It’s been a long road for Alana Thompson and her mom, June Shannon, since they came to fame as Honey Boo Boo and Mama June on TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. And with her Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo, set to premiere on May 17, Alana is speaking out about what it was really like growing up with June as she navigated the world of being a child star.
Alana, now 19 years old and in college, opened up about what it’s like to be on the other side of the successes and hardships in her life that were broadcast on reality TV in a new interview with People. “Looking back it’s like, ‘Dang, I really went through all that s—? That’s crazy,'” she said.
Even after her pageant days were behind her, the world watched as Alana (and her sisters) navigated life while their mother was arrested on drug charges and struggled financially. Because of this, Alana had to live with her big sister, Lauryn, who was also known as “Pumpkin.” And as if that wasn’t enough, the family is still mourning the loss of June’s eldest daughter, Anna Cardwell. Anna died in December 2023 shortly after being diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma.
Reflecting on June’s 2019 arrest, Alana said that the news affected her life at school.
“People were like, ‘I saw your mama on the news with a busted tooth, strung out,’” Alana told the magazine. “I’m like, ‘Great, like I didn’t see that too.’”
Still, Alana pushed on in hopes of creating a better future for herself.
“I just always told myself you know that you want to do something better with your life and bigger with your life than just being on TV, so you’ve got to get up and go, you’ve got to graduate so you can make it to college and be the nurse that you want to be,” she said. She also noted that when she graduates college, she’ll be the first in her family to do so.
So where do she and June stand today? Alana said that she’s forgiven her mom and that their relationship is good — for now, at least.
“When she was bad in her addiction I just kept thinking about the day she’d recover,” she said. “We’re going pretty good. Hopefully it lasts. I just no longer have any expectations for her.”
