It seems like only yesterday that Jersey Shore fist-pumped its way onto MTV. Over the past 15 years viewers have gotten to know Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio, Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Deena Nicole Cortese, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, and Angelina Pivarnick.
The reality show centered on the roommates as they lived together in a Seaside Heights beach house while also working at a touristy t-shirt shop on the boardwalk. Starting December 3, 2009, audiences made Thursdays into Jerzdays watching the drama unfold with hookups, dustups, party nights at Karma, and Sunday family dinners. Things like GTL (Gym, Tan, Laundry), “Smush Room,” Duck Phone,” “Meatball Days” and “The Note” permeated through the pop culture zeitgeist.
Even today the roomies are going strong thanks to Jersey Shore Family Vacation, which came on the scene in 2018. A revival that checks in with the beloved cast all grown up, married, and with children, but still getting into trouble from time to time. The formula works with the network staple in the middle of Season 7 and already outlasted the original show, which ran up until 2012.
For “JWOWW,” it has been a whirlwind. The 38-year-old saw her life turned upside down thanks the popularity of the show. Suddenly, every aspect of her life became tabloid fodder. She made the most of the opportunity to become a brand all her own launching multiple business ventures and even a spinoff with bestie “Snooki along the way.
Here the star reminisces ahead of the 15th anniversary and talks about Jersey Shore’s long-lasting appeal.
MTV
You were about 23 when the opportunity for Jersey Shore came about. What were your first impressions about this casting call?
Jenni “JWoww” Farley: To be honest, I didn’t have any. It was almost like you had to go on autopilot. I just remember going to a hotel where there were probably 20 potential cast members looking to get chosen left. They told us to let our family know we’d be back in a few days if we didn’t get on or back in 35 days. We gave up our cell phones, car keys, everything. We just went into this hotel and kept going through interviews and applying. I just remembered my producer coming into my room, sitting back in one of the chairs in my hotel room, and kind of messing with me. She was like, “Well, you made it.” I just remember thinking, What did I make though?” Nobody knew what we were supposed to do.
Then what happened?
Back then, there was no way of having navigation and phone and Google Maps. We had to print out a map to get from the hotel to the Seaside house. That was it. We had a producer in the car. We got mic’d up. We went to the Jersey Shore house. That’s what you guys see. We didn’t know if it was a competition show. We didn’t know if it was reality-based or a voting-off show. I think that was the magic of it all because we didn’t know what to expect.
Looking back I think, “You’re a dumbass! You gave up your phone, and your keys in a hotel with people you don’t know.” It was the best dumbass move I made in my entire life because you really just had to trust the process and trust whatever is going to be is going to be. At that time, I lived in Long Island. There were a ton of Long Island reality shows happening. They were all mediocre or successful enough. I had a few friends on them. They did the show and moved on in life. I was never expecting what Jersey Shore ended up becoming.
MTV
When was the moment you realized the show was a hit?
It was when where the Italian American organization was trying to shut us down and ads were pulling out. We were all petrified the show wasn’t going to air. Something that was not seen on TV before, but Nicole getting punched by a man. So, you have the moments blacked out with her on the ground. Our show was showing things that had never been seen before. It was really ahead of its time in terms of the rawness of reality TV, but it also broke barriers. I’m only half-Italian not even. Yes, the Italian American organization was coming after me, but I’m just a normal person from Long Island who just loves to hang at the Shore.
Also, being attacked by the press at such a young age was very captivating. People wanted to tune in for all aspects. Whether it was to see what was going on with Nicole, or ads were pulling out. You have this really raw commercial of us. This very polarizing cast, but to me, these are just like normal friends. This is like my everyday life, but I didn’t realize places like the Midwest and South and California didn’t have people like me. I didn’t realize how captivating my little life was going to be for so many people. Millions of people.
Jersey Shore cast (L-R) Jenni ‘Jwoww’ Farley Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Sammi ‘Sweetheart’ Giancola, Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Paul ‘Pauly D’ DelVecchio, Vinny Guadagnino.
As your kids get older and start to understand, have you started to think about how you’re going to explain those early years?
Thankfully, I haven’t yet got to that point. I always say thought, “Do as I say, not as I do. Whatever I did before you, paid for your college.” Also, I like to use everything as a life lesson. I was even talking to my daughter about this yesterday with something completely irrelevant. My daughter came in and did this skincare thing that wasn’t great. She is like,” Mom, I knew you’d be mad. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” I tried to explain to her it’s not that I’m going to be mad, but I tried this type of skincare and had a bad reaction. I tell her, “I’m just trying to teach you that what Mommy has done,I’ve already done it. I want you to do better than me. I want you to listen to me. I’m only telling you things not to do only because I’ve been through them.”
When the kids come of a certain age and want to go to the Shore with their friends, I feel like using the original show as a stepping stone and explaining, “This is Mom on a silver platter. I was 24. Even though I was an adult, I had no idea what I was doing in life. You’re going to be in these situations where you’re not going to know what you’re going to do either, but try to learn from your parents’ mistakes and understand that our life lessons should be taken seriously because there are ramifications too.” Not every lesson on the Jersey Shore show is a good one. We had a lot of bad times, but I feel like we learned from them. I’m hoping my kids one day will understand it, but you know kids. They will probably rebel and do their own thing. Thankfully, I have a few more years before that.
Is there one big celebrity that you were surprised was a Jersey Shore fan over the years?
My favorite to this day is Leonardo DiCaprio, and we got to take a selfie together. You can Google it. It was the best night of my life. It’s so iconic, once in a lifetime. We come to find out a lot of celebrities like our show like Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, and so many others. I still to this day get goosebumps thinking about all the interactions I’ve had early on.
Is there a fun fact people would find interesting to know about filming during those first few years?
We’ve always been pretty open. The first few seasons we were not allowed to talk to production. If you talk to production, they would run away or not acknowledge us or hide behind curtains or hide in the cut. So, what you really see is what you get. We had no cell phones, TV, or internet. The only interaction we were allowed to have was with one producer. “Hey, we want to go here.” That’s it. Other television shows may tell you what to say. We had none of that. If we ever got caught talking to a producer, I feel like they would get fired. We were never allowed to communicate with anyone on the other side.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
As we celebrate the 15th anniversary, I think of the iterations of the Shore model that haven’t lasted. Your group has endured. What do you attribute to your success?
Honestly, I still can’t figure it out too. I think it’s just us. I think for the fans we still have, it comes down to growing up with us. It was 15 years ago, they were younger and may have gone through things. Now they are seeing us growing and they’re growing with us. Other shows, even though I’ve loved all of them and such great adults and kids, they were great for the moment. They may have also come at the wrong time when fans weren’t able to grow with them like us. We were lightning in a bottle. I think it all came down to the right time and the right group. That’s why it can’t be replicated.
I appreciate how you have parlayed this show into other opportunities for yourself. You even directed and wrote a horror movie too. You’ve managed to find this long-term sustainability and career success through the show.
Jersey Shore really made my dreams come true. I would have never thought in a million years I would be given the opportunity to not only make the movie Devon but conceptualize it. To take a seat and look back at my life and think about where I want my life to go. I went to college for film, animation, and software development. I really wanted to start utilizing the things I was taught. So for Jersey Shore to be able to give me that access, it’s once in a lifetime. A lot of people can’t say that about their careers. I’ve been fortunate to parlay it into other things that are truly my passion projects.
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What can you tease about the upcoming episodes this season? I know you’ve taken it back to Miami. A place where you all went during Jersey Shore’s original run. I can’t believe [fiancé] Zack has never been, which is crazy to me.
You’ll definitely get to see the nostalgia aspect because we are in Miami. Also, outside the nostalgia and being Zack’s first time, I think the craziest part is the fights that happen have nothing to do with us. That’s me telling you enough without getting in trouble. There is a lot of drama, and I’m not involved. This is me being super happy. Just sipping the tea and watching.
Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Thursdays, 8/7c, MTV
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