By Hamilton Richardson and Heather Knight
Elmore Autauga News
Recently, a couple of familiar people have been seen around the Elmore and Autauga County area and those same people sat down with the Elmore Autauga News staff Wednesday to let them in on the recent events in their lives.
Mama June Shannon, from shows like Toddlers and Tiara’s, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Mama June: From Not to Hot, and her husband, Justin Stroud, have been in and out the Prattville area over the past few months.
Her husband Stroud is from the area and attended both Prattville and Marbury schools and they shared what they’ve been up to lately.
As far as what the couple has been doing, Mama June said it’s had a lot to do with social media. “We’ve been selling T-shirts, we’ve been going live on Tik Tok, we’ve been doing a lot of stuff,” she said.
Shannon said that after 11 years of being on television, her following is still as strong as ever and she has 612,000 followers on Tik Tok to prove it.
Stroud has been a big part of Shannon’s promotion lately as the two work the social media platform together. The couple is looking to do events around the area, such as meet and greets, to promote their platform but also to raise money for charitable organizations and would like to reach out and support local rehabilitation facilities.
Unfortunately, both Stroud and June have had struggles with addiction and are doing everything they can to help others dealing with similar addictions. “We know what it’s like to be there and we want to help others get out of that situation. But it’s hard to do when you have a cloud that hovers over you because of poor choices you’ve made. When you are in the middle of those poor choices you don’t see the damage you are causing but when you come out of that cloud you still have to deal with the consequences and repercussions of that lifestyle. So, we are both dealing with those currently.” Said Stroud.
“When I went on national TV and was spiraling out of control with an addiction, now that image plays in everybody’s head,” said Mama June, who has been clean for over two years. “No matter how good you do in the world, that image just plays.”
When asked how they met, “Everyone seems to think that I was after June for her fame and money and that’s not true at all. She chased me for a while before we decided to give the relationship a try. I didn’t even know who she was at first,” said Stroud.
But once they began dating they knew they were good for each other and fell in love very quickly. Within five or six months they were married. “We have been together for over a year, and we have the occasional argument, but we are both really happy and really healthy,” said Shannon.
Many of you know the current situation with Alana, Honey Boo Boo, living with her sister “Pumpkin” “We are all doing really well right now. We are getting along; everyone really likes Justin and we are finally getting back to being a family,” said Shannon.
You can see the two on new episodes of Mama June: From Not to Hot Road to Redemption on WeTv on Friday nights. You can also find their clothing line on www.ne1lclothing.com
Follow them on social media at @officialmamajune and @officialsmallz
