In a daytime exclusive interview on the Wednesday, January 17 edition of “Tamron Hall,” reality star phenomenon Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino opened up about his struggle with addiction in the height of his rise to fame. Detailed in his new book, “Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation,” the “Jersey Shore” star discussed his battle with substance abuse, culminating in an ultimatum issued by MTV, and his challenging journey to sobriety. Mike also revealed which story from the book was most “shocking” and “upsetting” for his wife Lauren, who joined Mike during the candid conversation and is expecting the couple’s third child: a girl due in March.
Ahead of the interview, Tamron proudly announced to the Tam Fam that the show was nominated for the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The Emmy Award-winning host stated, “I walk out here on a live show with joy and we have big news: the show that you built, the Tam Fam built, got nominated for a GLAAD Award for ‘Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode’ for our episode ‘Unapologetically Me’ featuring our dear friend Ts Madison on the show! The show was nominated – I’m so honored, shoutout to my entire team and the Tam Fam, thank you!”
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino on growing up with a “mischievous” personality and how therapy helped guide his writing:
“My parents provided an amazing home, I just was always very mischievous. I always pushed the envelope on every single thing. And we eventually see that type of personality that it eventually breeds that type of behavior – pushing everything to the limit and going against authority. Eventually, it led to prison.” He continued, “Growing up, you’re romanticizing the Mafia, being Italian, and obviously I lived in suburban America, so you don’t really see much of that. So it could have been a little bit of that, but it was more personality I think than anything.” Tamron asks Mike if he’s in therapy, to which he responds, “I’ve definitely been in therapy for the past…at least eight years probably. We’ve done anger management, we’ve done therapy, I’ve done rehab multiple times. And that’s probably why the book is so deep, because I’m able to deep dive into self and look at all of the variables.”
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino on the “rollercoaster” of fame:
“It was a ride that kept speeding up to be honest with you. Almost like a rollercoaster that kept going faster and faster. And I did my best to hold on, but if you read the book, you’ll see that the shooting star that was ‘The Situation’ eventually crashed.”
Lauren Sorrentino on finding out about her husband’s heroin use from reading the book:
“You know what? Reading this whole book was very emotional for me ‘cause I was there for so many years of it, so I had my own memories to fall back on while I read his version of it. And that was the one story I had never heard. So it was shocking and upsetting and, I told him, I cried every chapter of this book.” Mike chimes in to add, “And we have a policy of full disclosure in our marriage where I tell her everything and this was the one thing before we got married that she didn’t even know that she saved my life along with my mom at the time. They didn’t even know.”
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino on how his wife and mother saved his life during his experimentation with heroin:
“I was in my room by myself. Again, I was at the rock bottom, you know. I had lost the millions and the Ferraris and I was on pre-trial, had no money left and I was depressed…I wanted to get out of that feeling. So I had the heroin in my hand and I tried it and the devil on my shoulder was like why don’t you try a little bit more? And I was like okay, maybe I’ll try a little bit more, but as I went in to try that little bit more…in one hand was the heroin, [in the other hand] the phone is ringing and it says ‘Mom’ on it. And I was like how can you reconcile Mom on one hand and the devil on the other? And as that was happening, at the same time, the door is being knocked and being banged and it was my then girlfriend who is now my wife. So at that particular time, I was like this is a sign from the Almighty and I’m gonna listen to it.” He added, “I almost break down every time I say that story ‘cause it’s so true – God had spared my life in order for me to tell my story to save others.”
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino on trying to hide his addiction and drug use while he was filming “Jersey Shore”:
“Every single season would be a different caper, almost like ‘Mission Impossible’ because I had to get by cops, I had to get by production, I had to get by security – and all those protocols that I just mentioned, they’re all there to save my life and I’m fighting every single one of them.” He continued, “I didn’t want to be saved. You know what? I didn’t have the knowledge about addiction. At the time, I just didn’t want to get sick [from withdrawal], and I didn’t want people to tell me what to do. So a lot of the times I was like deny, deny, deny and you saw that crazy behavior. You saw me ramming my head into a wall in Italy – and the kids today for Halloween, they wear the neck brace and the sunglasses from that iconic reality tv moment – it’s one of my worst moments, but again, it was the start of me actually trying to do the right thing ‘cause around that time I got an ultimatum from MTV.” Mike added, “Because for years, you know, I’m jumping out of moving cars…I’m smuggling in hundreds of pills in shoes, in capsules from fat burners – I would take apart the fat burner and put the drugs back in the capsule – I was like, you know, I was doing the most.”
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino on being a proud sober dad:
“I’ve had the millions, I’ve had the Ferraris, I’ve been at the celebrity parties. I think the most important thing is the man that you are – and I’m a sober dad and a loyal husband.”
(Photos Credit: ABC/Jeff Neira)
