Everything You Need To Know About Sugar Bear

Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson is best known as the father of the adorable pageant princess on the reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo as well his rocky relationship with June Shannon, AKA Mama June, on season four of WE tv's Marriage Boot Camp. If you've never heard of the couple, likely you're familiar with their daughter Alana, who calls herself Honey Boo Boo and has become the subject of dozens of popular memes and GIFs.

The family first made their claim to fame on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras, where the then 6-year-old Alana stole the hearts of millions with her spunky attitude and adorable catchphrases while Mama June made waves by showing off her excessive couponing skills, all while the two battled against a sea of toddlers for a crown. While the mother got some serious flack for giving her daughter an energy drink in a concoction they called Go Go Juice, fans loved them, inspiring the TLC spinoff we've all grown to love. Or more likely, have grown to love to hate.

While Sugar Bear managed to fly under the radar throughout most of his career on reality television, his split from his now ex has brought to light some new information that just might change your perspective on the southern stud muffin.

Starting in the fall of 2012, Sugar Bear fell victim to a string of medical occurrences that started with a foot injury caused by a "mud boggin" incident according to E! News. The injury led to a minor infection that sent him to the hospital, and things seemed to only go downhill from there. Around the holidays that same year Sugar Bear suffered from another medical scare during a Christmas Toy Drive held outside the home he once shared with his ex Mama June. After stating that he wasn't feeling well, paramedics were called but he wasn't taken to the hospital.

Things took a turn for the worse in May of 2013 when he was rushed to the emergency room after collapsing during a dizzy spell. According to Yahoo!, Mama June revealed that he continued to pass out often since that trip to the hospital, which encouraged him to undergo many tests. Originally it was thought that his health issues might be related to his history with diabetes. He was later diagnosed with pneumonia and pancreatitis, and this can be a dangerous combination according to The Huffington Post. However, after traveling to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida for further examination, it seems his body may have been reacting to an unknown neurological disorder.

While Mama June kept fans updated on his condition throughout the process on her social media pages, an official diagnosis was never confirmed. It was, however, said that Sugar Bear received a bad report from his doctors in one of her final Facebook posts on the subject, also saying, "... I'm sorry right now we don't want to share the diagnosis until we get all the information ..." While the family has chosen to keep the final diagnosis private and away from the media, it seems his symptoms have subsided since the incident.

One might not realize from watching the family's most recent spinoff reality show, WE tv's Mama June: From Not to Hot, just how bad the relationship between Sugar Bear and Alanna has gotten since his split from June, but now 11-year-old Honey Boo Boo has been open about how little she hears from her father. In an exclusive interview with ET Alana admitted, "He calls me every once in a blue moon, so if there's a blue moon outside, he's going to call me."

Alana also spoke about how her father conveniently disappeared from her life after he met his current wife Jennifer Lamb in the reunion episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot. She sits down with her sister Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon (whose father is not Sugar Bear) and Judge Lynn Tyler who you might recognize from Marriage Boot Camp. In the interview Alana says, "... he found Jennifer and he didn't come see me anymore ... he would text once every three weeks maybe." Tyler asks what Sugar Bear could do to improve his relationship with her and she says she wishes he wouldn't be so angry all the time and that he'd start being her father. That's some heavy stuff for such a young child to be saying!

Of course Sugar Bear denies all of these accusations, claiming that June is the reason he doesn't get to see his daughter and that his new wife has done nothing but support their relationship. In the same reunion episode he tells Tyler, "I try to call June and say, 'Hey, can I come see Alana this weekend?' [and she'll say] 'No, we're busy. We're out of town. We're going to lunch. We're going out.'" Lamb backs up her hubby, but clearly someone isn't being honest. June told Jennifer later in the episode that the real reason Sugar Bear is lying about visiting Alana is because he doesn't want to admit that his own daughter told him that she doesn't want to see him unless he takes their time together seriously. Apparently he just sits there in silence! How awkward!

Even though Sugar Bear claims he doesn't have problems controlling his anger, both his daughter and ex are telling a different story. In the reunion episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot Alana goes in depth about her distant relationship with her father, saying he needs to go to "argue management" and that his calm exterior is a front for the cameras. Of course the 11-year-old meant anger management, which Tyler cleared up, and even showed clips of several instances where Sugar Bear let his anger get the best of him when the cameras were around. June claims it's so bad that both her and her daughters need production to let them know several days in advance if Sugar Bear will be involved with filming as they need to mentally prepare for it.

It seems that Sugar Bear might be lying in this case, as he flew off the handle during filming of the reunion when June and he were discussing his visitation frequency, muttering something about a lawyer and slamming his fist into a wall. He then went into a fit of rage, focusing his anger toward Pumpkin who was sitting off camera. His anger escalated to the point where security had to get between him and his 17-year-old stepdaughter, even ripping his shirt off in rage.

It got so bad that Alana was actually escorted off the property, and while June was concerned for her daughter's safety and didn't want to subject her to the violence, Sugar Bear was only concerned with how the public will see him after his explosion. According to Jennifer, he is speaking to a lawyer and will attempt to get visitation rights even though June seems completely open to him spending time with his daughter.

Sugar Bear might have been well behaved when the cameras were around, but according to his ex, there's a side to him the public doesn't know about. Aside from his problems with anger and a rocky relationship with his daughter, June has also accused her baby daddy of abuse throughout their courtship. In an exclusive interview with Life & Style, June revealed that, "There was just so much emotional and physical abuse." When asked if she would ever take him back the reality star replied, "I just choose not to put my kids through that."

She went into more detail when she later appeared on The Wendy Williams Show, claiming the darker side of Sugar Bear was hidden from viewers when they filmed Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, likely because the show was intended to be more comedic than dramatic. June revealed, "Pumpkin's eye was his fault. The thing that we were showing on Honey Boo Boo ... we never did. The car wreck. Several things that happened on Honey Boo Boo that was covered up." If you never watched the show, there was a storyline that indicated Pumpkin was in a freak accident that involved a pair of keys being poorly tossed in her direction, ultimately hitting her in the eye. They did a recreation for the episode, but if June is telling the truth now, then it wasn't a freak accident at all. Pumpkin was also rushed to the hospital with a head injury, apparently caused by a car accident, but it seems that might have been a coverup as well.

Of course Sugar Bear has denied these allegations, and in an exclusive interview with ET he said, "June is saying these things because she's pissed at me. I never hurt any kid." He seemed to avoid discussing any of the details regarding what June has been saying about having to cover up his abuse on the show, and instead focused on his belief that June is keeping his daughter from him.

Honey Boo Boo might not have the best relationship with her father because he doesn't talk much, but it seems that even when he does speak up he doesn't have anything nice to say. In the same interview with ET where the 11-year-old spoke about how her father rarely calls her, she provided the details of her last conversation with the man. "We were talking about something, and he was like, 'I need to cut my grass, so I was like, 'Yeah, I'll come do it. I'm [going to] need a ride mower,' and he said, 'You're gonna need a push mower, 'cause it wouldn't hurt."

June then interjected, reminding the child what was actually said, "[He said] 'It wouldn't hurt if you lose weight,' and I think that was the most ignorant thing that he ever told her." Alana admitted that this was what he said to her, that it hurt her feelings, and that it wasn't the first time he'd commented on her weight.

Even though Sugar Bear has never seemed to discriminate against larger women, in fact he seems to prefer having a larger lady by his side, he might not realize how his comments have affected his daughter. He also spoke with ET where he stated, "I have never told Alana to lose weight or said anything to Alana about her weight. June's a damn liar. I would never hurt Alana in any way." It seems like he has chosen to simply deny anything his ex or his daughter reveal to the public about him.

Long before he was making waves in the media and even before he met Mama June, Sugar Bear, whose legal name is David Michael Thompson, was sentenced to five years in prison for robbery. According to the National Enquirer, Thompson went on a minor crime spree in which he robbed several hunting camps and even set a camper on fire. While the details of what was stolen and the severity of his crimes have yet to be revealed to the public, he was sentenced in 1998 to five years in Montgomery Prison in Georgia.

This is far from the worst arrest record among Mama June's ex's, as she also dated convicted sex offender, Mark McDaniel, when she and Sugar Bear split, leading to a public uproar and ultimately the cancellation of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. To make things worse, McDaniel was convicted of molesting his daughter with Mama June, her eldest Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell. Understandably, Sugar Bear was concerned that June was bringing a convicted child molester around his then 9-year-old daughter, Alana.

Even June herself did some time, also in 1998 for cashing a few bad checks. She was then again arrested in 2004 for stealing over $3K from a McDonalds she managed in McDonough, Georgia, but the charges were later dropped.

It wasn't very shocking when Mama June and Sugar Bear ended up on WE tv's Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, as the couple's problems were pretty public at the time. It did however, shock the world when Sugar Bear admitted to cheating on June with not just women, but men as well. In an exclusive report by People, Sugar Bear revealed to Mama June on the show, seemingly when he thought cameras weren't around, that he'd experiment with men.

He starts by saying, "Don't bring this up with nobody else 'cause I don't want this out there. I have experimented with guys." He later says that being with a man wasn't his cup of tea and that it won't happen again, but Mama June just sees it as another lie.

She had been suspicious of him being with men, as she claims to have found some provocative photos of both men and women on his phone. However it wasn't until boot camp that he admitted his infidelities. Later in an interview Sugar Bear claimed, "It's just something I was curious about, experimented with it, and it's over with and done with, and that's it. [It] won't ever happen again." Mama June doesn't believe any of it though. Once a cheater, always a cheater right?

It must really be slim pickins over in Georgia, as you'd think most women would avoid getting involved with a man like Sugar Bear with his prison record, anger issues, and multiple claims of abuse against him. Apparently, that wasn't enough to scare off Lamb, who claimed not to know anything about her new husband's career on reality television until after they'd begun dating. In the Mama June: From Not to Hot reunion special the two reveal they met at Walmart, of all places, and they claim it started off innocently.

In the interview, Lamb describes how the two met saying, "It started out as, like a Walmart 'Hey, how are you?' in line. It went from there to exchanging numbers, and talking." While she admits they were talking while Sugar Bear was still technically with Mama June, Lamb claims the two were only talking as friends, and that she would even ask Sugar Bear how his relationship with June was going.

When Tyler brought this up with Mama June later in the episode, she rolled her eyes. Tyler asked her if she thought it was true that the two were only talking as friends and June said, "Hell no. He can't keep that thing in his pants for two seconds." It seems like Mama June is finally being 100 percent real with the public, and Sugar Bear is paying the price.

There's no saying how many times Sugar Bear truly cheated on Mama June, or even with how many people. So, when his new wife Lamb comes off confident that he'll never stray from their marriage, it kind of sounds like she's living in a fantasy world. Even Tyler pushes the subject with the couple on the Mama June: From Not to Hot reunion episode, asking Lamp if she was concerned with Sugar Bear's history with infidelity, and Lamb's response is a bit worrisome.

Lamb says, "No, because I snoop. I will go to AT&T today and pull the messages off your phone and look at them. If [you're] cheating on me, I will know before you get home." Tyler's face is priceless as she clarifies this by confirming that Lamb isn't concerned because she basically has Sugar Bear on such a short leash that it wouldn't be possible for him to stray. To which Lamb laughs at and agrees. Sounds like a lot more work than any relationship should be.

While Lamb might still be floating on cloud nine in newlywed bliss, Mama June, who knows Sugar Bear much better than his new wife, voiced her own opinion on Lamb's method to keeping this relationship together. She tells Tyler, "The only reason he's been faithful to her this long is because he's not allowed to do anything without her up his a**. The moment that she gives him a minute to breathe, he's gonna do it again." Sounds like Lamb might need to take those trips to AT&T more often than she anticipated.