“I’m going on my 11th year of sobriety this year,” the reality star tells PEOPLE

NEED TO KNOW

• Mike Sorrentino opened up about his nearly 11-year sobriety journey at the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation premiere
• The reality star credits his wife, Lauren, for saving his life
• He owns Archangel Centers, a brand of treatment centers, and uses his story to inspire other people in recovery

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is opening up about his sobriety journey.

The reality star, 43, first rose to fame as a cast member on Jersey Shore in 2009. Now, he is gearing up for the final season of MTV's spinoff, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

"Everyone has seemed to know and love my story, right? Thanks to this beautiful woman next to me who saved my life, I'm going on my 11th year of sobriety this year," Mike shared about his wife, Lauren, during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at the season 9 premiere at Marquee New York on April 23.

He added, "And I feel like this new chapter of me using my story to help other people. You know, I now own a brand of treatment centers called the Archangel Centers where we live to help as many as we can. And I tell people all the time, like, I love being on TV, right? But I love helping people more."

Sorrentino first met Lauren, 41, in college in 2005, but they broke up after he joined Jersey Shore. The two then rekindled their romance in 2013 before getting married in 2018.

In 2025, Sorrentino shared with PEOPLE that the keys to their relationship are "communication" and "apologize and try not to go to bed mad."

During that time, Sorrentino got sober in 2015 after being addicted to and experimenting with various drugs. He opened up about the experience in his memoir, Reality Check: Making the Best of the Situation.

“I was stuck and feeling worse by the day,” Sorrentino wrote. “I tried to mask the inevitable dope sickness with copious amounts of alcohol since that was not only easy to get but socially acceptable and encouraged. To an extent, it worked, but I was a ticking timebomb.”

He told PEOPLE that he felt "happy to make it this far" — enough to have a family, as he and Lauren share three children, son Romeo and daughters Mia and Luna.

Sorrentino said at the time in 2023 before Luna was born, “I was so wild in my 20s and 30s 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."

“Also, we want to shed light on the fact that there are positive stories out there — we do recover,” he added, noting his time in prison for tax evasion in 2019. “Most importantly, the comeback is truly greater than the setback.” 

Along with his sobriety, Sorrentino has been putting extra focus on his health and fitness. He used a new diet and workout plan to lose 30 lbs. as of November 2025.

“What a journey I've had from having my abs when I was first introduced to the world to now post prison, post addiction, recovery and now having them again … this is the evolution of The Situation,” he told the New York Post.

“I have the family and the story and the sobriety, and now I got the abs back. All those things are priceless. You have to earn those. I put the work in for all of that,” Sorrentino added.

Sorrentino joins DJ Pauly D, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagnino, Deena Cortese and Angelina Pivarnick — all of whom were part of the original Jersey Shore crew — in the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation final season.

According to a release from MTV, “The Situation brings his abs out of retirement as he focuses on his fitness journey, celebrates a remarkable 10 years sober and opens a rehab center.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation is now airing Thursdays on MTV.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

Source link