Alana Thompson - once known to millions as the outrageous, sassy pageant kid "Honey Boo Boo" - is making headlines again, this time for a very different reason.
More than a decade after reality TV launched her into the spotlight, the former child star is opening up about her past, her painful family struggles, and the new life she's built for herself far away from the cameras.
Fame, fallout, and fractured family ties
Thompson skyrocketed to fame at just five years old after delivering the now-iconic line, “A dollar made me holler, honey boo boo!” on TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras.
That moment birthed her nickname and led to the spinoff Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which aired from 2012 to 2017. What began as light-hearted entertainment documenting a self-proclaimed “redneck” Georgia family soon took a dark turn.
In her new Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo - premiering May 17 - Thompson breaks her silence on years of trauma and family dysfunction, including her mother’s drug addiction, financial betrayal, and the lasting scars from growing up on reality TV.
A new life for Honey Boo Boo
Now 19 years old and studying nursing in Denver, Thompson revealed in a new interview with People that she’s chasing her dream of becoming a nurse — and in doing so, will become the first in her family to earn a college degree.
"To be a college student means a lot to me," Thompson said. "When I graduate college I will be the first one in our family to have an actual college degree."
She admitted that while many people think they know her from TV, much of her real life has played out off-camera.
"Right now I am a nursing student in college in Denver. I'm 19, I'm just living my best life and like, I'm just chilling, you know," she told PEOPLE in a new interview. "Literally my whole life is study, study, study."
Online, support has poured in from those inspired by her transformation. "When she said she’ll be the first one to have a college degree in her family really moved me," one fan wrote.
Another added: "She seems kind, forgiving, hard-working, and determined. She's gonna be an amazing nurse."
A third commented: "She is so down to earth, I'm glad she seems to be doing well and breaking the cycle for herself."
"I really went through all that s***? That’s crazy."
Thompson's childhood wasn't all tiaras and catchphrases. As her mother June “Mama June” Shannon spiraled into drug addiction in 2019, Thompson was left to navigate adolescence on her own.
"That was a really hard time for me and I was trying to transition into high school and there was just so much going on in my life at that time," she told Us Weekly. "Plus, everything my mom was doing on top of that was very hard for me."
Thompson noticed something was wrong when her mom started locking bedroom and bathroom doors—something she’d never done before. And while there was always food, gone were the home-cooked meals. "I had to figure it out on my own or I was eating a bowl of cereal or noodles or whatever it was that I could cook at that time."
“There was no, ‘I’m sorry’”
Despite years on TV, Thompson says she never saw a dime from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and claims her mom took $35,000 of her Dancing with the Stars earnings in 2019 during the height of her addiction.
"There was no, ‘I’m sorry,’" Thompson said, though she noted that the money was eventually returned.
Still, she emphasized the new biopic is not meant to attack her mom. “I did not want this movie to be throwing punches at my mama and making her out to be the bad guy,” she said. “But I didn’t hold back and if she gets mad, at the end of the day it’s the truth.”
Sobriety, healing, and a fragile reconciliation
Now sober for over five years, Mama June has re-entered Alana’s life. Their relationship is a work in progress, but things are improving.
"We’re in a really good spot right now," Thompson said. "I mean, honestly, I can’t put into words how good of a spot we are in right now. It is just perfect." While they don’t speak every day, she says they make sure to stay connected.
Thompson also no longer worries about a relapse. "She doesn’t smoke cigarettes, she doesn’t do alcohol, literally nothing. She doesn’t do it. She hates it. So I’m very proud of her and I don’t even think that’s a concern for me anymore."
The two will appear again together in the upcoming season of Mama June: Family Crisis, which returns to WeTV on May 30.
“You want to do something better with your life”
Despite the chaotic childhood, Thompson has never lost sight of her goals. "I just always told myself you know that you want to do something better with your life and bigger with your life than just being on TV, so you've got to get up and go, you've got to graduate so you can make it to college and be the nurse that you want to be."
Now living in Colorado with her boyfriend Dralin Carswell, 24, and entering her junior year at Regis University, she’s doing just that.
Her message to fans is simple, but powerful: "Honey Boo is just like me. That's so crazy and I like for people not to feel alone."
I Was Honey Boo Boo premieres tonight (May 17).