Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi said that she had “no choice” but to return to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation after realizing how much she would miss if she did not return to filming with her castmates of over ten years.
During the time Nicole did not appear on the series, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation centered around the splintered relationships between Angelina Pivarnick and her fellow female castmates Deena Cortese and Jenni “JWoww” Farley. Their friendships were fractured after the women gave a speech during Angelina’s wedding to Chris Larangeria that did not go over well with the couple and their wedding guests.
The normally upbeat series took a dark turn in the first half of Season 4 as the women tried to work out their feelings for one another, with assistance from their male pals, who tried in vain to reunite their family group. Nicole bowed out of the series after the wedding episodes filmed, saying she did not want to be a part of any further drama.
Filming continued throughout the latter part of 2020 as crews captured the day-to-day lives of the cast which also includes Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagnino.
As life unfolded, there were many happier things to celebrate, including the announcement that Mike and his wife Lauren were expecting their first child, Deena had given birth to her second and Jenni became engaged to Zach Carpinello.
Nicole did not want stay out of the group and miss any major life events, causing her to reconsider her decision to leave.
“I needed a break”
Nicole said to Entertainment Tonight that she just needed time away from the darkness that had appeared to overtake her otherwise happy television family.
“I feel like it got really heavy with the drama,” she revealed.
“But then the producers texted me and said, ‘Listen, we’re throwing a party for Mike for his sobriety’ and I was like, ‘I can’t miss that,’ and they were like, ‘OK, the baby shower,’ and giving me all of these events, I was like, ‘All right I have to come back. You give me no choice.'”
Will she return to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation full-time?
When asked if she would reconsider returning to the series in more of a full-time capacity, Nicole said it would be unlikely.
“I’m willing to shoot as much as I can, I just can’t be away from my kids for more than three days,” she shared.
Nicole and her husband Jionni LaValle are parents to Lorenzo, Giovanna, and Angelo.
“I just wanted to be home in my jammies and just snuggle with my babies, so in general, I just feel like I needed a break for my soul, because I was like, ‘I don’t want to be here right now,’ so I feel like it was a good break,” Nicole explained.
“Now, I can’t wait to see my roomies and I can’t wait to film. I feel like I just got what I wanted. I just want to be comfortable, as a cast member, but also as a mom.”
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs Thursdays at 8/7c on MTV.