Where Is Honey Boo Boo Now? A Look at the Former Pageant Queen’s Life 8 Years Since Her TLC Series Ended

Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson is long past her pageant days.

Alana made her television debut during season 5 of TLC’s child beauty pageant reality series Toddlers & Tiaras. Alongside her mother Mama June Shannon, the duo quickly rose to acclaim for their bold personalities, boosted by Alana’s iconic “Honey Boo Boo child” tagline.

After Alana’s talents were showcased on the show, the network ordered a spinoff series to spotlight Alana and her family. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo premiered in August 2012, and chronicled the often hectic lives of Alana, Shannon and her three other daughters: Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, Jessica “Chubbs” Shannon and Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird.

Though the spinoff was ultimately canceled, it wasn’t the family’s last stint with reality TV. In 2017, Shannon was the focus of her own WEtv show Mama June: From Not to Hot, which followed her dramatic weight loss transformation. The series has since been rebranded under a number of different titles.

Ahead of the 8th anniversary of when the final episode of her eponymous reality show aired, Alana shared that she was peeling back the curtain in a new Lifetime biopic about her life, I Was Honey Boo Boo, narrated by the reality alum herself.

So where is Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson now? Here’s a look at her life following her reality TV debut.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was canceled in 2014 after two seasons due to Shannon’s alleged involvement with convicted sex offender Mark McDaniel.

“TLC has canceled the series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and ended all activities around the series, effective immediately,” the network said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children’s ongoing comfort and well being.”

Shannon went on to deny any connection to McDaniel who was imprisoned in 2004 after being convicted of aggravated child molestation.

“I want to make a post trying to clear up the rumors remember you can’t believe everything you read!” she wrote in a Facebook post (via ABC News). “It isnt true i promise my kids r #1 priority over anything else and I would never put them in danger period over this or anything else they r my life this is my past I left him 10 yrs ago for it and I wouldn’t go back.”

What reality shows has Honey Boo Boo starred on since?

In the years following, Alana appeared in a few WEtv spinoffs, focusing on her mom and their family. Most recently, the show’s title was changed to Mama June: Family Crisis as it focused on one of Alana’s sisters’ cancer diagnosis and, ultimately, death.

In September 2018, Alana joined the cast of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars: Juniors. She was partnered with Tristan Ianiero and mentored by Artem Chigvintsev, and would go on to place 8th in the competition.

“Everyone around me was so supportive,” she told PEOPLE of the experience. “Some days I would get super nervous and frustrated, but Artem and Tristan were supportive and told me I was going to be great.”

Why did Mama June lose custody of Honey Boo Boo?

In March 2019, Shannon was charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia after she allegedly had crack cocaine and a crack pipe on her.

She was detained alongside her then-boyfriend Eugene “Geno” Edward Doak, who was charged with third-degree domestic violence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. The drug possession charges were felonies.

In April 2021, Shannon was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, court supervision, in addition to other conditions, including random drug screenings, according to a plea agreement obtained by E! News. Her attorney, Rod Giddens, told the outlet that “[Mama June] is completing Pre-Trial Diversion at which time all charges will be dismissed. She is doing everything required.”

Giddens, who also represented Doak, confirmed to E! News that Doak also agreed to a plea deal and he was sentenced to 16 months with two years of probation and required to undergo drug-addiction treatment. The drug paraphernalia charge was also dismissed.

“Mr. Doak was placed in Community Corrections program,” the lawyer told the publication. “He is not in custody and has to report as directed. He is able to work and be at his own residence.”

After the arrest, Efird became Alana’s legal guardian and, in 2022, she gained sole custody of her sister. According to Georgia court documents obtained by Page Six, Shannon was allowed to contact Alana by phone every day but visitation rights would be determined by Efird.

Shannon was also ordered to pay Efird $800 per month in child support for the next two years until Alana turned 18.

“It’s gotten so low to this point, like, what more is there to do?” Efird said during an episode of the family’s reality show in March 2020. “What more can we physically do for her? I mean, we tried to send her to rehab. The network even gave her the opportunity that anybody in their right f—— mind would take. She checked out within less than 24 hours.”

Where does Honey Boo Boo stand with Mama June now?

Alana and Shannon have had a turbulent relationship with ups and downs. In 2021, the mother-daughter duo appeared on the sixth season of The Masked Singer together.

Shannon later told PEOPLE that it was the first project she had worked on with her daughter since getting sober.

“Well, Alana I know would’ve hoped that it was just her on stage, and me too because I’m that backstage mom hyping her up. But it was a great experience,” Shannon said. “I realized the last time we were out there together doing a huge project, which was Dancing with the Stars, I was in my addiction.”

The two have also continued to star on Mama June together. In the 2023 season of Mama June: Family Crisis, Alana attended Shannon’s wedding to Justin Stroud. Notably, all of Shannon’s daughters were in attendance at the ceremony.

“This was the first time the family had all been together since 2014,” Shannon said in a WEtv press release at the time. “So it was really special to get married in a place where my family and I have had so many memories!”

However, Alana and Shannon were at odds again in 2024 when the latter accused her mom of stealing $35,000 from her and refusing to pay her back as she attempted to pay for college.

Where is Honey Boo Boo now?

In May 2023, Alana graduated from Wilkinson County High School in McIntyre, Ga. Shannon and Efiid both attended Alana’s graduation ceremony, sharing their pride on Instagram.

“I’m so proud of her she is our 2023 graduate and yes we was hollering the whole time WTG LANA,” Shannon wrote in the caption of her post.

Meanwhile, Efird wrote that “proud” was an “understatement” of how she felt.

“To be there a witness this next chapter I’m amazed,” she continued. “Amazed at how much you’ve grown, how beautiful your soul is, & most importantly how far youve come against all odds. To hear your name be called & to watch you walk im honored truly.”

After her graduation, Alana started at Regis University in Denver, Colo., in the fall of 2023, where she is pursuing a degree in neonatal nursing.

“I’m just looking forward to helping people,” she told PEOPLE in June 2024. “I really want to be a neonatal nurse, so I want to work with little babies. I want to work with little babies, I don’t want to have no babies though. That’s my motto.”

Now, Alana is also giving fans a deeper look into her life and the struggles of growing up as a child star in the Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo.

“This film tells my story, the real one,” Alana wrote on Instagram in April 2025. “Beyond the glitter, the pageants, and the catchphrases, there was a lot going on behind the scenes. I’m narrating the film myself because nobody can tell it like I can.”

Is Honey Boo Boo still dating Dralin Carswell?

Alana began dating Dralin Carswell in 2021. However, fans quickly pointed out that their age gap was concerning, as Alana was 16 at the time while Carswell was 21, making her underage.

“In our relationship, the two most things that everybody is always talking about is our age gap and definitely because he’s Black and I’m White and we’re an interracial couple,” Alana told Entertainment Tonight in July 2022.

However, Alana said she wasn’t concerned about the public’s perception of her relationship.

“I don’t care,” she said. “Because, like, at the end of the day, my sister approves, his mom approves, and we’re happy, so what fans got to say or what haters got to say I don’t really care.”

“She’s not getting married, she’s not having a kid, she’s doing very good in school,” Efird said in support of Alana and Carswell.

The couple made headlines again in March 2023 after Carswell was arrested for alleged driving under the influence, fleeing police and outstanding warrants after a three-mile car chase in Monroe County, Ga.

Though Alana was a passenger in the car, she was not charged. Despite the incident, Thompson was steadfast in her wishes for Carswell to move to Colorado with her as she started college in the fall of 2023.