Alana Thompson, also known by her nickname of Honey Boo Boo, rose to fame as a child pageant contestant on Toddlers & Tiaras, and she continued to remain in the spotlight while appearing on her own reality shows including Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. In light of season 7 of Mama June: Family Crisis coming out in May 2025, many fans are wondering what Alana is up to today.

What Is Honey Boo Boo Doing Now?

Alana is no longer a pageant queen! Instead, she’s currently a college student at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, and is pursuing a degree in neonatal nursing.

“I just always told myself you know that you want to do something better with your life and bigger with your life than just being on TV, so you’ve got to get up and go, you’ve got to graduate so you can make it to college and be the nurse that you want to be,” Alana told People about her decision to go to college in an interview published on May 13, 2025.

However, Alana admitted to the outlet that affording college hasn’t been easy. During season 6 of Mama June: Family Crisis, Alana accused her mother, June “Mama June” Shannon, of taking tens of thousands of dollars from her Coogan account, which was set up to hold the money she earned as a child star.

June – who was struggling with her drug addiction at the time – admitted to taking money from the account and promised to pay Alana back.

While Alana revealed to People that June returned the $35,000 she earned from her 2018 appearance on Dancing With the Stars, she claimed that she’s never seen any money for starring on TLC’s Here Comes Honey Boo Boo from 2012 until 2014.

Honey Boo Boo Is Dating Dralin Carswell

Not only is Alana thriving in college, but she’s also found love with her boyfriend, Dralin Carswell.

After they publicly confirmed their romance in 2021, Alana and Dralin quickly faced backlash over their age gap. Dralin was 20 when they started dating, while Alana was still in high school. However, Alana made it clear that she didn’t care what others thought about the relationship.

“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,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2022 about the backlash.

After Alana was accepted to Regis University, she and Dralin took a major step in their relationship when they moved states and moved in together.

“He is definitely the clean freak of the house. I got lucky with that one,” Alana exclusively told In Touch about Dralin in June 2024. “He’s not very messy. He makes sure that the house is very much spotless and I’m the one that wants to sit on the couch, for sure.”

Alana also opened up about their plans for the future together. “We talked about the future. We’ve talked about marriage and kids and stuff, but that is for sure not coming until at least I graduate college,” she revealed. “We’re talking about it, but not thinking about it.”

Honey Boo Boo Reflected on Child Stardom in Lifetime Biopic

Alana looked back on the dark side of her child stardom in the May 2025 Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo.

The movie followed Alana (Vale Cooper) as she became known as Honey Boo Boo on the kids’ pageant circuit. She and her “colorful family, led by her mother, Mama June (Chelsea Larkin)” caught the eyes of fans and they quickly skyrocketed to fame, according to the film’s synopsis.

While Alana did not act in the movie, she was involved behind the scenes and served as the film’s narrator.