One of the most infamous and tumultuous relationships in reality TV history has written its long-awaited next chapter.
Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, whose on-and-off relationship during the original run of Jersey Shore was one of the show’s most consistent story lines, were in the same room with one another for the first time in nearly a decade on the Thursday, April 11, episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
“I know that I’m going to have to see Sam,” Ronnie, 38, said in a confessional before joining the cast on a trip to Nashville. “We haven’t seen each other in seven years, you know. There was no closure for us, so it’s kind of weird. I just don’t want it to be awkward, honestly.”
Sammi, 37, and Ronnie began dating during Jersey Shore’s first season in 2009 and, despite years of attempting to make things work, officially broke things off for good in 2014.
“I’m just, like, a ball of emotions. I’m not looking forward to spending time with this person that hasn’t been a part of my life,” Sammi said in her pre-trip confessional. “I just want to kind of, like, figure it out so everyone can have fun, coexist and get along together.”
Before the big reunion, Ronnie spent some guys’ time with Vinny Guadagnino and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, where Ronnie further expressed his hesitations about seeing Sammi.
“I’m a little nervous, obviously, to see Sam,” Ronnie told Vinny, 36, and Mike, 41. “We were together for a long time, such a long history. Last time we talked it was just kind of like, ‘We’re done,’ and that was it. I think we’ve both grown. I know I’ve grown and I’ve matured and I’m hoping me and Sam could have a conversation, but we’ll see.”
Sammi, meanwhile, wasn’t quite as optimistic about being in the same room with her ex. She expressed hope that she and Ronnie could “coexist,” but suggested that’s where things ended.
She said definitively, “Sam and Ron is from the past.”
Once the duo were finally in the same room together, things got predictably awkward very quickly.
“Everybody’s on edge, I can feel it, I’m being quiet as hell,” Sammi said in a confessional. “I don’t know where to look. In my head, I’m just like, ‘Get me out of here.’”
The edgy atmosphere was felt by the entire cast, with Vinny, 36, calling it “the most monumental awkward moment of Jersey Shore history.”
That’s saying something.
Jenni “JWoww” Farley likened Sammi and Ronnie to “a bad, divorced couple that has to, like, go on a holiday together for the kids and they f–king hate each other.”
Luckily, Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio was there to save the day — at least for a little while — and planned a dinner for the whole crew, including a Hot Ones–style eating contest.
“It started off a little awkward and shaky at first, but it seems like everyone is having a good time,” Pauly, 43, said in a confessional. “So I just want to keep them all distracted from the drama.”
The distraction didn’t last long.
At the table, Vinny made reference to The Note (i.e. the infamous anonymous letter written by JWoww and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi to tell Sammi that Ronnie was cheating on her), which turned whatever progress was being made firmly in reverse.
As Mike, 41, explained, “You’re not supposed to joke about The Note when Ron and Sam are present at the same table for pretty much the first time.”
With tensions about to boil over, Sammi issued an ominous warning to close out the episode.
“I have been cool, calm and collected about the whole Ron situation,” she said in a confessional, “but this is something that I don’t take lightly, and now I feel like I’m going to explode.”
Find out what happens next when new episodes of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation premiere Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
