Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola revealed why she decided to finally return to Jersey Shore, after initially skipping the 2018 reboot in a new interview on The View on Tuesday, August 1. Sammi, 36, revealed that she wasn’t in the right headspace when the show first came back, but she’s in a much better place now.
Sammi admitted that there were many different struggles when the show first returned in 2018. “I think when the show was just starting up again, I wasn’t in a good place,” she said. “I was in a bad relationship. I was going through a lot. I didn’t want to put myself in another toxic environment again.”
She continued and admitted that so much has changed, and she was glad to see the rest of the cast. “I feel like I’m in all good aspects of my life. I’m ready to come back. I missed everybody. It had nothing to do with the cast. It just felt like now was the right time to come back to everybody,” she explained. “It had to be the right time.”
Earlier in the interview, Sammi also admitted that “people forget” how young she was when the show started and how much it affected her. “I did the show originally when I was 22. Being on a TV show is a lot. It’s very hard to go from a normal life to being on a TV show,” she said.
Sammi had also opened up about her return in a new interview with Variety, published on Monday, July 31. Besides opening up about her return, she also revealed how she feels about her ex Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, who will also return to the show after a two-year hiatus. “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 told the outlet.
Besides teasing that fans would have to “see how the season plays out” (and admitting that she can laugh at Ronnie’s past cheating scandal), Sammi also revealed that her current boyfriend Justin May would make an appearance. She also admitted that she was glad fans would see a “positive aspect” after much time away. “It’s been so long and whether it’s good or bad, at least everybody can see me again,” she said.
The new season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation will premiere on MTV on August 3 at 8 p.m. ET.