Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo, has grown up in front of our very eyes.
Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo, has grown up in front of our very eyes. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to Alana as well as her mother, Mama June Shannon, and her sister, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird, about the new season of their WE tv show, Mama June: From Not to Hot, and they confirmed that Alana has a boyfriend.
Mama June and Lauryn told ET they both approve of 15-year-old Alana's boyfriend.
"She does have a little boyfriend who, like, comes over and stuff, like, he comes over for dinners and stuff, he's very respectful," Lauryn says. "Everyone approves of him."
Meanwhile, a shy Alana notes, "It's good having a boyfriend, I like it."
Lauryn said Alana's boyfriend has also gotten close to their family, including her 3-year-old daughter, Ella.
"I'm just glad that she is with somebody that's like, respectful, that not only has respect for us when he comes into our house, he also has respect for Alana," she shares. "Like, him and Ella are the best of friends. So it is nice to have somebody around that treats her well, but also treats like my family like their family."
Alana said she will probably post about her boyfriend on social media in the future, as Mama June notes, "It's not official until you like, put him on the 'gram, or make it Facebook official."
But one thing is certain -- Alana doesn't let criticism on social media affect her.
"I don't really care," she says when asked about how she deals with negative comments. "I'm going to do what I want. I'm going to do it regardless because it's my life, so I don't even care what they got to say about me."
Meanwhile, after hitting a rough patch due to Mama June's battle with drug addiction, Mama June says she and her daughters have mended their relationship and are still working on it every day.
"It's definitely been rough and hard, but it's definitely been better now," Alana says. "I feel like she's finally put us as a priority now."
Lauryn says they have noticed big changes in their mother.
"She really wasn't the one to kind of say 'I love you' and stuff when she hung up the phone or when we left but now she does that every time we get on the phone, every time I leave and all that stuff," she shares. "So, it's definitely like a completely different person, even like, pre-addiction."
The family has had cameras following them for 10 years now, and Mama June says she does feel that the end is near for their time on reality TV.
"We honestly think our life is kind of boring even though our life is kind of crazy and chaotic," she says. "But you know, there's been those fans that have loved us there and in between. And in a way I do feel like it may be close to the time for us to just kind of, kind of like the Kardashians, to just bow out and say, 'Thank you, we appreciate it.' You know, we may have, like, one more season in us, and ... at that point, what more is there to film?"
Lauryn echoes that she sees the family walking away from reality TV soon.
"I'm OK with doing it because it gets us by, it pays the bills and I'm glad when we get to share our stories without fans and stuff," she says. "But I am ready to walk away from it and live a normal life and just live with me and my family instead of having to go out to a restaurant and 75 people stop us for a picture or go out to a fair. You know, 'cause when we're not on the air, nobody notices us."
"When we were off for a while during Mama's addiction, we weren't on TV, no one asked about us," she continues. "I know that, like, no one would ask for pictures when we'd go out to the mall. No one would ask for a picture and those were the nice times. I'm not saying that we don't enjoy taking pictures because I will take time out of my day whether I'm busy or not to take pictures with people, but I just think I'm at a point where I've been doing this for so long. But I feel like I just, at some point, we want to definitely step away."
Mama June: From Not to Hot airs Friday on WE tv.
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