Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino has had an incredibly tough journey over the last few years. Not only did he go to prison after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion, but he’s also had a battle with sobriety.
The reality star frequently updates MTV viewers on his journey on the hit show Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. Those familiar with the series know Mike was never the one to play mediator during the earlier seasons; however, his new mindset has given him a different perspective on life.
He’s spoken about stepping into that role in the last few seasons for his co-star, Ronnie Ortiz, who has dealt with his own drama since leaving the show. “My specialty is dealing with addiction, dealing with mental health, dealing with making mistakes in your life, and trying to mount a comeback,” he said earlier in August 2023. “So I definitely tried to take the lead during that particular moment for everyone, just to make sure that we’re all in a good spot.”
How Michael’s mom and wife saved his life
Today, Michael is in a much better place. But before getting there, the celebrity faced many scary encounters. In a new interview with PEOPLE, he said at one point, he was in a “really bad place.”
“I was broke. I was unemployed.” Mike continued: “I was months behind on my rent, and I was depressed. I was looking to just cop some prescription painkillers. That’s what I was looking to do. He said, ‘Don’t worry, Mike, I got you. Come pick me up.’”
He continued, sharing that one day, it wasn’t his painkillers he returned home with. It was heroin — “something he vowed he would never do.”
“I told myself, ‘Maybe I’ll just try it.’ So I locked my door and told [wife] Lauren that I was going to sleep for the night and that I wanted to be alone … I just took a little key bump of it, and I tried it,” he explained.
“So then I went in for another key bump, and at that very moment, my phone rings. It was my mother. And my mom’s like, ‘Are you okay?’ She had a feeling. And I said, ‘I’m fine, mom, why?’ She goes, ‘I feel like something’s wrong.’”
Michael’s “come to God moment”
Michael said his mom calling him was an actual “come-to-God moment,” describing it as a “message from the Almighty” himself.
“I hung up the phone, knock on the door — a second angel,” he recalled, getting visibly choked up. “My wife was knocking at the door. So this is a very emotional moment for me. They saved me.”
Since that moment, Michael has changed his life around, working with partners like the Banyon Treatment Center “to spread awareness about substance abuse and the disease of addiction.”
You can keep up with Michael’s journey on the latest season of Jersey Shore, but in case you’re not an avid watcher — he shared this with People in August 2023.
“I’ll be honest with you. I’m happy to make it this far,” he said. “I was so wild in my twenties and thirties that being the family man that I am today — being eight years sober in December, a dad of two, married five years in a happy, healthy marriage — I’m killing the game.”
TELL US — HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING JERSEY SHORE: FAMILY VACATION? WHAT WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT DO YOU HAVE FOR MICHAEL?
