If Mama June’s army of fans were shocked when the reality TV star was busted for allegedly possessing a controlled substance, her daughter Pumpkin wasn’t far behind. Lauryn Shannon, 20, tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that for a long time she had “no clue” that the mom-of-four had a problem. In March 2019 June, 40, was arrested in Alabama with her boyfriend Geno Doak and charged with “possession of drug paraphernalia” and a substance that the Macon County District Attorney’s Office believes was “crack cocaine.” Now, in Mama June: Family Crisis, fans will get to see how the reality TV matriarch’s clan are coping as her life spirals out of control.
In last season’s Mama June: From Not To Hot, fans watched as Pumpkin, her siblings Alana, 14, and Jessica, 23, and aunt Doe Doe staged an intervention in a desperate bid to get the reality TV star into rehab. Asked if there were signs behind the scenes that viewers were not privy too before that, the young mom says, “Yes and no.” “Only because I don’t think that…it just came out of nowhere, especially with how quickly she started using, how much she was using,” she adds. “I honestly didn’t even notice, which was the sad thing.” She goes on to allege, “I should have seen the warning signs… how [she and Geno] didn’t come out of the house or any of that stuff. So [there were] definitely warning signs there.”
HollywoodLife has reached out to Geno, and to Mama June’s rep for comment on Pumpkin’s allegations but we’ve yet to receive a response. However, in October 2019, they both pled not guilty to the possession charges. As fans of the family will recall June did agree to go into rehab in February last year, but she bolted soon after being admitted. HollywoodLife previously reported that two people close to the family claim that there were signs that June had a problem before her arrest hit the headlines. “I’m so shocked this didn’t get out long before,” one source told us.
If there were signs though, Pumpkin says that she missed them because she had moved out of her mom’s home to start a new life with her husband Josh Efird and their daughter Ella, now 2. “I had moved out due to just some stuff in general…and me getting married and having a kid. So we’d got out and got our own place, so what they were doing there I had no clue of.” She adds, “I think she hid it from everybody, or at least tried to.”
From Not To Hot has since been renamed Mama June: Family Crisis and a big part of it will focus on how Pumpkin is helping to raise her sister Alana (aka Honey Boo Boo) in their mom’s absence. Ironically, Lauryn says she draws the strength to continue from her mother. “She was a very strong, independent woman. Nobody could tell her anything. She said what was on her mind,” Pumpkin says. “And I’ve always believed that I’ve gotten that from her.” Mama June: Family Crisis premieres on WE tv on March 27 at 9pm.