Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola finally signed onto Jersey Shore: Family Vacation for its sixth season, where she crossed paths with ex-boyfriend Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.
“I knew the moment I decided to come back that there will be a possibility that Ron will be here,” Sammi, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, August 3. “You know, he’s part of the family too. I definitely knew that. It was just like, ‘OK, I can handle it — whatever comes my way.’”
Us confirmed in March that Sammi — who opted not to appear on the first five seasons of the Jersey Shore spinoff — signed on for season 6. Two months later in May, the first clip of season 6 dropped and teased Sammi’s entrance. The footage also revealed that her ex Ronnie, 36, planned to come back after his 2021 exit. (He previously took a step back from the MTV show in light of his domestic violence scandal, in which he was arrested and ultimately released on a $100,000 bond in April 2021.)
“It’s definitely nerve-wracking … but I deal with it,” Sammi told Us on Thursday of reuniting with Ronnie, noting their first Family Vacation encounter was caught on camera.
Sammi and Ronnie dated on and off between 2009 and 2014 and their tumultuous relationship was captured on six seasons of the OG Jersey Shore. After they called it quits for good, the jewelry designer succinctly told Us on Thursday that she’s not interested in becoming platonic pals.
“I’m good, we can keep it moving. We’re coworkers. You’re just somebody I dated in my 20s. Like, and we can keep it moving at that,” Sammi said. “A lot of people are, like, when I tell them my age now, they’re like, ‘Wait, you dated him when you were 22 and you’re 36 now?’ Like, a lot of time has gone [and] I’ve dated other people. I mean, there’s just a lot of life that goes on in between all those years.”
Sammi — who is currently dating Justin May — did note that she is glad to see Ronnie’s self-improvement grow. “He’s working on himself to be a better person, that’s all that matters,” she added.
While Sammi has closed the door on her relationship with Ronnie, Family Vacation season 6 was the right time to reunite with costars Paul “Pauly D” Delvecchio, Vinny Guadagnino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, Angelina Pivarnick, Deena Cortese and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.
“I feel like it was just the perfect time to come back now in my life and that’s why I’m here. I was like, I missed everybody. Why not come back?’” she said on Thursday. “At the time when everybody decided to come back [for Family Vacation], I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready to put myself in an environment with an ex or possible toxic situations.’ So I was like, ‘Let me refrain from doing that. I am working on myself and I’m happy right now. I’m content. I don’t need to put myself in an environment that I’m like kind of unsure of.’”
Sammi added that she made the decision to come back “on my own,” but her loved ones, including boyfriend Justin, have been her No. 1 cheerleaders. “My family and boyfriend have been super supportive in every aspect of my life,” she said. “And I was like, ‘OK, I feel good right now’ and it was just my own decision that I made.”
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation season 6 premieres on MTV Thursday, August 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
