Mike Sorrentino, 34, has grown up a ton since his days at the shore, but he still has his fair share of issues — and he has no problem airing out his laundry on TV. After doing a season of Marriage Boot Camp with his long-time girlfriend, Lauren Pesce, 32, and realizing how much it helped their relationship, he thought… why not bring his brothers on and work on the family? Here are some highlights from our interview with Mike — you can listen to the whole podcast for free on iTunes.
On going on the show with his brothers:
I went on with Frank Sorrentino and Marc Sorrentino. Listen, I’ll always have love for my family. I’m very loyal, and you know, being Italian, that’s just the way you’re raised. We’re in a bit of a rough situation right now with some family members and we were definitely in need of a reboot, so to speak.
On the issues that led the family to therapy:
The court case we really can’t speak too much about, but that definitely put a strain on the relationship. It’s something that we really don’t speak about and I have to say at the end of the day — fame, money, TV, definitely put a strain on the family as a whole. You realize that each brother communicates differently. One might not listen, one might be too strong, one might be too soft.
On convincing them to go into the house:
It was more about [asking] “Are they going to practice what they preach? Are they going to apply what they learn? Are they really going to try and make this work?” I’ve been in therapy situations before, and I believe it works… I’ve done personal therapy on Michael, on The Situation here, and with my girlfriend, Lauren. You need willing parties. You can go to all the therapy you want. If someone’s not willing to change or put in the compromise or listen, it’s not going to work.
On being back on TV:
Personally, I was trying to take a back seat. I’ve been handed the ball the past eight years on all these TV shows to just run with it. I really wanted them to run with it and see what they would do, see how they liked the fame, the scrutiny, the expectations. You’ll see when you watch the show…I believe that one of the brothers progressed a little bit and the other didn’t.
‘Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars’ Family Edition — Photos
On his battle with addiction on the show:
My addiction played a big part in the family, and in the family business. You know, I was really good on TV, I really was. But off screen, I was very wild. I was very reckless and very careless with a lot of things, and the family was very worried about me. Being an addiction, I didn’t really see their side. Now being clean a year and a half, I can see how it affected the whole family and how I didn’t see it at that time period. They say they played a very big part in saving my life and I will say they are a contributing factor… but anyone in an addiction, it is their choice to be sober, or not. It is my choice to take care of myself and my sobriety, no one else’s. So, I love them all and I thank them for their concern, but if anything they were a contributing factor.
On what’s next:
We’re gonna watch this Family Boot Camp and go forward from there. But regardless of what’s going on in my life right now, I’m trying to make whatever is happening to me into a positive. There might be a trial set for next year in December, but at the end of the day, you know, things haven’t changed in four years. This has been going on for four years.
Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars — Family Edition airs every Friday at 9PM ET on WEtv.