Pumpkin Says Mama June Is Having This Effect On Her Marriage

Once part of the boisterous cast of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon Efird has grown into a young woman with more than her share of responsibilities. Now married with a 3-year-old daughter, Efird has also been acting as legal guardian of her 15-year-old sister, Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, for nearly three years. Her mother, "Mama" June Shannon, progressed from an outspoken child-pageant stage mom to a weight-loss success story. Then she fell into drug addiction and blew most of the family's TV money on her habit before finally getting clean. Her efforts to reconnect with Pumpkin, Alana, and the rest of her family are being chronicled in the new TLC series Mama June: Road to Redemption. 

But while June appears to be putting her life back together, the daughters she left behind are struggling to deal with the effects of her choices and their feelings toward their mother. In a recent interview, Lauryn confessed that she was a little resentful over June's spending close to $1 million on drugs while she struggled to provide for her daughter and sister. She added that June has yet to prove how much she appreciates Lauryn's efforts.

In another recent interview — this time with In Touch Weekly — Lauryn spoke about her marriage and frankly admitted, "our main issue is just everything that's going on with my mom." In 2018, she and husband Josh Efird were newlyweds with a newborn when they agreed to take over Alana's care. This left them with no time to enjoy being a young family of three. "So that for sure sucks," Lauryn said. 

June recently revealed that she was diagnosed with lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling of the limbs due to inadequate lymph node drainage. Asked to comment on the news, Lauryn told In Touch that she's torn between concern for her mother and her need to guard her own mental and physical well-being. "It's not that I'm not worried about her health issues; it's just that ... I do have to step back a little bit because I do have a lot going on." 

The upcoming episode of Road to Redemption (a teaser is available here) shows both Alana and Lauryn confronting their mother, whom they hadn't seen for a year before the segment was taped. While Alana tearfully shares her fear that her mother might overdose, Lauryn vents her frustration. "I can't give Alana her mom," she says. "It's like I'm drowning." 

Whether or not June and Lauryn do reconcile, fans are rooting for "Pumpkin" to find peace and healing in her life.