Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson is no longer the little girl audiences watched grow up on the small screen.
The former pageant girl, 17, became a household name following her time on TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras. The series marked the beginning of Alana’s journey through reality TV, with her and her family going on to appear on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo from 2012 to 2014 before the launch of WE tv’s Mama June: From Not to Hot.
Despite being the same little girl audiences first became acquainted with several years back, Alana — who turns 18 on Aug. 28 — tells PEOPLE that some fans can’t see her as anything but a child.
“I get a lot of comments like that,” she explains. “And I feel like since I’ve been on TV for such a long time, since I was younger, a lot of people still picture me as a little kid.”
But Alana is far from it, especially as she prepares to go to college following her recent graduation from Wilkinson County High School in McIntyre, Georgia. She also has been dating her 21-year-old boyfriend, Dralin Carswell, since 2021.
“A lot of people still think like, ‘Oh, you’re not supposed to be this’ and ‘You got a boyfriend? Oh no, you’re not supposed to have a boyfriend,'” she says. “And it’s like, I’m almost going to be 18. I’ve already graduated high school. I’m basically already grown. So I just don’t understand it.”
Alana’s parents previously relinquished custody of her, putting her in the care of her sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon and her sibling’s husband, Joshua Efird. From Lauryn’s perspective, navigating raising Alana alongside her own children came with its challenges.
“I feel like it’s been tough to navigate because, of course, me and Josh have four kids of our own and we’re also trying to send Alana now off to college and stuff,” Lauryn, 23, tells PEOPLE. “And even before then, it was like we were trying to get Alana to graduate and we were trying to learn how to manage five kids under five and also a high school graduate. So that was always very, very complicated for me and Josh to figure out. But some way and somehow, we always seem to manage all five of the kids.”
Alana, fortunately, feels very prepared to head off to college.
“I am ready. I think that it is definitely going to be a different journey, but I think I’m ready for it,” Alana says. “I don’t know if the cameras will be following me just yet. Y’all are just going to really have to wait and see what happens.”
Season 6 of Mama June: From Not to Hot is now streaming in full on WE tv’s website.
[via]
