Mama June Shares Her Unfiltered Thoughts About Honey Boo Boo's New Boyfriend

Mama June Shannon has seen her fair share of critical headlines over the years — and not just because of the things she's said and done on TLC's "Toddlers & Tiaras," "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," and even her transformation show, "Mama June: From Not to Hot," but because of her personal life, too. The reality star found herself on the wrong side of the law back in 2019 when she was arrested on drug charges, according to the Los Angeles Times. If that weren't enough, she made it no secret that she had a $2,500 per day drug habit but luckily managed to get clean and celebrated her sobriety in 2020. 

Her love life, unfortunately, hasn't fared any better. In August, her ex-boyfriend Geno Doak was sentenced to 16 months behind bars for crack cocaine, per TMZ, while her new boyfriend Justin Stroud also has a rap sheet that includes an arrest for drug charges in Florida back in February, according to the Daily Mail. And while Mama June's picker might seem off a bit, her comments about daughter Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson's boyfriend have a lot of people turning heads as well.

It seemed like it was just yesterday that Alana "Honey Boo Boo" was a toddler wearing a tiara (see what we did there?) before she became one of the most recognizable reality stars on TLC. Now she's a full-fledged teen doing what most teens do, and that's hanging out with her boyfriend. In Honey Boo Boo's case, that boyfriend is Dralin Carswell, per her Instagram.

According to her mother, Mama June Shannon, she's not concerned at all about the four-year age gap between her daughter and her boyfriend. However, she is concerned about his employment status, or lack thereof. "He's good. He needs to hold down a job a little bit more," she told ET, adding, "I mean, he's not bad. He doesn't treat her bad or anything like that."

Back in September 2021, Honey Boo Boo went Instagram official with her boo but was forced to delete her post after she got criticized for the couple's age gap (she was 16 while Carswell was 20 at the time), per Page Six. Honey Boo Boo also received some flak on social media for wearing fake eyelashes and nails back in January 2021 — but seeing how her Mama June is the first to respond to all of her daughter's haters, we'd say that at least she can count on her family's nonjudgmental support when she needs it the most.