Jerzdays are about to get so much sweeter. Ahead of Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola‘s highly anticipated return to the Jersey Shore franchise, she’s opening up about her experience filming with toxic ex-boyfriend Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.
While Ortiz-Magro joined Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Pauly D, Vinny Guadagnino, Deena Cortese, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Angelina Pivarnick and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino for MTV’s 2018 reboot Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Giancola was the only OG castmate to sit it out — that is, until now.
“I needed the time to regroup and figure out my own life,” Giancola told Variety of her decision not to join the reboot five years ago. “I wasn’t in a good head space. I just couldn’t do the show back then. And I’m happy that I’m able to be able to come back and do it now.”
The reality show’s upcoming season will bring Giancola face-to-face with Ortiz-Magro, who left the series last year to seek treatment for his mental health. The two had a turbulent relationship during Jersey Shore’s original six-season run, before finally calling it quits for good in 2016. Before rejoining the show this year, Giancola — who is now dating Justin May — said she had “no relationship whatsoever” with her ex-boyfriend.
“At this point, he’s just a guy I dated in my 20’s. We all go through relationships. He’s basically just a co-worker at this point,” she said, before later adding, “I guess you’re gonna see how the season plays out.”
One of the most infamous moments in Jersey Shore history happened during the show’s second season, when Snooki and JWoww anonymously wrote the note to Giancola. In it, they exposed Ortiz-Magro for cheating, which eventually led to physical altercations between several of the housemates.
Giancola — who wraps herself in a blanket with the note printed on it in the new season’s trailer — told Variety that she’s able to look back and “laugh” about the situation these days.
“I’m definitely at a point where I can laugh at it and make a joke out of it. I feel like the note will forever be by my side,” she joked. “I kind of have no choice! It’s funny now.”
Giancola continued, “A lot of people, I feel like, go through the whole cheating thing, especially in your 20’s. Mine just so happened to be on TV. I went through it all with friendships, cheating, bad relationships. So it’s just kind of funny now to look back and be like, ‘What a crazy time in my life.'”
The new season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs on Thursday, Aug. 3 at 8/7c on MTV.