June "Mama June" Shannon has been through the wringer, but has only come out stronger.
The reality star, 42, gave fans an update on her sobriety journey while talking about the new season of Mama June: Road to Redemption exclusively with E! News' Daily Pop on May 12.
June shared that things in her life have been "going very good" and that she's been sober for 29 months. "I tell people, ‘Anybody can do it.' You just gotta put your mind to it," she told hosts Loni Love and Francesca Amiker. "I'm not ‘California sober,' I'm like straight sober."
The former Toddlers & Tiaras stage mom has never been afraid to be open with fans about her struggles. But June shared that she's running on "high anxiety" this week ahead of the show's return.
"I don't see the show until y'all see it, so that's where I don't know what's in there," she said. "I know what I said, I know what was done, but you never know what editing has. So, it's a lot."
Though she's not looking forward to reliving hard times on the small screen—such as her breakup with ex-boyfriend Geno Doak—June hopes that "sharing that part of my life that I've never shared with the world" will help inspire others who have gone through similar struggles.
"If I can get out of that relationship, you can too," she said. "I've learned who I was at 41, who June Shannon was—not 'Mama June,' not Honey Boo Boo's mom. I realized who June Shannon was and it took me over a year to learn that. And I'm in a so much better place."
Some of June's newfound happiness can be attributed to her new boyfriend Justin Stroud, whom she started dating in September 2021.
"I met Justin a year ago. He had no idea what I was going through," she shared. "He was texting me, ‘Hey, how you doing? I was thinking about you today. Hopefully, you have an amazing day.' And those small little text messages when you're going through some trauma in your life, you don't realize how much it is."
June isn't the only member of her family in a happy relationship, as her daughter Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, 16, has been dating college student Dralin Carswell, 20, for several months, though some people aren't as supportive of their relationship.
"She doesn't get hate for necessarily the age difference, it's because she's in an interracial relationship," June told Daily Pop. Pointing out that her daughter is no longer a little pageant girl, June believes that Alana should be with whoever she wants to be with.
"She's young, she's a teenager," said June. "If they last, fine. If they don't, it can be her first love."
Check out her full interview in the clip above.
Mama June: Road to Redemption returns Friday, May 13 on WE tv.