Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio says his “mentality changed” when dating Nikki Hall.
The Jersey Shore star has been linked to Nikki since meeting her on the MTV spin-off Double Shot at Love in 2019.
While Nikki appeared in previous seasons of Jersey Shore’s newer spin-off, Family Vacation, she’s been absent from the show for a while.
It’s often led to speculation that maybe Pauly and Nikki had decided to split and move on.
That didn’t appear to be the case, as Pauly revealed in one episode of the show where returning castmate Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola was catching up with castmates.
More recently, Pauly opened up about his relationship status with Nikki and how it changed things for him.
Pauly reveals how his ‘mentality changed’ with Nikki
During Family Vacation Season 7, viewers are learning a lot about the castmates’ life changes, including Angelina Pivarnick meeting new family members and having issues with her fiancee.
Pauly D speaks about Nikki during the Thursday, February 22 episode, as he’s out to dinner with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Vinny Guadagnino. Vinny mentioned there are “unlimited options” in today’s dating world and asked his castmates how they knew they found the right woman for them.
“With Nikki, we clicked so fast, so early, and even then, I was like, ‘Oh, f***, I don’t know.’ I still questioned myself,” Pauly admitted.
He met Nikki during the debut season of Double Shot at Love, where she was a finalist but not the show’s winning contestant. Pauly chose to “revisit” a relationship with her in the second season, and the rest is history.
He admitted that was when his “mentality changed,” and he was “done being ratchet.”
“Something just clicks in your mind when it’s time to just turn down that ratchet life, that single life. You did it all. Mike went through it. I went through it. And now Vinny’s going through it. He’s at that point. It’s like a light switch just clicks,” Pauly said during a confessional interview.
Vinny is looking to settle down with someone despite the rough dating scene
During his Family Vacation remarks, Pauly said he’s “grateful and thankful” for Nikki, praising his girlfriend as “the type of woman who has those caring and nurturing vibes and family values.”
Even though Nikki has stopped appearing on Family Vacation due to all the drama, she and Pauly are still dating in Las Vegas, Nevada, away from the show.
Meanwhile, Vinny admitted he feels ready to settle down but is looking for qualities like his castmates’ significant others. Mike has been married to Lauren, who regularly appears on the show, including the first few episodes of Family Vacation’s new season.
“I will tell you, though, when you’re dating with the intention of the future, you start to look for different qualities,” Vinny told them.
“Like, in the past, I’d look for a model or a famous girl because she’s very popular. But now I’m like, ‘What will benefit me in terms of raising a family? Will she be a good mother?’” he said.
During one of his stand-up comedy performances (below), Vinny made additional remarks about how dating has been for him.
“The worst part about being single is you only get to choose from other single people. Nobody wants us. That’s why we’re single,” he joked.
The 36-year-old Chippendale dancer is still young, but it seems Vinny might be ready to settle down and stop pursuing reality TV showmances and celeb relationships. Luckily, he has excellent examples of quality relationships with his castmates, Mike and Pauly.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on MTV.
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