Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Shares Wedding and Family Goals with Dralin Carswell

The reality star also shared her desire to have children someday, but only when the timing feels right.

Now 19 and focused on her nursing studies, Honey Boo Boo is balancing young adulthood, love, and life after reality TV with surprising clarity.

In a recent exclusive interview with E! News, Honey Boo Boo confirmed that she and Carswell, who have been dating since 2021, are in a good place but aren’t rushing down the aisle.

She cited the cost and stress of planning a wedding as the reasons behind their decision.

“Not until after school, probably. Just because it’s so expensive and a wedding is a lot of work,” she told correspondent Will Marfuggi.

Still, the television personality added that marriage was “in the future,” suggesting she and Carswell are committed but taking things at their own pace.

“I want to have kids eventually. I don’t want to have a lot of kids—I want maybe two, that’s it—but not for a long time,” she told the outlet.

Honey Boo Boo may be sure about wanting kids someday, but the actress isn’t certain about raising her children in front of cameras.

The former child star, who grew up in the spotlight, told Marfuggi she didn’t want her kids to experience the hate from fame.

“I’ve been in the spotlight for so long. I’ve just seen all the hate that I got when I was younger. I don’t know if I would want to put my kid through that. I might just wait until they get old enough to make that decision for themselves,” she explained.

The reality TV personality’s journey to stardom began when she was only five years old.

At the time, Thompson was filming an interview on TLC’s “Toddlers and Tiaras” when she said, “A dollar made me holler, honey boo boo,” birthing her nickname.

While that moment was etched in TV history, the years that followed weren’t rosy. In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE Magazine ahead of the release of her biopic, Alana Thompson recounted her terrible experience as a child star.

The “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” star told the outlet that in her upcoming Lifetime film, “I Was Honey Boo Boo,” she didn’t think twice before pouring out everything she and her late sister Anna went through in the hands of their mom, Mama June.

“I’m a little nervous. I did not want this movie to be throwing punches at my mama and making her out to be the bad guy. But I didn’t hold back, and if she gets mad, at the end of the day, it’s the truth,” she said.

Honey Boo Boo also detailed how their family life collapsed, all thanks to Mama June’s drug addiction.

“I noticed something was off about her,” she said of that time. “She started locking her doors, which really made me think, ‘Oh, what is she doing?’”

Eventually, Mama June and her then-boyfriend Eugene Doak got arrested in March 2019 and were charged with felony drug possession. Honey Boo Boo said it was a difficult time in her life, especially as she was still in school.

“People were like, ‘I saw your mama on the news with a busted tooth, strung out.’ I’m like, ‘Great, like I didn’t see that too,’” she recalled.

However, despite all that happened, Honey Boo Boo pushed through. With the help of her sister, Lauryn, she focused on school and graduated in 2023.