired on January 22, 2012, the couple called in backup to fill special orders for Swamp Man so they could pay hospital and repair bills.
In Season 6 Episode 9 (Gators and Hand Grenades), Stanga used a dummy grenade to prank his spouse. Graff has also been featured in The Legend Of Shelby The Swamp Man and Return of the Swamp Man.
Shelby Lives With His Family In Louisiana
The Swamp Man lives a happy and comfortable life with his family in Louisiana near lake Pontchartrain. The pair rebuffs media attention and is yet to share details about their kids.
However, the logger has introduced several of his family members in the reality show.
He was accompanied by his evolutionary cast of sidekicks -his wife, Donna, his dog Willy, his cousins Belinda, Richard, Jasmine, and Jarvis, his friends Earl, DaVi, and Bob, and his nieces Stephanie and Cheyenne.
In 2013, Stanga talked about his cousin Jasmine, the youngest swamp buggy driver, as he shared a cheerful photo of her on Facebook. The post revealed his cousin has been around them all her life and is responsible, confident, and competent.
In Season 6 Episode 11 (The Hurricane Hill), the Swamp Man rushes to help his cousins trapped in their house as Hurricane Isaac made landfall on the Gulf Coast. He pushed through the storm and brought his cousins to safety.
Stanga also had a cute dog named Willy, who sadly passed away in 2015.
Stanga Was A Regular In The History Channel
Stanga joined the cast of Ax Men in its third season (2009) as a Swamp Man professional logger. The show centered his logging exploits in the swamps, forests, and lakes of Southern Louisiana.
The Swamp Man has lived in the swamps north of New Orleans since the tender age of nine and has been logging in the area for more than four decades.
Since his early days, he has been training himself necessary survival skills to adapt to the swamps and woods. As a result, he has channeled his extreme lifestyle into his career.
Stanga has been regularly showcasing his survival skills and career since 2009. Before debuting in Ax Men, he had a brief stint as a guide in Season 3 Episode 2 of Man vs. Wild in 2008.
He has attained credits for 51 episodes of Ax Men and was one of the most-loved cast members.
His Spin-Off Show After Ax Men
A spin-off series to Ax Men, The Legend Of Shelby The Swamp Man, premiered on August 6, 2013. The series followed the logger’s life when he was not logging.
Season 1 of the series included eight episodes. Also, a Christmas episode aired on December 3, 2013. The final two episodes landed on April 26, 2015, following the season finale of Ax Men.
He returned with his other show, Return of Shelby the Swamp Man, in October 2018. In this series, Stanga sprung into action to help get his fellow swampers and friends back on their feet.