New details continue to be revealed about the personal life of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star Mama June Shannon in the wake of her alleged relationship with noted sex offender Mark McDaniel. The former reality star, 35, sat down with Entertainment Tonight for a tell-all interview after her hit show was cancelled amidst the drama.
A new clip from the interview features Shannon revealing that she lost her virginity at age 12.
“I had no idea what it was, how to whatever… and then it kind of escalated from there,” she explained about her first sexual encounter. At age 14 she gave birth to her first daughter Anna Cardwell. “I was dating men who were in their 20s, 30s, my mom knew about it. I would kind of lie and say they were 21, 22. When me and Mark started dating, I was 20 and he was 38. There was an 18-year age difference.”
According to Mama June’s oldest child, McDaniel molested her when she was just 8 years old. Anna claims her mother has since rekindled her romance with McDaniel. When asked if her early sexual experiences made her less understanding of Anna’s struggles, Mama June had a confusing answer.
“No, because I think back then I was honestly just looking for the attention I wasn’t getting at home,” she continued. “I don’t think my sexual experiences at a young age makes anything different than what Anna went through.”
When pressed to explain why she would allow that man around her children again, she replied, “You don’t think that somebody you’ve been with for five years would do anything like that, honestly. At first because I knew nothing about the situation. Up until almost two-and-a-half years ago, I knew nothing. Nothing.”
In previously released clips, Shannon revealed that her daughters Pumpkin and Jessica were fathered by another noted sex offender named Michael Anthony Ford, who was arrested after appearing on To Catch a Predator in 2005.
