'Jersey Shore' introduced several stars — including Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi — when it premiered in 2009
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NEED TO KNOW
- Jersey Shore premiered in 2009 and starred Angelina Pivarnick, Deena Cortese, DJ Pauly D, Jenni Farley, Mike Sorrentino, Nicole Polizzi, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi Giancola and Vinny Guadagnino
- After the show came to an end in 2012, most of the cast members reunited for Jersey Shore Family Vacation
- The final season of the series premiered on May 7
The cast of Jersey Shore has graced television screens on-and-off for nearly 17 years.
However, the cast members are parting ways with broadcasting their lives, since their spinoff series, Jersey Shore Family Vacation will air their final season beginning on May 7.
The newer series stars original cast members Angelina Pivarnick, Deena Cortese, DJ Pauly D, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola and Vinny Guadagnino as they attempt to relive their party days while also dealing with their grown-up realities.
Since the original series hit MTV in 2009, several of the cast members have evolved from their crazy nights on the boardwalk and have gotten married, welcomed children and celebrated other major milestones.
Before the series comes to an end, take a look back at how the cast members have changed from their first season to their last.
01 of 09
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino
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After his mega-popular debut on Jersey Shore, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino went on to appear on several reality shows including Dancing with the Stars, Celebrity Big Brother, Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, Worst Cooks in America and his own series The Sorrentinos.
Off-screen, the Jersey Shore alum struggled with personal issues for several years and contended with addiction. After nearly two years of sobriety following a 2012 stint in rehab, a gym injury triggered Sorrentino's problems with prescription medication abuse.
In 2014 he told PEOPLE that he had been sober for 18 months after checking into rehab for a second time. "It's my life, and I have to take care of it," he said. "If I'm not healthy mentally and physically, I'm not going to make it."
He and his brother, Marc, were indicted on tax offenses in 2014 and were met with additional tax-related charges in April 2017. On Jan. 15, 2019, he arrived at a prison in upstate New York to begin an eight-month sentence.
On Sept. 12, 2019, Sorrentino was released, telling PEOPLE he was excited to be home and begin working on "baby situations" with his wife, Lauren Pesce, whom he married in 2018. The two revealed she'd suffered a miscarriage in the fall of 2019.
Pesce gave birth to a boy, Romeo Reign, in May 2021. Their second child, a daughter named Mia Bella, was born in January 2023. Sorrentino and Lauren welcomed their third child, daughter Luna Lucia, in March 2024.
02 of 09
Jenni "JWOWW" Farley
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Jenni "JWOWW" Farley and her Seaside Heights roommate, Polizzi, starred on their own spinoff show, Snooki & Jwoww, for four seasons from 2012 to 2015 (the pair followed the series up with the webseries Snooki & Jwoww: Moms with Attitude).
Farley also did a stint on Marriage Boot Camp and won season seven of Worst Cooks in America.
Farley and her then-husband, Roger Mathews, welcomed their first child, daughter Meilani Alexandra, in 2014 and son, Greyson Valor, in 2016.
In 2018, Farley filed for divorce from Matthews and also revealed the couple's son was diagnosed with autism. The divorce was finalized in August 2019.
In February 2021, Farley got engaged to professional wrestler Zack Clayton Carpinello.
03 of 09
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi
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In addition to Snooki & Jwoww, Polizzi maintained her TV presence as one of the series' breakout stars with appearances on season 17 of Dancing with the Stars and 2017's The New Celebrity Apprentice.
Polizzi even wrestled a match at the WWE event WrestleMania XXVII. She released her fifth book, Strong Is the New Sexy: My Kickass Story on Getting My Formula for Fierce, in 2015.
She and her husband Jionni LaValle, whom she married in 2014, are parents to Lorenzo Dominic, Giovanna Marie, and Angelo James. The couple debuted their renovation show, Nicole & Jionni's Shore Flip, in 2016. She also hosted the MTV reality show How Far Is Tattoo Far? for two seasons as well as the Ridiculousness spinoff, Messyness.
In February 2026, Polizzi revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage 1 cervical cancer. The cancer has not spread but Polizzi announced that she will undergo a hysterectomy.
04 of 09
Angelina Pivarnick
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Angelina Pivarnick famously left the shore house three episodes into season 1, and made another early — and this time permanent — departure in season 2, though she did return for guest appearances in later seasons and eventually joined the main cast of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
Pivarnick tried her hand at rapping in 2010, releasing the single "I'm Hot." She got in the ring for Spike TV's Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2011. A year later, Pivarnick and her then-boyfriend appeared on Couples Therapy. Pivarnick later helped keep New York safe as an FDNY EMT.
In November 2019, Pivarnick married her fiancé Chris Larangeira — in New Jersey, of course. However, Pivarnick filed for divorce from Larangeira in January 2021. While the couple initially reconciled, Larangeira filed for divorce in February 2022. She later got engaged to Vinny Tortorella in 2023 but confirmed they split two years later.
In October 2024, Pivarnick pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after a domestic violence incident occured at home; the Asbury Park Press reported that Tortorella was at the residence at the time. Despite their split, Pivarnick posted with Tortorella again in December 2025.
In 2022, Pivarnick represented Jersey Shore on the Paramount+ international competition spinoff series All Star Shore.
05 of 09
Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio
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Pauly "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio had his own one-season Jersey Shore spinoff with 2012's The Pauly D Project, which chronicled his burgeoning DJ career. He has since enjoyed a fair amount of success as a DJ and reportedly pulls in a multi-million dollar income from his residency at Harrah's Las Vegas and various other ventures including cologne, tanner and clothing lines.
In 2013, DelVecchio welcomed a daughter, Amabella Sophia Markert. DelVecchio began dating singer Aubrey O'Day in 2016 while the pair filmed the VH1 reality show Famously Single, and they continued dating on-and-off.
Since 2019, DelVecchio has been in a relationship with Nikki Hall, who he met when she was a contestant on season 1 of his MTV dating show with Guadagnino, Double Shot at Love.
06 of 09
Vinny Guadagnino
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Vinny Guadagnino pursued an acting career following his time in Seaside Heights.
He nabbed guest roles on The Hard Times of RJ Berger and 90210 and hosted his own MTV talk show, The Show with Vinny, in 2013. In 2016, the star and his mom, Paola Guadagnino, embarked on a reality travel show called Vinny & Ma Eat America. He later starred with Pauly D on Double Shot at Love.
Guadagnino appeared on two reality dancing competition series, The Masked Dancer and Dancing with the Stars. He has also promoted a low-carbohydrate diet after he lost 50 pounds after changing the way he eats.
In 2025, Guadagnino started pursuing a stand-up comedy career.
07 of 09
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro
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In 2014, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro told PEOPLE that he and fellow cast member, on-and-off girlfriend Giancola, had ended things for good. He later joined the cast of the the second season of Famously Single, where he met now-ex —and Khloé Kardashian's BFF — Malika Haqq.
The reality star was in the spotlight for the very public fights with his on-again, off-again, girlfriend, Jen Harley, with whom he shares daughter Ariana. As of 2023, he has full custody of his little girl.
In June 2021, Ortiz-Magro got engaged to Saffire Matos, whom he had been dating since early 2020. However, the couple broke up in July 2022.
Ortiz-Magro stepped away from Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in May 2021 in order to "seek medical treatment for mental health issues." He returned to the series in August 2022 and revealed that he was, at that point, one year sober.
08 of 09
Deena Cortese
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Deena Cortese joined the Jersey Shore cast in the show's third season and remained for the rest of its original run. She appeared on Couples Therapy in 2014 and several episodes of Snooki & JWoww.
In November 2016, Cortese became engaged to boyfriend Christopher Buckner during a romantic getaway to Mexico. The two wed in 2017 and welcomed their first child, a boy named Christopher John, in January 2019. They had a second child, a boy named Cameron Theo, in May 2021.
09 of 09
Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola
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Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola launched her clothing line, Sweetheart Styles, in 2013. Two years later, she began cohosting the podcast Just Sayin', which concluded in November 2017. In March of that year, a handful of Giancola's former Jersey Shore costars came out for her 30th birthday bash in New York City.
Giancola initially declined to be part of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation and said that she was "at a completely different place in my life right now focusing on my businesses and my relationship."
However, she remained close with her former castmates and even attended Cortese's baby shower. After taking an 11-year hiatus from reality TV, Giancola reunited with her Jersey Shore cast on Family Vacation in 2023.
The whole cast celebrated her when she announced her engagement to her boyfriend, Christian Biscardi, in March 2019. However, the couple split in 2021.
She began dating Justin May later that year, and they announced their engagement in April 2024. The couple tied the knot in December 2025. Earlier that year, Giancola and May announced that they were expecting a baby together, and they welcomed son Vincent Keith May in August.
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