Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Addresses Criticism Over Age Gap With Boyfriend Dralin (Exclusive)

In a sit-down interview with ET, Alana and her sister, Pumpkin, discuss her relationship with Dralin.

Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson is speaking out about her relationship with her boyfriend, Dralin, saying that despite getting backlash over their age gap, she is happy and her sister approves. 

In a sit-down interview with ET's Rachel Smith, Alana and her sister, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon, talked all things reality TV, dating and family. Speaking at their home in Georgia, Alana opened up about her relationship with Dralin, whom she's been dating for a year and seven months. 

The former Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and current Mama June: Road to Redemption star is 16 years old while Dralin is 21 years old. However, Alana says it's not just the age gap between them that has sparked public outrage -- the reality star alleges it is Dralin's ethnicity as well. 

"In our relationship, the two most things that everybody is always talking about is our age gap and definitely because he's Black and I’m white and we're an interracial couple," Alana says. 

But regardless of what online commentators might think, Alana says the two people whose opinions really matter -- her sister and Dralin's mother -- are happy for them. "I don’t care because, like, 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," Alana continues. 

Echoing her sister's sentiments, Pumpkin agreed that she is happy for Alana and that she believes at almost 17 years old, Alana is emotionally mature enough to date Dralin, emphasizing that he is not distracting her from her goals. 

"She’s not getting married, she’s not having a kid, she's doing very good in school," says Pumpkin, who went on to note that coming of age in the spotlight has made Alana more mature, and that despite Dralin being older, she believes he and Alana are "on the same wavelength."

Alana went on to gush about her relationship with Dralin, revealing that conversation is always flowing when they are with each other. "I like how it’s never quiet when we're around each other, we're always talking about something -- it’s never like an awkward moment, silence or none of that. We're always just talking about something," Alana shares. 

Alana also revealed that Dralin supported her while she was a contestant on The Masked Singer, saying he drove all the way across the country to be there for her during filming.

The season finale of Mama June: Road to Redemption airs Friday at 9 p.m. on WeTV.

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