COUPLESTeen Star Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Defends Age Gap With 21-Year-Old Boyfriend
July 22 2022, Published 2:21 p.m. ET
Defending her relationship!
16-year-old Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson fired back against critics concerned about the young star’s age gap with her boyfriend, 21-year-old Dralin Carswell.
"In our relationship, the two most things that everybody is always talking about is our age gap,” the star explained in a new interview, noting that race “definitely” played a role in these negative comments. “He's Black and I’m white and we're an interracial couple," said the Dancing with the Stars: Juniors alum.
Despite this criticism, Thompson maintains that she’s happy with her boyfriend.
"I like how it’s never quiet when we're around each other, we're always talking about something,” she explained. “It’s never like an awkward moment, silence or none of that. We're always just talking about something.”
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And it’s not just Thompson who asserted her confidence in her relationship. The star's older sister Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon, who was also present for the interview, said that growing up as a child star has made her younger sibling “more mature.” As such, she says she feels that the former Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star and her older beau are “on the same wavelength.”
"She’s not getting married, she’s not having a kid, she's doing very good in school," Shannon added.
Thompson's mother, June "Mama June" Shannon also seemingly approves of her youngest daughter's new relationship.
"He is respectful. He treats her good. He kind of helps out, you know, with the family whenever needed to be," the star told E! News' Daily Pop last November. "I don't have a problem with him."
This isn’t the first time that Thompson has dished about her relationship with Carswell. Just last week, the TLC staple opened up about their romance and her experiences with social media, exclusively telling OK! , "Dralin is a really good person and is very caring.”
"I don't pay attention to anyone on social media,” she said. “I don't respond to negative comments. I figure that person who is making the rude comment must be going through something themselves.”
Highlights from Thompson and Shannon’s original interview appeared on Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, July 21.
