Entertainment
The Jersey Shore Cast Are Now Parents: Then Vs Now
Jersey Shore hit MTV’s screens with a bang in 2009 and became one of their most successful shows ever, netting 9 million viewers for each episode at its height, and making stars of the cast. It revolved around eight strangers who lived together in Seaside Heights in a beachfront house. Their days consisted of a regular routine of GLT, which stands for Gym, Laundry, Tan.
There was drama, drunken episodes, love matches and fights. All the stuff we love to watch in a reality show. The housemates became legends after their appearances in the show, but what happened to them after the show folded in 2012, leaving fans devastated?
10. Snooki then and now
Snooki was the ultimate trashy queen when she first hit the screens in Jersey Shore. Her big hair and tight clothes made her an instantly watchable figure, along with her flirtatious, feisty personality. She was a party animal who played hard and loved the men and the alcohol. She often fought with other housemates who didn’t like her much to begin with.
The tiny bundle of fun known as Snooki was accused of being everything from a slut and an airhead to an Oompa Loompa. Her look was big hair, lots of make-up and lots of curvy flesh on show.
There has been a full turnaround in Snooki, now called Nicole since she married and had children. She now has a young son and a daughter has embarked on a huge weight loss campaign and has ditched the trashy clothes for a more elegant look.
Snooki decided to live a healthier life and spoke about how she achieved her three stone reduction. She says that life has a new meaning for her since she had children and that, whilst she still likes to party, her children have calmed her down and she puts them first now.
9. Pauly D then and now
Pauly was one of the more reserved members of the cast back in the day. He left his mark though, and his friendship with Vinny was a popular hook to the show. He is responsible for many of the catchphrases that came out of the MTV hit, and he tried to stay out of most of the drama.
He was scouted for the show by casting directors. A film crew came to his hometown and filmed a day in his life and he got the part. He was a hugely popular cast member, especially with young female fans. However, his fight with Angelina remains one of the stand out moments of Jersey Shore.
Pauly now works as a successful DJ in Atlantic City and Las Vegas and has toured with stars like Britney Spears. He has his own line of products, including colognes, clothing and a tanning range. He also has a small daughter called Amabella, the result of a one night stand he had in Las Vegas, where he now lives. His daughter has made him change, he believes, and made him more selective about the women he dates.
8. Jenni Farley then and now
Jenni was an integral member of the show and was famous for her fights with Sammi and her cleavage-revealing tops and dresses. She and Snooki wrote Sammi an ‘anonymous’ letter saying that Ronnie had cheated on her and the resulting fight and the letter became one of the most memorable moments of the show. Jenni was also famed for the time Pauly D showed her his ‘intimate’ piercing.
Jenni married her long-term boyfriend after the show and has two children with him. She has two successful YouTube shows, one about her and her husband bringing up their children, and another with Snooki and their experiences of motherhood. She has also appeared on other reality shows including ‘Worst Cooks in America’. To add to this list Jenni has also penned a book.
She looks completely different now compared to her time on the show. Fans wondered if she had gone under the knife, but she says her new look is just the result of good makeup and a healthy diet. She got into a bit of trouble over putting homemade sunscreen on her son with social media followers.
7. Ronnie then and now
Ronnie Ortiz Magro was famous on the show for his relationship with Sammi. This caused a lot of issues between cast members as he would side with Sammi when arguments erupted, excluding him from closeness with other housemates. He seemed to be genuinely in love with Sammi, despite their differences and their relationship made great viewing for the fans. They eventually broke up though, apparently because Sammi wanted to get married and Ronnie wasn’t ready.
He loved the beach scene and to show off his muscles, but she also displayed a lot of anger. However, he retained a fun-loving personality and a fondness for vodka.
Ronnie is now a father and has a daughter with ex-girlfriend, Jen Harley, even though there are those who believe he still retains a soft spot for Sammi. He has kept out of the spotlight and makes a living from personal appearances and deals. He has been involved in advertising diet pills and low calories cocktail mixes, and there have been concerns that he is a little out of control according to Pop Culture. TV appearances include a stint on Famously Single and guest appearances on Jenni and Snooki’s show.
6. The Situation then and now
Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino was famous for his muscular body and for showing off his abs on the show. He appeared in all six series where he revealed a feisty personality and got into fights with other cast members regularly.
He got into trouble for his stereotyping and for use of the word ‘guiddo’ which can be taken as a slur by Italians and Italian Americans. He loved to be in the spotlight and be the centre of attention. He had a love interest moment with Snooki on the show in a nightclub, even though she had described Mike as like her brother.
Mike has come clean and got clean. He confessed that he was high on painkillers for much of the time he was on the show, and he’s since got sober and remained in recovery. Since the end of the show, he has appeared on Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Big Brother, as well as a couple of other reality shows.
He hit the headlines for tax issues and has been indicted on tax evasion charges and is awaiting judgement. He’s engaged to his girlfriend, Lauren, who was his childhood sweetheart and the couple are planning their wedding according to Etonline.
5. Sammi then and now
Sammi was known as Sammi Sweetheart on the show and she actually did hail from Jersey, the only cast member who did. Sammi’s relationship with Ronni dominated her appearance on the show. She is famous for her drawled catchphrase and her fights with co-star Jenni. She and Ronnie had a tempestuous relationship and seemed to break up and makeup in almost every episode, which made for gripping watching and made her one of the fans’ favourites. Sammi was so popular on the show that it is reported she earned $80,000 per episode in the last season according to Earn the Necklace.
Sammi now hosts a regular podcast and has her own clothing line called Sweetheart Styles, after her nickname of ‘Sweetheart’ on the show. She also has a range of perfumes that she markets.
Sammi was a bridesmaid at Jenni’s wedding, along with Deena and Snooki, according to Cosmopolitan. However, Sammi decided not to join the reunion show, much to the disappointment of her fans, saying that she prefers to concentrate on her happy life with her partner and her business ventures. She has her own website which keeps fans up to date with her life at www.sammi.sweetheartstyles.com.
4. Deena then and now
Deena joined the show in season three after Angelina left. She had originally auditioned for the show but was rejected. Snooki suggested that Deena join the show and she was in as the replacement house member. She faced a tricky task as the cast was already established in the house. However, she slotted in and was a solid, reliable cast member.
She got on well with most people and raised eyebrows when she brought a girl home to the house, raising speculation about her sexuality. Deena was monikered as a ‘blast in a glass’ and she and Snooki got up to many escapades, especially on their trip to Italy.
Deena hit the news when she got into trouble with the police by getting arrested for disorderly conduct, after dancing in the street. It was seen by some as a bit of a publicity stunt as if she was missing the attention. She appeared in four episodes of Snooki and Jwoww and with her partner on Couples Therapy but apart from that has kept quiet. Deena is married to Christopher Buckner and seems to keep out of the public eye for the majority of her time, working as a dog trainer.
3. Vinny then and now
Vinny originally planned to enrol in law school but entered the Jersey Shore house instead. He was the quieter more moral member of the show who had a ‘bromance’ with Pauly. He found the exposure that the show generated hard and left after series five to seek help for mental health issues.
This was seen as a valuable way of highlighting these issues especially among the demographic who watched the show. He was known for his MVP friendship with Mike and Pauly which became a regular focal point of the show’s popularity.
Vinny put his experiences with mental health issues to good use and wrote a book to try and help others who suffer from anxiety, stress and depression. He’s taken acting classes and appeared on a number of shows in small roles. He did a cooking show with his mother called ‘Vinny and Ma Eat America’ and has had a go at stand-up comedy.
He got into a spot of trouble when he was accused of causing damage to cars and trees. The issue was dismissed as a publicity stunt by his neighbours trying to get cash out of him.
2. Angelina then and now
Angelina caused quite a stir in the first season when she compared herself to Angelina Jolie and Kim Kardashian. She left in the middle of season one because she wouldn’t work in the Shore Shop, returned surprisingly to series two and then left again to be replaced on the show by Deena, reports Hollywood Life.
She turned up to the first day of filming with all her luggage in bin bags and earned the nickname ‘trash bag’. She was equally famous for feuding with the other housemates. She didn’t like them and the feeling was mutual. Whilst the others had genuine friendships, Angelina was not part of the gang and it came across on screen.
Since leaving Angelina seems intent on gaining a foothold in the entertainment world. She has released a song and appeared in a wrestling match. She has been engaged three times, mostly recently in January 2018 and now works for an EMT for the New York fire department.
She has been criticised for her public comments about the LBGT community, implying they should settle down and marry the opposite sex when they were older. She did later apologise but she remains an unpopular figure.
1. 2018 Babies and a reunion
Some of the Jersey Shore cast are parents now. Ronnie and his girlfriend, Jen Harley, had a baby girl in April this year. Ronnie said it was the best feeling he’d ever had and that her birth had totally changed him, in a conversation with Snooki. All the cast members expressed delight for him and complimented the baby on being gorgeous.
Pauly D has a daughter called Amabella as the result of a one-night stand in Vegas, with Amanda Markert. The two have had their differences over custody but are trying to put these aside to focus on their daughter. Jenni has a daughter called Meilani and Greyson with Roger Matthews, while Snooki has Lorenzo and Giovanni with husband Jionni.
A reunion show was rumoured to be happening in 2017 and came to fruition this year to celebrate a decade of Jersey Shore. Cast members Snooki, J-Woww, Pauly D, Ronnie, Deena, Vinnie and Mike all participated and a shock appearance was made by an unpopular housemate, Angelina. The cast got together for a Miami beach vacation screened on MTV. Everyone seemed sad that Sammi hadn’t opted to join the reunion, which is already set for a follow-up series.