Honey Boo Boo, Mama June, and family have this regret about their reality TV fame

(TNND) — Alana Thompson, better known as Honey Boo Boo, shot to fame as a child on “Toddlers & Tiaras” back in 2012, changing her and her family’s life forever.

But being suddenly thrust into the spotlight put intense pressure on Alana, her mom June Shannon, aka Mama June, and her sisters, Anna (nicknamed “Chickadee”), Jessica, and Pumpkin (born Lauryn), that they still struggle with today.

“I feel like in ways that [it] helped and it hurt,” Alana told our Courtney Tezeno of her time as a reality TV star.

“I know for a fact, if I wasn't on TV, I wouldn't be able to, like, be in college and be in Colorado and financially take care of myself,” she continued. “But I mean, there is times where I do wish that I could handle things in private and then not just be all over the internet and everybody not have their opinion on it, because everybody has an opinion on everything you do.”

Alana joked, “I could go and donate $10 million to the Children's Hospital, and they'll be like, ‘She only donated 10 million?’... [or] ‘She only donated to this one Children's Hospital,’ and that would be a problem. They found a problem in everything you do you.”

Her sister, Pumpkin, added, “It’ll be a problem some way,” as Jessica added, “Can never do anything right.”

Pumpkin, who is going through a divorce from her ex, Josh, shared her feelings on her reality TV experiences as well, saying, “I feel like in between, it has helped and it has not helped, just because, like, when it does come to big, relatable problems, like me going through my divorce, my mama's drug addiction, the stuff with Dralin [Alana’s boyfriend who is potentially facing jail time], like, all of those little things, like, it would be so much better and easier for us to do with them if we weren't in the public eye.”

She continued, “Because I do feel like, once you're in the public eye, people just kind of like, switch the narrative to whatever they want it to be. They don't really care about the facts and the truth and whatever else may come along with it. What they care about is what's going to get them more views, what's going to get their story? What lies should I tell?”

June also felt some frustration, especially in the wake of her battle with drug addiction, saying, “People will, if I do look wrong or I move wrong or something, they still think that I'm still using, I'm like, I'm five and a half years straight sober.”

Even with those grievances, the family signed up for another rough of reality TV, a new season of “Mama June: Family Crisis,” premiering May 30 on We TV, ALLBLK and AMC+.

This season follows the ongoing drama in and outside the family, like Pumpkin’s divorce and June’s battle for custody of her late daughter Anna’s daughter, Kaitlyn.

Anna died in 2023 from adrenal cancer, almost 11 months after her initial diagnosis. The loss has been hard on the family, made more so by the custody fight over Kaitlyn.

But they work to keep Anna’s memory alive and share that connection with Kaitlyn, and her other daughter, Kylee.

June said her daughters are “consistently” being reminded of Anna, adding, “I think it's definitely how we always keep our memory alive.”

Pumpkin added Kaitlyn not only looks like Anna, but “how she speaks and how she talks and how she laughs” is the same, too.

Anna’s death inspired Alana to go into nursing, and she is starting her second year of school on this season of the show.

“I wanted to do nursing because I just, like, I've always wanted to do something that helps people and that [is] there for people,” she said. “And I seen the impact that the nurses have, what I've seen the impact that the nurses had on Anna's journey with her cancer, and how much that impact on us. And, you know, I just want to be that nurse one day.”

Pumpkin, proud of her little sister, added, “She just wants to be a helping hand.”