Mom’s approval? June “Mama June” Shannon shares her thoughts on her daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson’s boyfriend, Dralin Carswell, while exclusively speaking to In Touch.

“You gotta remember Alana isn’t that small, [she’s an older] girl than y’all have [kept] her in that bubble,” June, 43, tells In Touch while promoting the season 6 premiere of Mama June: Family Crisis.

The couple – who has been dating for over two years – have faced backlash due to their age gap. Alana is just 17, while Dralin is 21.

June explains that daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird and her husband, Josh Efird, were around the same ages when they began dating. The couple tied the knot in 2018, and they share kids Ella, 5, Bentley, 20 months, and twins Sylus and Stella, 11 months.

“[Lauryn] was 15 and Josh was almost 20 … y’all didn’t have a problem with that,” the mother of four states. “They have been together almost eight years and I feel like Dralin is not on the maturity level of a 20 year old because he is very childish. I mean, very childish to me.”

June’s husband, Justin Stroud, adds that Dralin “loves” Alana.

“They’re still kids,” Justin, 35, continues. “It ain’t like he’s 28, 29 years old. He’s still a child himself, so he’s not gonna get everything right at the beginning. You know, just like none of us did. We had to figure it out as we go.”

Alana confirmed her relationship with Dralin during an Instagram Q&A with her followers in January 2021.

“You gotta boyfriend?” one fan asked before the Toddlers & Tiaras alum responded, “Yessss.”

They later went Instagram official in September 2021 when the reality star shared a photo of the pair at a pumpkin patch.

While Dralin has seemingly earned the approval of Alana’s family, he has faced criticism for their age gap and his criminal past.

In Touch confirmed that he was arrested for statutory rape in May 2019, which was less than two years before he began dating Alana. Dralin was accused of making a false statement to police at the time of the incident. His charge was later adjudicated in June 2021 after he agreed to a number of conditions, including seeing an addiction specialist and undergoing drug and alcohol screens.

More recently, Dralin was arrested on February 28, 2023, for driving under the influence. He spent two days behind bars before he was released on a $25,000 bond, according to online records viewed by In Touch. Dralin was charged with one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of DUI — less safe — drugs and various unsafe driving charges.

Alana was reportedly in the car during the incident, according to the Monroe County Reporter.