Jersey Shore made a name for reality TV when it stormed onto screens back in 2009.
The hit series introduced Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio, Jenni “JWoww Farley, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, and Vinny Guadagnino to the world, and it didn’t take long before the cast shook things up on the Jersey Shore.
The MTV reality show ran for three years and its success kickstarted several spinoff series featuring the original cast, including The Pauly D Project and Snooki & JWoww, while it also gave inspiration for British versions like Geordie Shore and The Valleys.
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The hit series returned in 2018 titled Jersey Shore: Family Vacation which brought most of the original cast back together, along with their families and kids.
In the midst of the drama occurring on the Jersey Shore, many members of the cast have had tumultuous lives.
From spending time behind bars, domestic abuse claims to rehab stints, here is what the cast have been up to for the past 13 years.
Mike Sorrentino – The Situation
(Image: Getty Images)
Mike was 27 when he entered the Jersey Shore house and the world was introduced to “The Situation.”
He was at the forefront of countless fights with members of the cast, but his biggest battle came in 2012 when he revealed an addiction to prescription drugs.
He entered himself into rehab in March 2012 but relapse shortly after leaving.
After leaving rehab for a second time, Mike committed himself to sobriety in 2016 and has remained that way ever since.
While he overcame his drug addiction, he also faced plenty of trouble when it came to the law.
(Image: Getty Images)
The now 40-year-old was imprisoned after he was indicted for tax fraud.
After pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion and concealing income, he spent eight months in prison which began in January 2019.
The reality star was also ordered to pay $10,000 in fines and complete 500 hours of community service.
Two months before he began his stint in prison, Mike married his high school sweetheart, Lauren Pesce.
After he was released from prison, the pair welcomed their first child Romeo, in May 2021.
Nicole Polizzi – Snooki
Party girl Snooki was only 22 when Jersey Shore began and she immediately struck up a friendship with JWoww.
There is arguably no greater duo to come out of the show than the iconic pairing and in 2012, they landed their own spinoff series, Snooki & JWoww which went on for four seasons.
Alongside collaborating with wine label Messy Mawma Wine, she also owns The Snooki Shop, a clothing boutique located in her home state of New Jersey.
In 2013, she competed on Dancing With The Stars and has also released several books over the years.
After meeting and hooking up with Jionni LaVelle in season 3 of the show, the pair began dating and got engaged in 2012.
The couple share three children, Lorenzo, 9, Giovanna, 7, and 3-year-old Angelo.
Like most of the original cast, the now 34-year-old returned to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in 2018.
After a season filled of drama with Angelina Pivarnick, Snooki announced she was quitting the show during the season three finale.
A few years break from the drama was enough for Snooki however, as she returned as a full-time cast member for season five.
Jenni Farley – JWoww
(Image: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Splash News)
A 23-year-old JWoww was ready to party when she began filming Jersey Shore, but she was the only member of the cast to have a boyfriend at the time.
After her relationship quickly fizzled out, she hit it off with Roger Matthews after meeting in a nightclub.
The couple welcomed their first child, Meilani in 2014 and tied the knot the following year.
After welcoming their son Greyson in 2016, JWoww revealed two years later that her son had been diagnosed with autism.
Her marriage to Matthews sadly didn’t last and the pair split in September of 2016.
(Image: zackclayton/Instagram)
In April 2019 she began dating professional wrestler Zack Clayton and after a brief split, JWoww confirmed in March 2021 that her beau had popped the question.
JWoww and Snooki are notorious for developing one of the best relationships while filming the show.
After it ended, the iconic duo joined forces for their joint reality series and remain best friends to this day,.
“We’re best friends and we’ve been working together ever since Jersey Shore ended,” JWoww told Allison Kugel in a 2018 interview.
Paul DelVecchio – Pauly D
(Image: PA)
Despite being the oldest member of the cast when he entered the house aged 29, that didn’t stop Pauly D from being everyone’s favourite prankster.
While Snooki & JWoww’s friendship was one to remember, Pauly D and Vinny’s bromance on Jersey Shore was heavily documented and the pair remain good friends today.
The reality star followed in his female co-stars footsteps and landed his own spinoff show for MTV called The Pauly D project.
In 2018, he returned to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation with most of the original cast.
(Image: Ralph Notaro / Splash News)
In 2016, Pauly D joined the cast of Famously Single where he met Aubrey O’Day, and the ex-couple went on to take part in Marriage Bootcamp: Reality Stars.
After splitting with Aubrey, Pauly D tried his luck at love once again when he went on to star in MTV reality dating series Double Shot at Love alongside best friend Vinny Guadagnino.
In 2020, the reality duo were cast on another MTV reality series titled Revenge Prank.
Following a one-night stand in June 2013, Pauly D welcomed his first child named Amabella Sophia Markert.
Using his success from Jersey Shore, the now 41-year-old has now grown his career as a DJ.
Vinny Guadagnino
(Image: WireImage)
Vinny was 22 when he set foot in the Jersey Shore house and made quite the name for himself after leaving.
Appearing on several other shows, he was revealed as the Hammerhead on The Masked Dancer and also had his own MTV talk show, titled The Show with Vinny Guadagnino.
In 2017, he starred alongside his mum on Vinny & Ma Eat America and two years later, started a month long residency performing in the Chippendales in Las Vegas.
In 2020, Vinny confirmed he lost more than 120 pounds on the Keto diet and released a cookbook, while he also runs his own online clothing store.
The now 34-year-old confirmed at the beginning of this year that he is no longer with Akielia Rucker, the woman he chose at the end of season 3’s Double Shot at Love.
Sammi Giancola – Sammi Sweetheart
(Image: Getty Images North America)
Joining the series aged 22, Sammi quickly made people aware that she was “the sweetest b*tch you’ll ever meet.”
Her messy relationship with Ronnie Ortiz-Magro was at the forefront of the show, with their on-again-off-again relationship spanning across the entire series.
The pair moved in together after the show ended, but things weren’t meant to be and Sammi later found love with Christian Biscardi in 2017.
Her beau got down on one knee in March 2019 but the pair were forced to postpone their nuptials because of the pandemic.
In 2021, split rumours began to swirl that the couple when Sammi was spotted multiple times without her engagement ring.
Following the confirmation of their split, Sammi went on to find love with Justin May.
After leaving the show, the star had a few guest spots on TV shows, including Project Runway, Makeover Manor, and even appeared on a couple of episodes of Snooki & JWoww.
Sammi was the only original Jersey Shore cast member that didn’t return for the reunion series, with an insider telling US weekly the reason behind the decision was because “she didn’t want to be around Ronnie.”
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro
(Image: Ralph Notaro / Splash News)
Ronnie stormed the Jersey Shore house aged 24 and spent most of the series embroiled in rows with on-again-off-again girlfriend Sammi as well as The Situation.
Since the end of Jersey Shore, Ronnie joined the cast of several reality shows like Celebrity Fear Factor, Famously Single and Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry.
After his relationship with Sammi officially ended, he entered a relationship with now ex-girlfriend Jen Harley and the pair welcomed a daughter named Ariana Sky in 2018.
(Image: Getty Images)
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The couple went on to have a tumultuous relationship however, in which they accused each other of physical abuse.
Ronnie has been arrested several times for domestic abuse and in 2019, spent a month in rehab for alcohol and depression.
In June 2021, Ronnie proposed to his girlfriend Saffire Matos and despite a brief split, the pair reconciled and are still going strong.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
