Georgia reality star “Mama” June Shannon, mother of Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, held an oceanfront ceremony in Panama City, Florida this past Saturday to celebrate her first marriage.
She and her husband Justin Stroud secretly married nearly a year ago at a courthouse in Wilkinson County, but this was the first time they celebrated with family.
Among those in attendance were Shannon’s four daughters. Besides Alana, there was Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird, Jessica “Chubbs” Shannon and Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell. (The nicknames were all used on the TLC reality show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and Shannon’s multiple WE tv reality series.)
“This was the first time the family had all been together since 2014,” Shannon said in a press release via WE tv, “so it was really special to get married in a place where my family and I have had so many memories!”
The wedding will be featured on the upcoming season of “Mama June: Family Crisis” May 5 on WE tv.
Shannon, 43, wore a wedding gown from David’s Bridal and Stroud, 34, opted for a tuxedo from E&S Formal in Montgomery, Alabama. Stroud also wore a pair of Jordans gym shoes.
“We wanted to have a small and very intimate wedding, so we didn’t have any groomsmen or bridesmaids,” Shannon said. “All four of my girls walked me down to Justin and his mom walked him down the aisle.”
Credit: WE tv
Credit: WE tv
Alana told ET that she was surprised because “my mama always said that she would never get married and that she would never go off and just get married with somebody. She was scared of marriage to say the least, and now she just got married with this dude she hadn’t even known a whole year yet.”
At least two of Shannon’s past boyfriends have caused her issues.
In 2014, Shannon was reportedly dating a convicted sex offender Mark McDaniel, which prompted the cancellation of “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” This caused a long-time estrangement between Shannon and her daughter Anna, who told People magazine at the time that McDaniel had molested her when she was 8 years old.
Shannon became addicted to drugs with her boyfriend Geno Doak and in 2019 was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia after the police allegedly found her with crack cocaine and a crack pipe. For a time, she was cut off from her entire family. She told Access Hollywood in 2021 that she spent more than $900,000 on drugs in her final year before she entered rehab and became sober.
Her travails have been chronicled on various WE tv reality shows, one of which for a time was re-named “Mama June: Road to Redemption” but is now dubbed “Mama June: Family Crisis.”
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