The highly anticipated reunion between Jersey Shore exes Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola officially happened.
Ronnie and Sammi previously had a tumultuous relationship, which began during the original run of Jersey Shore and ended with a split.
Following the rough situation, Sammi left reality television, seeming uninterested in ever returning.
Ronnie appeared in additional seasons of the show’s spin-off, Family Vacation, but left the show several years ago to address his mental health. He’s had return appearances since.
Sammi returned after 11 years away for Family Vacation Season 6, reuniting with her castmates, minus her ex. Ronnie also visited the cast that season while they were in Florida, and Sammi was able to avoid the meetup.
Commentary and footage teased a reunion eight years after their split throughout Sammi’s return season, and it finally took place in Family Vacation Season 7.
After the event aired, fans expressed a mix of reactions to seeing how the two interacted.
Ronnie’s return to Family Vacation featured an ‘awkward’ reunion with his ex Sammi
The latest Family Vacation episode continued their Nashville, Tennessee adventure. Jenni “JWoww” Farley checked on her castmate Sammi Sweetheart to ensure she was alright before the visit.
Sammi described she was feeling “blah” and that she couldn’t “believe [she] agreed to do this.”
“It was hard for me to come back in the first place,” she said in her confessional interview, adding, “I’m hoping they can see where I’m coming from.”
“I just don’t feel like playing ‘we’re all friends,'” Sammi told Jenni.
In his confessional interview, Ronnie said he was there to rebuild relationships with the other roommates.
“Me and Sam, we don’t have to be friends, but our history is so long, there’s gonna be that instant feeling of something,” Ronnie said.
He arrived at the Nashville residence with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny Guadagnino, and Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio.
Upon entering and saying hello, he hugged each woman except for Sammi.
“Hey, how are you?” Ronnie briefly said with a quick wave to Sammi, who didn’t reply.
“Everybody’s on edge. I can feel it. I’m being quiet as hell. It’s just I don’t know where to look. In my head, I’m just like, ‘Get me outta here.'” Sammi said in her confessional.
“The room feels awkward as f*** right now. So awkward,” Jenni said in her confessional.
The guys made random jokes, with Vinny seeming to play up the moment and Pauly constantly saying, “Ron’s here!”
After that awkward interaction, the group headed for dinner at Party Fowl in Nashville. Sammi and Ronnie were seated at the same table away from each other, and there was no conversation between the exes.
“It’s really good to see everyone together again. It really is,” The Situation said in a confessional, also offering a toast to his castmates about “moving forward.”
What did Jersey Shore fans think?
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation viewers reacted to seeing the anticipated reunion between Sammi and Ronnie as the episode aired. There were mixed reactions on various platforms, including Twitter, aka X.
“The ron & Sam reunion makes me sick he doesn’t even deserve his name capitalized or to be in the same room as her,” one fan commented.
Another wrote, “Sam needs to get OVER it” because “it’s been 8 years and if she didn’t care she wouldn’t be walking around with a sour face and she would’ve spoke to Ron.”
Another fan commented, “The reunion between Ron and Sam was more awkward than I could’ve imagined.”
On Reddit, a forum post about the episode had several fans expressing their opinions, with many seeming supportive of Sammi.
One fan wrote they couldn’t imagine “the anxiety she has knowing she has to see Ron & it has nothing to do with having feelings for him.”
“And she’s probably anticipating the guy’s stupid a** comments,” another wrote.
“Why do you wanna see them together? I don’t. I’m fine watching the girls have a good time,” a commenter wrote.
Sammi and Ronnie’s relationship lasted from 2009 to 2016 during the original Jersey Shore seasons.
After their split, Sammi moved on and stayed away from reality TV as she matured. She’s since found love with Justin May. The couple recently revealed their engagement.
Ronnie has also continued to work on getting his life back together, including spending time with his daughter and repairing relationships with his castmates.
Their big reunion was “awkward,” as previously described in various interviews teasing it. Some continue to wonder if there will be any conversations between Sammi and Ronnie or if they’ll only “co-exist” now that they’ve reunited on the show.
However, there will be more group trips in the future, and other footage surfaced of production filming the cast during a trip to Arizona, but it’s unclear when that will air.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on MTV.