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Mama June Shannon Was Living in a Car Before She Went to Rehab: At That Point I Was ‘Tired’ (Exclusive)

A new path. Mama June Shannon revealed in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly that she and her boyfriend Geno Doak were living out of a car before they entered rehab for drug abuse.

“We were staying in Jackson, Georgia,” Shannon, 41, said while promoting her WE tv series Mama June: Road to Redemption. “[We weren’t] using because we didn’t have any money.”

The Georgia native told Us that Doak, 45, started crying while the pair were in a chapel, declaring that they needed to go to treatment for their drug addictions.

“My thing was, ‘All you want me to do is go into an inpatient facility so you can get rid of me and you can do what you want to do,’” the reality star said.

Her boyfriend of five years disagreed.

Mama June Was Living in a Car Before Rehab
Mama June WeTV

“[He said], ‘No. I want to go with you. I’m done. I’m tired of this life,’” Shannon recalled.  “I know at that point I was tired. I was tired long before that. And, you know, we did it. I texted the girls, I texted my production company. And two days later we were on a plane.”

Today, the pair are 14 months sober.

“I don’t have all the answers, but you know, I always wake up every morning and tell myself I’m gonna stay clean for the next 24 hours. No matter what COVID virus is happening, no matter what kind of mood I’m in,” the mother of four said.

The Toddlers & Tiaras alum said that when she entered rehab in January 2020 she had $1.75 to her name. Prior to her March 2019 arrest, she spent “like $750,000” on cocaine.

“I just had an abundance of money to do more of the drug,” Shannon said.

Now, she’s working to rebuild herself financially, as well as fix her relationship with her children. The Mama June: From Not to Hot alum’s youngest daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, 15, is currently living with her sister Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon, 21.

“My goal is to live day by day,” Mama June said. “I would like to get some of this weight off of me and, you know, eventually, it will happen, but my sobriety and mending my relationships with the kids [are what] I’m getting back into.”

Watch Mama June: Road to Redemption on WE tv Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

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