Mama June: From Not To Hot star Alana Thompson doesn’t hesitate to hype herself up on social media.
But the truth is that she has been through an ordeal for these past two years.
Her mother’s downward spiral and drug abuse was so bad that Alana had to live with her sister, Lauryn.
These days, June is doing much better. Where is Alana living?
21-year-old Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon took to Instagram to share that she had made the unimaginable choice to go to Disney World this week … despite the pandemic.
She shared a photo featuring Josh Efird and young child, Ella.
Looking at the post, some fans had to ask — with 15-year-old Alana seemingly not present, does this mean that Alana is back to living with June? Or, worse, was she back with Sugar Bear?
"She’s still with me," Lauryn confirmed to the commenter.
As you can see in the screenshot above, Doe Doe Shannon left a string of heart emojis under the photo.
However, this is bittersweet but ultimately very good news.
Lauryn is young to be a mother — and she became one, as you will recall, as a teenager.
But she has really stepped up to the plate to provide a supportive home for her teenage sister.
Alana is a teenager, she’s going to high school, and she is dealing with her mother’s extremely public scandals and now with her mother’s recovery and interviews about it.
That means that Alana desperately needs stability at home — something that Lauryn has been able to give.
That way, Alana did not have to go and stay with her awful father, Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson or with his wife, Jennifer Lamb.
As we have all seen on screen, that would have been an extremely toxic environment for Alana.
Last season, as June crushed her family’s hopes by ghosting on rehab, Alana was confronted by Mike and Jennifer.
Jennifer taunted Alana about her mother’s addiction, being extremely cruel.
Between that and the knowledge that Mike was abusive to June and her daughters when they lived together, this was the last place for Alana to be.
This was also when Lauryn’s role as Alana’s older sister shined.
She physically charged forward as Jennifer’s vicious taunting of Alana continued.
Fortunately, production was there, so Lauryn did not need to physically intercede. Her presence reassured Alana that her big sister had her back.
Speaking of Mama June: From Not To Hot, the show will return.
However, the premiere is expected to be months away.
June herself confirmed this news multiple times last year.
Having the show continue is obviously good for its stars and for fans.
But it can be lifechanging for someone like June, who needs to rebuild her life after she, to be blunt, snorted away hundreds of thousands of dollars in a relatively short amount of time.
Of course, as June rebuilds her life with her reality TV income, she will need to be vigilant — with money comes temptation.