Former TLC reality star Honey Boo Boo – real name Alana Thompson – has come under some scrutiny regarding the recent arrest of her boyfriend, Dralin Carswell, for driving under the influence and fleeing police during a three-mile chase in Monroe County, Georgia. Local police have reportedly confirmed that Thompson was in the car during the chase and was picked up from jail following the incident, but her level of involvement in the entire incident is unclear.
Dralin Carswell, 21, was arrested Tuesday evening after leading police on a three-mile chase through Monroe County, Georgia; he was eventually apprehended and arrested on charges including DUI and fleeing arrest, with speeding citations added on as well. Fellow passenger Julian Malik Divon Williams, 24, was also arrested on outstanding warrants. However, according to the Monroe County Reporter, Alana Thompson – better known as Honey Boo Boo – was only a witness in the case and wasn’t charged with anything in the wake of the incident. Her older sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon later picked her up from the Monroe County Jail.
Inside Honey Boo Boo’s Relationship With Dralin Carswell
Honey Boo Boo, now 17, first came into the limelight as a contestant on the TLC reality show Toddlers & Tiaras, capturing the audience’s attention with a unique brand of southern charm that’s kept her and her family, including June “Mama June” Shannon and sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, firmly in the public awareness ever since – and that certainly isn’t helpful now. Sources report that Honey Boo Boo and Dralin Carswell have been in a relationship for two years. Still, her lasting stardom has weighed heavy over their heads, leading to her keeping many details of their relationship out of the public eye.
In a recent interview, Thompson’s mother – better known as Mama June – confirmed that not only has she met Dralin Carswell, but she fully approves of their relationship.
“People need to realize that she’s going to be 17 in August and that Pumpkin and Josh were the same age as they were,” she said, according to PEOPLE Magazine. “She is getting a lot of hate because she’s in an interracial relationship, he is older. But at the end of the day, Alana’s not that 6-, 7-year-old child y’all fell in love with 11 years ago.”
In addition, Honey Boo Boo herself has said that she’s aware that some of her fans have problems with her relationship with her boyfriend, with naysayers pointing out the age gap and racial differences between the two, but she “doesn’t care” because “…at the end of the day, my sister approves, his mom approves, and we’re happy, so what fans got to say or what haters got to say I don’t really care.”
Neither Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson nor any family members have released any comments on Dralin Carswell’s arrest and Thompon’s questionable involvement in the incident. It’s unclear how their relationship will continue beyond this point and what effect the incident might have on public opinion regarding the ever-controversial Honey Boo Boo and her family.