It’s safe to say that Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola was nervous to return to Jersey Shore after her estrangement from some of her former cast members and an 11-year break from reality TV, but she admitted that she missed them in a preview of the premiere of the latest season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
In the preview, Giancola admitted in a confessional interview, “We had a bond that was [unlike] any other. I know they have their bond now, they’ve been doing this for a long time, but I still remember the bond that we had when we filmed when we were young and 22.”
“I remember fun times with them and all the laughs we had, and it was a time in my life that I really loved. I enjoyed being there at the end of the day even though I was going through a little bit of something,” she continued. “There were positive times and fun times. We were all brothers and sisters, and I miss it. I miss being a part of that.”
In a conversation with her co-star Angelina Pivarnick, Giancola admitted that she was worried about the other co-stars’ reaction to her return. “This gang of people have been so tight and so close for so many years without me, what if they don’t want me to come back?” she explained further in her confessional. “I’m scared as s**t.”
Giancola’s ex-boyfriend Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is also returning to the Shore house, and the preview showed him discussing it with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and telling him, “I’m ready to come back. I feel good, bro.” The tumultuous relationship between Ortiz-Magro and Giancola lasted between 2009 and 2014 and was well-documented during the original run of Jersey Shore.
Giancola, who’s now in a relationship with Justin May, said she was prepared to film with her ex again and told Entertainment Tonight that she now sees him as more of a coworker than anything else. “He’s a part of the family like everybody else, so I look at it more like he’s a coworker and I’m working with him, and he’s just some guy I dated in my 20s,” she shared.
Giancola and May have been dating since November 2021, while Ortiz-Magro is the father of a 5-year-old daughter named Ariana Sky, whom he shares with his ex Jen Harley. Their reconciliation will be interesting to see, however, as Giancola confirmed that prior to filming, the two hadn’t spoken since 2014 or 2015. “It’s been like 10 years, almost 10 years,” she shared.