Mama June On How Her Addiction Started: ‘I Was Around Drugs All My Life’

Mama June Shannon has decided to share her drug addiction story and clear her boyfriend Geno Doak’s name amid the accusations that he influenced her into doing drugs.

The 41-year-old We TV star took to Instagram Friday to share her testimonial for Banyan Treatment Centers, an organization that provides addiction treatment for all levels of care. In the clip she uploaded, she could be seen speaking candidly about her journey to recovery.

At the start of the video, Mama June talked about her early life, revealing that she was “on my own” when she was a kid since her mom and her stepdad were working while her real father was not around.

“I was pretty much on my own. I could be able to skip school if I wanted to. I became pregnant when I was 14 and kind of moved out of my mama’s house and still today I don’t talk to my mom,” she added.

Mama June admitted that getting pregnant at such a young age made her grow up really fast. She said she was already juggling two to three jobs when she was 14 or 15. At 19, she already had three kids while managing to work in the restaurant business industry.

The controversial matriarch then went on to reveal that her addiction problem actually started about 21 years ago because she was so busy working multiple jobs and needed to stay up. But even before that, she was already exposed to drugs.

“I was around drugs all my life,” she said. “My sister was on pills. Her husband sold dope.”

Mama June then insisted that it was not Geno who influenced her into doing drugs, contrary to what some had thought when news broke that they got arrested for possession of drugs in March 2019.

According to the “Mama June: Road To Redemption” lead star, when she moved away from her home in 2005, she had stopped using drugs. However, she got back to her old habit when she returned to her hometown in 2014 as she was surrounded by her “old people.”

When she met Geno on Dec. 13, 2015, Mama June said she had with her about 2 ounces of meth. But Geno was the one who talked her out of using it. She said that Geno told her she needed to get rid of it if she wanted to really meet him because he just got out of prison. Mama June tossed it the next day and did not touch drugs again until two years later.

“Around 2017, I picked up again and it started from like a gram here of cocaine but it was not like everyday,” she said before noting that she felt like she could do anything she wanted at the time because of the drugs.

“I could get high and do what I needed to do,” the reality star said.

When Mama June and Geno got arrested, she realized what her problem was, and she was now trying everything she can to overcome her addiction and was working her way back to her sober self.

Mama June said that after all that has happened, she is now determined to focus on herself, reconnect with her kids and family and help other people who may be going through the same problem.

“My newfound passion is to help people, so being asked to do something like this was a huge accomplishment for me. If I can help one person find the courage ask for help, then it was all worth it,” she wrote in the caption of her post.