The episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation that aired on Thursday, April 11, brought together former couple Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro for the first time in nearly a decade. The pair had a tumultuous on-and-off relationship during the original run of Jersey Shore but officially ended things in 2014. Both Sammi and Ronnie expressed hesitations about seeing each other, with Sammi feeling like she wanted closure and Ronnie hoping for a potential conversation to move forward.
Before the big reunion, Ronnie spent time with Vinny Guadagnino and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, where he expressed his nervousness about seeing Sammi. Meanwhile, Sammi revealed she was not looking forward to spending time with her ex and hoped they could simply coexist for the sake of the group. Once they were in the same room together, things quickly became awkward, with the entire cast feeling the tension. Jenni “JWoww” Farley likened the situation to a bad divorced couple having to spend time together for the sake of the kids.
The group attempted to distract themselves from the drama by participating in a Hot Ones-style eating contest planned by Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio. However, tensions continued to rise. Vinny made a reference to The Note, the anonymous letter written by JWoww and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi to inform Sammi of Ronnie’s cheating, which reversed any progress made in diffusing the situation. As Mike explained, joking about The Note was not appropriate with Sammi and Ronnie present at the same table.
As the episode came to a close, Sammi issued an ominous warning, indicating that she had been keeping her cool about the situation with Ronnie but was reaching a breaking point. The tense atmosphere at the table and the unresolved issues between Sammi and Ronnie foreshadowed potential drama to come in future episodes. Viewers were left wondering how the interactions between the former couple would continue to unfold as the season progressed. Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs new episodes on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
