Snooki Told Her Kids She’s an Actor on ‘Jersey Shore’—Here’s Why She’s Right
Jersey Shore was a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Not only did it introduce a generation of MTV viewers to a colorful batch of Jersey native characters, it also turned “GTL” into a household term.
One of the breakout stars of the show was Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. While she had some memorable moments on the series, Snooki has now settled into a much quieter, normal life. She even has a family. It begs the question: what does Snooki tell her children about her Jersey Shore past? She recently opened up about it, and the answer may surprise you.
How many kids does Snooki have?
According to Insider, the once wild party girl now has quite a beautiful family. She has three children. She has Lorenzo and Giovanna as well as Angelo with her husband, Jionni LaValle. Fans of the series remember him appearing on the show as well in a cameo role as her suitor.
Polizzi starred in the show from 2009-2012 during its original run on MTV. The show’s initial location was Seaside Heights, New Jersey, following several beach-dwelling Jersey shore party kids. Later seasons saw the gang traveling to other places like Florida or Italy.
Polizzi later starred in a spinoff show alongside Jersey Shore co-star Jennifer “J-Woww” Farley that ran from 2012-2015.
What Snooki told her kids about her ‘Jersey Shore’ past
It’s not always easy for entertainers or former TV stars to tell their young children about what they did on TV. For Polizzi, she came up with a compromise: she tells them she was a actress. She told US Weekly:
“Both [of my eldest two] kids, think I’m an actress…I tell them that it’s not real. I’m just acting, like, I’m playing a role, that’s what they think. … I don’t think they’re ready for that yet. So as of right now, I am an actress.”
She added that she plans to elaborate on the truth of the matter when they’re a bit older in their teenage years, so they have a better grasp on entertainment in general:
“They’ll kind of get it [then]…Like, ‘Listen, Mommy had some crazy years before she was a mommy. She let loose. So whatever you see on TV back then, just do the opposite of what I did.'”
In 2018, Snooki told People something similar: “We just went to the grocery store before we came here with my son, and someone goes, ‘Hey Snooki,’ and my son goes, ‘What’s a Snooki?’ It’s already happening,” Polizzi said. “I was like, ‘You know, Mommy’s on TV and she does work.’ I basically explained to him that I’m an actress, it’s scripted (which it’s not), and I’m gonna lie to him until he actually finds out the truth that it’s actually me,” she added. “I’m just gonna lie to him! And say I’m an actress. And it’s a fake show.”
Snooki’s run on ‘Jersey Shore’ was legendary
What’s interesting about Polizzi’s comments is that they’re not entirely wrong. While she was playing herself on the show, there is an element of exaggeration in all reality TV. Some shows exaggerate more than others, but it wasn’t as if Jersey Shore was a documentary. Polizzi and the other cast members were playing roles, even if those roles were their real selves. If everyone on the show had never done anything noteworthy or interesting, there wouldn’t have been a show.
While Polizzi was initially part of the 2018 reunion/reboot, she left the show in 2019. Eventually, she came back, releasing a statement on Twitter:
“I don’t regret leaving, because I truly needed a break for my soul and to just be a mom but coming back has shown me how much I love this show, and my besties.”
It seems like no matter how hard she may try, the show will always be a part of her. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – it obviously opened up some great opportunities for her, and ultimately led to her creating a wonderful family.
