Mama June's Struggles: From Her Parents' Divorce to Troubled Relationships and Arrest

From her extreme weightloss journey to her sometimes questionable parenting decisions, Mama June is regularly under scrutiny. Her entire life is riddled with challenges.

June Shannon, also known as Mama June, has become a household name over the last few years. She gained even more fame through her weight-loss journey on WEtv's Mama June: From Not to Hot.

June has kept fans entertained from calling her daughters by bizarre nicknames, dating a myriad of questionable men, and her many run-ins with the law. The Shannon family matriarch has had her fair share of struggles over the years.

Her Parents Divorce:

On August 10, 1979, Sandra and Melvin Shannon welcomed their daughter June Shannon into the world. However, when she was just two, her parents got divorced.

June has three siblings, Joanne "Doe-Doe" Shannon, Joanie Shannon and James Edward Shannon. She also has two half-sisters, Michelle Shannon, and Nicole Shannon

Teenage Pregnancy:

When June was 15-years-old, she fell pregnant with her first child, Anna, who she calls “Chickadee,” and dropped out of high school. June admitted that teenage pregnancy was "just too much for me.”

She did finish her GED as well. June went on to have a total of four daughters. She had Jessica aka “Chubbs,” two years after Anna. She later gave birth to Lauryn aka “Pumpkin,” 17, and Alana aka “Honey Boo Boo,” 11.

Legally Blind:

On an episode of the TLC show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," the 38-year-old revealed she is legally blind. The mother-of-four revealed she does not have a driver's license because of her condition after she had trouble go-karting with her family.

"I'm not going to lie to you, my eyesight was a little blurry," she said after slamming into a barrier.

Arrests:

In 2008, Mama June was arrested for the first time. She was taken into custody for theft and contempt of court. According to a report from The New York Daily News she faced charges "related to child support issues."

Then in March 2019, she was arrested again. This time Mama June and her boyfriend, Geno Doak, were arrested at an Alabama gas station after someone reported a domestic incident involving the two of them.

The police ended up arresting and charging both of them for felony possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Doak was also charged with domestic violence/harassment.

Two days before their arrest, Mama June's family staged an intervention where Honey Boo Boo and Pumpkin begged their mother to go to rehab and end her relationship with Geno. The family eventually convinced her to go to rehab but she left just 12 hours after being admitted.

According to reports, June was released on bond the same night. She is currently facing several years in jail. Until her hearing, she is not allowed to leave the state of Alabama.

A lawyer also revealed that the arrest could result in her losing custody of her daughter Honey Boo Boo.

Geno & June's Relationship:

In 2018, before the arrests and her daughter's pleading with her to break up with him, June seemed smitten with Geno. In fact, she told People Magazine:

"Hopefully he will come around because I honestly do love him with all of my heart and totally in love with him and I'm happy with him."

Her Questionable Boyfriends:

It's not the first time one of June's boyfriends caused trouble for her. Two of her ex-boyfriends David Dunn and Sugar Bear, who are the fathers of Chickadee and Honey Boo Boo respectively, also had run-ins with the law.

Another one of her past boyfriends was Mark McDaniel who had a criminal record. June's daughter, Anna publicly accused McDaniel of assaulting her when she was just 8-years-old. In interviews, Anna blamed June for bringing him into their home.

After Anna's revelations, June was investigated by child services for her relationship with McDaniel. The investigation aimed to identify if she was able to protect her three underage daughters from her chosen partner.

June later revealed that her ex Michael Anthony Ford, the father of both Chubbs and Pumpkin, was also a registered criminal.

After breaking up with Sugar Bear, June had gone on a journey of self-betterment. Fans are hoping that she will kick her drug addiction and gambling habits again.

Especially after her daughters' intervention and pleading. However, it seems that right now Mama June is far from recovery and she is definitely not ready to part ways with her troublemaking boyfriend Geno.