Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson "doesn't understand" why people still see her as a kid.
The 17-year-old reality star shot to fame when she was a child on 'Toddlers and Tiaras' before she and her family landed their own TLC reality show 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' in 2012.
But after graduating high school and striking up a relationship with Dralin Carswell, 21, she admitted that fans are often shocked to discover she is "basically grown up."
She told People: "I get a lot of comments like that. And I feel like since I've been on TV for such a long time, since I was younger, a lot of people still picture me as a little kid..
“A lot of people still think like, 'Oh, you're not supposed to be this' and 'You got a boyfriend? Oh no, you're not supposed to have a boyfrien'. And it's like, I'm almost going to be 18. I've already graduated high school. I'm basically already grown. So I just don't understand it!"
Thompson – who starred on 'Here Comes Boo Boo' until its cancellation in 2017 whilst her mother Mama June is currently appearing in the sixth season of 'Mama June: From Not to Hot' – previously explained to the outlet that she feels "ready" to begin a new chapter and head to college, but is not sure whether the cameras will be on her this time round.
She said: "I am ready. I think that it is definitely going to be a different journey, but I think I'm ready for it. I don't know if the cameras will be following me just yet. Y'all are just going to really have to wait and see what happens."