MAMA June is one of TV's most famous mothers, and while her family initially captivated the nation's attention, the mom-of-four is no stranger to making headlines on her own.
While it was her daughter, Honey Boo Boo, that catapulted to fame on TLC's Toddlers & Tiaras, Mama June has proved that her life, and her family, are just as entertaining to watch with the premiere of Mama June: Family Crisis, entering part three of its sixth season in June 2024.
What is Mama June doing now?
TV audiences were first introduced to June Edith Stroud, better known as Mama June, when she appeared alongside her youngest daughter, Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson on TLC's hit series, Toddlers & Tiaras.
Fans fell in love with Mama June and Honey Boo Boo for their larger-than-life personalities and meme-worthy soundbites, helping them take the nation – and social media – by storm.
Mama June later appeared on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, a reality TV show documenting her family's life, and its spin-off series, Mama June: From Not to Hot.
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The show was then retitled Mama June: Road to Redemption, marking the first time Mama had made a television appearance since she was admitted to rehab for her drug use.
It showed the matriarch working on her sobriety and making amends with her estranged daughters.
Following Mama June and Geno Doak's split, the reality star was briefly romantically linked to TikTok influencer, Jordan McCollum, in early 2021.
In December 2021, however, The U.S. Sun confirmed Mama June was in a new relationship with Justin Stroud.
The duo got married on March 23, 2022, and confirmed the news on Instagram.
Mama June and Stroud posted a video of the two of them flashing their wedding rings and affectionately kissing each other on the cheek.
She captioned the video: "I know you guys been seeing it all over the Internet so we are here to clear up some of the rumors."
She added: "YES me and @officialsmallz1 Really got married back in march 23 on our six month anniversary and yes it was so spur the moment."
On February 18, 2023, the duo exchanged vows again in an oceanfront ceremony in Panama City, Florida.
Mama June's family, including her four daughters and two grandchildren, attended the ceremony.
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As reported by People, Mama June said: "This was the first time the family had all been together since 2014."
"So it was really special to get married in a place where my family and I have had so many memories!"
"We wanted to have a small and very intimate wedding, so we didn't have any groomsmen or bridesmaids," Shannon added.
"All four of my girls walked me down to Justin, and his mom walked him down the aisle."
She confirmed that the wedding would be featured in an upcoming episode of her TV show, which, like Mama June herself, went through a rebrand.
The show's sixth season premiered on We TV on May 5, 2023, under the moniker Mama June: Family Crisis.
Just a few months after her wedding, Mama June confirmed that she was moving from Alabama with her husband in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.
The reality TV star was going back to Georgia amidst her oldest daughter's battle with cancer.
Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma in January 2023.
In a devastating loss, Cardwell passed away on December 9, 2023.
Just days later, Mama June took to Instagram to share a heartbreaking update about her daughter's death, writing: "I keep feeling this is all a nightmare," and that "this is the toughest thing" she's ever been through.
Despite the tragic news, Mama June has reportedly stepped up and will be raising one of Cardwell's two children.
Cardwell had two daughters, Kylee and Kaitlyn, Mama June's first grandchild.
While Kylee is living with her biological father, Michael, Kaitlyn has moved in with Mama June, who plans to become her legal guardian.
Cardwell's husband, Eldridge Toney, also plans to stay involved in the girls' lives.
Mama June was last spotted attending Cardwell's funeral service alongside her daughters and grandchildren on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, in Gordon, Georgia.
While We TV had documented Cardwell's cancer battle throughout 2023, they were not filming the funeral, and guests were prohibited from using their phones inside the funeral home.
The show's season finale aired back in May 2023.
Part three of the show's sixth season premiered on June 14, 2024, and already brought plenty of drama.
While Mama June has been busy getting back in shape after a tough year, she's also rehashing old arguments with her youngest daughter, Honey Boo Boo.
What happened between Honey Boo Boo and Mama June?
Back in 2019, Mama June abandoned her daughters, Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell, Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird, and Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson in favor of her troubled ex-boyfriend, Geno.
In an episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, Pumpkin and Mama June reunited after not seeing each other for months.
The family matriarch admitted she had done thousands of dollars worth of drugs a day.
She even had to sell her Georgia home at a huge loss for fast cash in October 2019.
"The only reason I sold the house, I was dead f**king broke," Mama June told her shocked daughter Pumpkin.
"Because you know, at that point, we was doing quite a bit. I mean, it was a couple ounces a day. Our habit was $2,500 a day, if not more."
June was posting videos from Florida to promote her $30 personalized video messages and other merchandise and was spotted pawning a diamond ring for $1,500 on Facebook Marketplace in January.
Mama June revealed in an exclusive interview with The Sun that she was working on her relationship with Alana after completing a 25-day rehab stint.
The famous mother-daughter duo have since worked things out, with Honey Boo Boo appearing at Mama June's May 2023 wedding.
Mama June also gave her daughter a shout-out on Instagram, congratulating Honey Boo Boo for graduating high school and going off to college for nursing.
She captioned the post: "Wanted to share this pic with y’all still can’t believe she is graduated high school n now on to the next chapter of her life and we will be there. Every step of the way #class of 2023 #graduate #georgia #honeybooboo #mamajune #wetv #newchapter."
Still, not all fans were convinced that the appreciation was genuine, with one user commenting: "You had little or nothing to do with her success. She succeeded in spite of you. Congratulations Alana!"
As of December 2023, the family is closer than ever, with Mama June and Honey Boo Boo putting on a united front at Chickadee's funeral on December 13, 2023.
According to TMZ, Chickadee was cremated, and the family "plans to split her remains amongst family members," even "making special jewelry or crystals with her ashes inside" as a keepsake.
Is Mama June sober now?
Mama June has claimed to have turned to a life of sobriety after posting a video showing off her "blinged-out" six-month sobriety chip on Instagram.
June and Geno, 45, wrapped up a rehab stint, and June revealed that she was now living a sober life.
She captioned the video: "Thanks so much to @ginarodriguez n @b_lynnsnail for the gift I love The blinged out six months chip."
She said: "That is something I’m very proud of as me and @doakgeno are over six months clean now..."
She told The Sun in March 2021 that she has remained sober for 14 months.
As of December 2023, Mama June remains drug-free, citing her daughters and husband as some of the reasons she is maintaining her sobriety.
Mama June notably got angry when her husband took Honey Boo Boo's side after confronting her about "not being honest" regarding how much money she took from her daughter – and never repaid.
How much weight has Mama June lost?
Mama June underwent a dramatic weight loss starting in 2016, leading the star to lose nearly 300 pounds.
After the insertion of her gastric sleeve, Mama June underwent more surgery to achieve a total body transformation in 2017.
The reality star went under the knife for a breast augmentation, liposuction on her arms, and skin removal on her “turkey neck and batwing arms," and stomach – an area where doctors removed nine pounds of excess skin.
All in all, her surgeries cost a whopping $75,000.
In Mama June: Road to Redemption, June admitted she had gained 60 pounds during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Look, we have put on a little couple extra pounds," she said in the trailer.
"I've put on about 60. [Geno] put on about 100. We put on a whole other person. But I'm going to blame it on healthy Covid weight."
In an interview with Page Six on May 11, 2023, Mama June confirmed that she had gained about 100 pounds since her lowest weight.
"I’ve only put on back on 100 pounds, and I was actually putting back on that weight before I got sober,” she shared.
“I’ve literally been at 241 pounds for almost two years. God pretty much wants me where I’m at right now.”
The star also shot down rumors that she would be turning to weight loss medication, like Ozempic or general semaglutide, to lose those extra pounds.
“No offense to people out there that are doing it, but it’s just not for me. I want to stay clean,” she explained.
“I’m not judging anyone, but it’s not for me.”
Just a few months later, Mama June seems to have changed her mind, admitting to taking Tirzepatide, a Mounjaro alternative, to speed up her weight loss.
In June 2024, she revealed that she has lost 30 pounds in the last nine weeks, and has about 70 pounds left to lose.
“I have 72.6 pounds left,” she continued, telling Us Weekly that she wants to weigh “probably about 170 [or] 180 [pounds].
"I don’t ever want to go down to 130 pounds, [which] I was when in season 1 [of From Not to Hot]."
"I went from a 24 to a size zero," she revealed.
