‘Mama June: Family Crisis’ Recap: June Hugs Alana During Therapy

Mama June finally came face to face with three of her daughters — Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird, Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and Jessica Shannon — during the June 30 episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, when Dr. Ish brought them all together for an intense weekend of therapy. But before the girls arrived, June sat down with her sister Doe Doe Shannon to find out why she behaves the way she does. And what was revealed was that Doe Doe and June’s mom taught June a lot of the behaviors she’s taken on in her own life. For example, their mother used to show her love by buying gifts for them. She also always made sure she had a man in her life and always prioritized that man over her children. And because Doe Doe was older than June, she took on the role of June’s mother while their own mom was out living selfishly. Sounds familiar, right?

What was #MamaJune like as a kid? pic.twitter.com/fofhmfDFf3

— Mama June (@MamaJune_WEtv) June 27, 2023

Fortunately, Dr. Ish told June he’d help her try to break the habits she learned from her mother. And once Doe Doe told them everything they needed to hear, Dr. Ish excused her and let her leave before the girls arrived at the rental house. That way, June and her daughters could focus on fixing their relationships with each other without anyone else getting involved.

Over the course of the weekend, after the girls arrived, everyone shared hopes of rebuilding their relationships with their mom. Obviously, June has wanted that too, but this is the first time in a while that we saw Pumpkin, Alana and Jessica shed tears over the situation and share how they really feel about the absence of June in their lives. In the past, we’ve just seen a lot of anger, but this week, everyone got emotional. Even Alana couldn’t hold back tears when June hugged her for the first time in “5 or 6 years”.

Thanks for watching with us! WE'll see you next week for more #MamaJune! pic.twitter.com/j6QCiYkAn0

— Mama June (@MamaJune_WEtv) June 24, 2023

June acknowledged that she can’t change her past — she can only change what she’s doing in the present and what she’ll do in the future, so that’s what she’s going to focus on. Dr. Ish gave them all homework by asking them all to call each other weekly in hopes that they’ll rebuild their relationships in a pace that works for everyone. Of course, the girls wondered whether June’s words were genuine, as they feared she only wanted to “make up” with them so they’d attend her wedding, but she insisted that she wants more than that. She wants to be there for the “simple” everyday moments from here on out, so they all agreed to try and make that happen. But only time will tell whether this therapy session helped.

Want more? New episodes of Mama June: Family Crisis air Fridays at 9pm on WE tv.