Party’s over! The Jersey Shore star reflects on how much better life is as a sober husband and dad.
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino has come a long way since his hard-partying days on Jersey Shore. Over the past eight years, the 41-year-old reality star has become a bona fide family man (he and his wife of five years, Lauren, 39, share Romeo, 2, and Mia Bella, 1, and are expecting a baby girl in March), and is dedicated to helping others get on the straight-and-narrow. He’s even changed his mantra from GTL (“Gym, tan, laundry”) to GFL (“God, family, love”). “God has definitely spared my life a few times,” says Mike, who spent eight months in prison for tax evasion in 2019 and released his memoir, Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation — How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison, in December. “So today I use my platform to spread positivity.” Here, he talks to In Touch’s Amanda Champagne-Meadows about his new true-crime show, Statute of Limitations, his growing family and his prison feat.
You’ve had quite an evolution.
MS: I truly changed pretty much every aspect of myself. I went from The Situation to The Inspiration. I did it for myself, for my family and for my future. I proved that change is possible and that the comeback is always greater than the setback.
What was your lowest point?
MS: It was in 2015. I had already spent about a million dollars on lawyers, a half a million on oxycodone and cocaine. The Lamborghinis and the Ferraris were long gone, and I was unemployed and about to be evicted. I was in a really bad spot.
And you realized you needed help?
MS: I wanted to [escape] what I was feeling, so I asked a friend if we could score some pills. [Instead,] he threw a bundle of heroin on my lap. I was confronted with the devil. I tried it, and I didn’t like it, but the devil on my shoulder told me to try more. My mom called at that moment saying she was worried about me. I felt that God was trying to speak to me. I flushed the heroin and told Lauren I needed to go to rehab. I haven’t looked back since.
You and Lauren have been through a lot.
MS: That girl’s got sainthood. I was in active addiction when we reconnected in 2013, and she fought her little heart out and showed me the real meaning of life.
How’s life as a father?
MS: It’s a happy circus! If you’re ready and really in it, it’s magical. It really is.
What kind of dad are you?
MS: I’m The Daduation! Changing diapers, putting babies to bed. I have a chicken coop, and every morning Romeo comes out with me and gets eggs.
Tell us about your new series.
MS: It’s a very cool, lighthearted show [about] real people who did real crimes, and the statute of limitations has expired so they can tell their story.
What’s up next?
MS: I haven’t hit my prime yet. We’ll see a Situation movie, a Situation documentary and a reality TV show based on recovery where I go around the country and save lives. [As for] Jersey Shore Family Vacation, the story continues. And there’s a secret project I can’t tell anybody about yet, but it’s big!
On a lighter note… Mike answers our burning questions!
WHAT EMOJI DO YOU USE MOST?
I send my wife a little heart and a kissy face every single day at 11:11, because I’m really superstitious, you know.
WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO KARAOKE SONG?
I don’t have a go-to karaoke song. Maybe “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse!
FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
I played Scrabble in prison for eight months straight. And I made it to the semifinals. They have a contest for everything in prison. You’d be surprised. I am really good at Scrabble. And boccie!
WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE?
Social media, probably. My wife will turn on Housewives or Kardashians and I’m like, “How dare you put on the competition? Your husband is one of the G.O.A.T.s!”
WHO’S MADE YOU STARSTRUCK?
I met Leonardo DiCaprio, and he said, “GTL all day.” And the Rock. He was like, “You branded yourself — congratulations!” I also stole Jason Statham’s seat on a plane. The stewardess told him, “You have a Situation on your hands.” He laughed.
