‘Mama June: Road To Redemption’: Pumpkin Confronts Geno

Mama June Shannon and her boyfriend, Geno Doak, have finally started making amends after their drug abuse severely affected her family. And during the April 16 episode of Mama June: Road To Redemption, it was Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon and Geno’s turn to come face-to-face.

Last week, Pumpkin and Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson sat down with Mama June and shared their frustrations with her after a long period of estrangement during her drug use. Since June and Geno had completed rehab, the girls decided it’d be okay to meet up with June. However, they weren’t yet ready to face Geno.

But this week, things changed. Pumpkin thought it’d be a good idea to hear Geno out and see what he had to say. After Pumpkin told Geno how hard it was for her and Alana while he and June were using, Geno explained why they finally decided to get clean.

“It was just tired of living the way we were,” Geno tells Pumpkin. “It wasn’t even really living, we were just existing. We were in a cycle and we couldn’t stop.” He also said that they’d practically live in hotel bathrooms while using drugs all day long.

Pumpkin remained calm throughout the conversation, but she did want Geno to know how much their drug use affected her and Alana. “I just need y’all to hear me and hear Alana through me because she’s not here. I need y’all to know how much y’all did hurt us,” she told him. “That’s definitely been a hard process trying to tell her it’s not here, there’s not something wrong with her because she thinks it is something wrong with her.”

Pumpkin went on to say that Alana already thinks her dad, Sugar Bear, doesn’t want anything to do with her since she’s not a boy, so the drug use made things worse. “Then she thought Mama’s addiction — y’all’s addiction — was her fault too … I don’t want her to think like that, I told her it’s not her fault.”

In her private confessional, Pumpkin said, “I do feel bad for Alana because her piece of s*** daddy doesn’t want anything to do with her. [Geno] went above and beyond [for Alana].” She added, “[He] really showed Alana what a father was supposed to be.” But once Geno and June started using drugs and abandoned them, they both felt really “angry”.

“I think it’s good for you and Mama both to hear Alana’s side because I’m older, I can shelter my feelings like I need to, but Alana tends to hold things in,” Lauryn said. “I think it’s good for Mama to see Alana get upset. She is only 15 and we all forget that because Alana does act way more mature than she actually is.”

In the end, Pumpkin congratulated June and Geno for being able to listen to them so they can all “move past the hurt.” Geno said he’s “terribly sorry” and then invited the girls to visit him and June down in Florida. Pumpkin said she’d have to talk to Alana about it, but later in the episode, they both agreed to go — which meant Alana had to cancel a hangout she already planned with her dad.

Sugar Bear has finally been showing some effort and wants to reunite with Alana, but Alana said she may soon be moving to Florida to be closer to her mom.

Want more drama? New episodes of Mama June: Road To Redemption air Fridays at 9pm on WE tv.