Reality star Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson has grown up on TV, delighting fans with her
hilarious antics, wild personality, and unforgettable one-liners.
But off-camera, the star was battling some serious real life drama.
From surviving her mother's drug addiction, to taking on the haters, here's how Honey
Boo Boo is beating the odds - with her signature sass.
"Mama always told me, 'Work it, Smoochie.'"
In 2019, Alana's mom, Mama June Shannon, was arrested for possession of drugs and drug
paraphernalia.
And audiences watched, as much of the drama played out on Season 4 of Mama June: Not to
Hot, where Mama June revealed in one episode that she and her boyfriend Geno were spending
roughly $2,500 a day on meth.
"I got high because I wanted to…
We was doin' quite a bit.
I mean, it was a couple ounces a day."
Alana and her sister Pumpkin ultimately staged a televised intervention just days before
Mama June and Geno were arrested.
In the episode, Mama June stormed out of the house, leaving Alana to tearfully reflect
on the broken relationship with her mother.
She lamented,
"I see every day, kids with their mom.
[…] Why can't I be like that?"
"She always told us…with Geno, with Sugar Bear, with anyone…she would never let anyone
come between her kids, but like…"
"She does."
The teenaged reality star has certainly been dealing with so much more than the pressures
of young fame.
In 2019, Alana moved in with "Pumpkin" after the sisters subsequently cut off contact with Mama June.
And in a January 2021 Instagram comment, Pumpkin revealed that Alana was still living with her family.
But the transition out of her mom's home was a tough one for Alana.
On an episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot, she revealed that she was forced to move in
with Pumpkin because she was afraid of continuing to live with her mother.
"I am staying with my sister and that's not by choice."
"Yes it is."
"It's not by choice."
But the new living situation was, of course, not completely free of drama.
Viewers watched as the sisters constantly bickered on Season 5 of the show, which has
since been rebranded as Mama June: Road to Redemption.
The drama even extended to Pumpkin's relationship with her husband, Josh.
Alana once recalled on the show,
"When I lived with Mama and Sugar Bear, they always fought.
And then when Mama and Geno got together, they started to fuss and fight.
And now that I live with Pumpkin and Josh, everything was good in the beginning, now
they're starting to argue.
It just brings back a lot of memories and it's hard to watch."
Still, despite the apparent stress, the sisters seem to be close friends in their own special way.
Pumpkin often posts sweet photos with Alana and refers to herself as Alana's, quote, "sister mom."
While the circumstances may not be ideal, Alana at least appears to have found some
stability within her family unit, thanks to her sister and her family.
"We will be fourteen months clean off of cocaine, and been that way — no relapses."
In a March 2021 interview with TMZ, Mama June revealed that she and Geno have been sober
ever since they entered rehab in January 2020.
She also told E! News of the show's upcoming season, at the time:
"I am trying to mend those relationships with the children.
[…] You're watching me trying to man up and trying to open up and trying to say, 'Hey,
everybody deserves a second chance and that I'm not perfect.'"
Although her relationship with her mom has clearly had its ups and downs, Alana doesn't
tolerate people commenting negatively on the situation from the outside.
Within an Instagram post, the pageant alum clapped back at fans, commenting,
"[I don't] care what y'all gotta say about me.
But one thing [you're not gonna] do is talk about my mama and my sister."
Alana also affirmed that she was very proud of her mother for maintaining her sobriety.
Alana's father, Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson, was a fixture on her original reality show.
But on the Season 4 premiere of Mama June: From Not to Hot, Pumpkin claimed that tensions
were high between the families, saying that Sugar Bear's wife, Jennifer Lamb, was trying
to take custody of Alana, since Pumpkin only had "temporary guardianship."
"Me and Josh take better care of her than anybody ever has."
But despite the custody battle, the two are obviously not a close father-daughter pair.
This status was backed up by Mama June, who claims that the contact between Alana and
Sugar Bear is strictly limited to the show.
In an interview with The Sun, Mama June said the two don't really speak at all, unless
the cameras are rolling, adding,
"It's kind of like 'hey,' do whatever he needs to do and then [he's] gone.
It's not, 'Hey I want to spend time with her after.'
It's been that way now for 15 years.
It is what it is."
"Sugar Bear does not want to be in my life.
I can tell you that right now, Jennifer.
Sugar Bear doesn't want me because I'm not a boy."
Alana has frequently appeared in a full face of makeup since her Toddlers & Tiaras days,
where she trotted around in a Daisy Duke outfit before taking home the third runner-up prize
— a loss which a six-year-old Honey Boo Boo took in stride with her signature confidence, claiming,
"[They] don't know a good thing when they see it."
"Those judges were nuts."
Alana has since experimented with many different looks in the post-Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
era, frequently posting Instagram snaps with lash extensions, or sporting a more natural
look as seen in one July 2020 pic.
But her most recent favorite trend appears to be dramatic, ultra-long nails.
On Mama June: From Not to Hot Season 5, when a producer asked about the mile-long nails,
her response was classic Boo Boo when she simply stated, quote, "This is fashion."
In April 2020, Alana even took a turn on the runway for the Model Mafia fashion show, where
she got to strut her stuff on the catwalk.
It's only natural that Alana has taken her obsession with makeup to the next level.
In August 2020, she took to Instagram to officially announce Beauty by Boo Boo, a beauty box featuring
some of the star's favorite products.
The box is still in the "waitlist" phase, but some early reviews aren't exactly glowing.
"When the best thing in your beauty box is some ear wax putty, you know you might have a problem."
YouTuber Alexandria Ryan claims the contents of the box were, quote, "cheap-feeling," and
not up to par with the $100 price tag.
Even if the value of the products really is double the list price, it sounds like true
makeup fans may not be bowled over by the items in real life.
"I'm so nervous."
"You kind of just have to, like, feel it out, y'know?"
Still, Ryan made it clear in a comment on her review that she's not pegging Alana for
the poor quality of the box: She wrote,
"I definitely think it is the team of adults behind her using her name and brand for a cash grab."
Hopefully Alana can ultimately leverage her brand to create a more luxurious product in the future.
If you had been a public figure ever since you were six years old, you'd probably have
gained a superior talent for shutting down nasty comments.
Alana has dealt with haters for almost her entire life - and, even as a young reality
star, she was the target of vitriol from all corners of the world.
A 2012 episode of South Park even spoofed Here Comes Honey Boo Boo - with a cartoon
Mama June resuscitating Alana in the middle of a pageant before telling her daughter to,
quote, "get up and wave to them judges".
Scary Movie 5 also played up one of her most famous lines, "A dollar makes me holler."
"If any shade gets thrown, it's not my fault.
She told me to give my real opinion."
All these years later, Alana is no stranger to tackling rude Instagram comments.
She regularly shuts down haters on social media with captions like,
"Can't stand me?
Take a seat!"
Or how about this sassy selfie from 2020 where she wrote,
"Your opinion [doesn't] make my money."
"Haters are your motivators, honey."
In January 2021, Alana evealed in an Instagram Q&A that she had started dating someone.
As Hollywood Life reported, when a fan asked if she had a boyfriend, Alana replied "yes."
But who is this mystery boy?
"Oh my God, so cute."
Alana's Instagram feed gives up zero clues regarding the identity of her beau.
While she frequently posts selfies and promotional clips, she does not appear to have any photographs
with a potential romantic interest.
But secretive love-life drama is nothing new in the Honey Boo Boo universe.
In 2019, Pumpkin told Us Weekly that her sister was trying to play the field now that she's
older - a claim which an embarrassed Alana pushed back on.
But still, her reality star status appears to be catnip for the boys.
She admitted,
"[There are] a lot of boys hitting up [my] line already.
[…] I get that every day.
Another dude slips into my DMs.
I'm just like, 'Delete.'"
Whether or not the new guy is being deliberately kept out of the spotlight by producers, or
is just not ready for a life of reality show fame, Alana evidently did not press "delete"
on this one.
Despite the ongoing family turmoil, Alana appears to be enjoying life like any other teenager.
In a January 2021 Instagram Q&A, one fan asked her how her life was going, and to that, Alana replied,
"Honestly couldn't be better."
A photo celebrating International Women's Day on Pumpkin's Instagram shows the sisters
goofing off with tutus on their heads, and Alana's personal feed is filled with photos
where she appears to be happy, including cute mirror selfies, and a big smile for her fifteenth birthday.
Her relationship with Mama June also looks like it's on the mend, as well.
Clips on Instagram from Mama June: Road to Redemption feature what appears to be a mother-daughter
outing where everyone seems to be getting along.
The growing-up years have certainly been tough for Alana.
But now that Mama June is sober and seemingly willing to work on her relationship with her
daughters, things appear to be getting a little better every day.
When it comes to what's next, we're hoping that wherever she goes, Alana's life will
be filled with the happiness and stability that every kid deserves.
"JJ, let's do this thing."
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please call the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration's 24/7 National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
That's 1-800-662-4357.