Mama June defends daughter Honey Boo Boo’s romance with Dralin Carswell, 21
Mama June has defended her daughter Alana Honey Boo Boo Thompson’s relationship with Dralin Cresswell and also called out fans judging the teen’s appearance.
Alana, 17, has been dating Dralin, 21, for over two years, but the pair have continuously received negative comments from fans who feel their age difference is too great.
Speaking to DailyMail.com about the controversial romance, the 43-year-old explained: ‘Dralin is a good guy. They have been together for almost two and a half years. I don’t have anything that I’ve found that puts me off.
‘He’s older than she is, but to be honest, Dralin has a very young mentality. He has a very teenage mentality, if that makes sense.’
Speaking: Mama June has defended her daughter Alana Honey Boo Boo Thompson’s relationship with Dralin Cresswell
Under fire: Alana, 17, has been dating Dralin, 21, for over two years and the pair have received negative comments from fans about their age difference (pictured in April 2022)
She continued, “When people say some boys grow up later than women… He’s one of those guys for me.”
The star then pointed out that her other daughter Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird, 23, has a similar age gap to her husband, Joshua, 26.
The From Not to Hot star added, “People don’t realize that Pumpkin and Josh were the same age when they met. Pumpkin is 23 and Josh is almost 27.
“So they were about the same age when they met years ago and they’ve been together for eight years.”
Mama June explained that she felt fans were unfairly harsh on Alana when she discovered her own style as a young woman.
Her protective mother said, “She will be 18 in August. But many people still see Alana as that five-year-old girl you all grew up with.
“So she gets a lot of backlash for wearing wigs, fake eyelashes, and fake nails. But you all had no problem with that – the fake wig, fake eyelashes, fake nails in the pageant when she was five, six, seven years old.’
She continued, “But you have a problem now that she’s 17? Now that she’s old enough to do all that, why are you having a problem now if you didn’t have a problem then?
Happy together: The reality TV star’s relationship has the approval of her mother, who claims the age difference is nothing to worry about
“I hate that she’s getting the backlash, but I’m proud of her for finishing high school despite everything.”
Alana first rose to fame at the age of six with Toddlers & Tiaras in 2012 and stayed with the show for a year. After that, she was in Here Comes Honey Boo Boo from 2012 to 2014.
Child star: Alana found fame in Toddlers and Tiaras (pictured in January 2012)
Next came Mama June: From Not To Hot, airing from 2017 to 2020.
The reality star favorite has also appeared on The Masked Singer in 2021.
Alana and Dralin have been dating for over two years and her family has approved of him despite their four year age difference.
While many have expressed outrage at the couple’s age difference, Alana and Dralin live in Georgia, where the age of consent is 16.
In September 2021, The Sun claimed she was “hip attached” with her boyfriend.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dralin attended technical school in Nashville but now lives near Georgia near Alana and her sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 23, the site reported.
While he was “quiet” around her loved ones at first, a source told the outlet that he’s “one of the family now” and is “just as fun and crazy as the rest.”
“Dralin and Alana hang out together all the time,” added the duo’s insider, who went official on Facebook in March 2021.
Meanwhile, concerns were raised earlier this year after Alana’s boyfriend was arrested in Georgia.
Famous names: The family became a star in their own right thanks to spin-off shows Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Mama June: From Not To Hot
He was busted for a suspected DUI (driving under the influence), on the run from the police and with outstanding warrants.
Alana was also in the car with him when he was chased by the police, TMZ reports.
Big problem: Dralin can be seen in an older police photo from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
However, she was not arrested and was later picked up at the police station by her older sister Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird, who serves as her guardian.
Dralin — who was reportedly arrested in 2019 — was handcuffed when he was taken to Monroe County after leading police on a three-mile car chase, the site claimed.
It was also alleged that Dralin was carrying marijuana at the time of the arrest.
Dralin and Alana were with his friend Julian Malik Divon Williams, who was also arrested on outstanding warrants.
The problem started when police examined the tags on Draline’s vehicle, a Dodge Charger.
Police discovered that Dralin owned the car and that he had outstanding warrants in Wilkinson County.
Long-Term Couple: Alana and Dralin have given a glimpse of their long-running romance on the family’s reality show
All grown up: The reality star recently attended the prom with Dralin as her prom date
Lieutenant John Thompson of Monroe County told the site that one of his officers tried to stop Dralin in a “traffic hold” to investigate the situation with the warrants. But Dralin wouldn’t stop, leading to a police chase.
The chase lasted about three miles before police performed a “pit maneuver,” in which the police car tapped into the front of the vehicle, causing it to spin away, the site added.
Despite this run-in with the law, Dralin was ready to be Alana’s prom date in April 2023.
The reality star looked like a prom queen in a gorgeous hot pink gown adorned with sequins and elaborate beading as the couple arrived to the celebration in a horse-drawn carriage.