- "Alright, we got a situation."
- —Jersey Shore opening
Michael Paul Sorrentino (born July 4, 1981), also known by his nickname "The Situation", is an American television personality. He is best known as one of the main cast members on the MTV reality show Jersey Shore since its premiere in 2009 and its sequel series, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
Jersey Shore[]
Season 1[]
Mike was the first guy to enter the house. Throughout the season, he strikes up a fling with Sammi and gets into a love triangle with Ronnie.
Season 2[]
TBA
Season 3[]
TBA
Season 4[]
Mike reveals to the roommates that he and Snooki allegedly hooked up while still being with Jionni. This angers Snooki amd they get into a fight, which results her throwing a wine bottle at him. He also gets involved with Ronnie and Sammi's relationship, which causes a fight between the two men. This led to the famous fight between Mike and the concrete wall of the house, where he bangs his head against and is sent to the hospital. When he gets back, he feels sad that no one really checks up on him, but he has caused a fight with almost everyone in the house.
When the roommates plan to go back to Seaside, Mike is on the offense about returning as he felt no one really wanted him there.
Years later, Mike revealed he was going through withdrawals during the season as he couldn't get his hands on any drugs to stay high.
Season 5[]
Mike can't stop stirring the pot and hatches up this master plan with his friend the Unit to expose Snooki for cheating.
Season 6[]
Mike enters the house three months sober. He reveals he struggled with a drug addiction and he had entered rehab between seasons.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation[]
Season 1[]
Mike returned to the Jersey Shore franchise by appearing in the reunion sequel series as a main cast member. Since the original show ended, Mike had gotten charged with tax evasion, with his sentencing still pending. At the time the cast reunited in Miami, Mike had said he was four years sober from drugs and alcohol. The season showed Sorrentino's engagement to girlfriend, Lauren, whom he met prior to the original series.
Season 2[]
Mike and Lauren's wedding is shown during the season. His court sentencing is also shown, where he is sentenced to eight months. Mike makes the most of his time before he is sent away.
Season 3[]
Mike was sentenced to eight months in prison for tax evasion and is absent for much of the first half of the season. He is released in September, having an even more positive outlook on life.
Season 4[]
In the aftermath of the infamous speech given by Snooki, JWoww, and Deena at Angelina's wedding, the boys attempt to mend the relationship between the girls. At the same time, Mike and Lauren are trying to have a baby. In an important milestone, the roomies celebrate Mike's 5-year sobriety. Then, "The Situation" turns into "The Investigation" when he tries to get the bottom of what Angelina's been up to after she is caught on camera supposedly having a side piece.
Season 5[]
Mike is officially off probation and plans a trip overseas. However, he accidentally books the vacation for the Florida Keys instead. Mike's old personality starts showing through again and starts getting a little too involved with Angelina's love life. He is also shown to still be a pot stirrer when he tells the roommates that Chris claimed Angelina leaked the girls' speech at her wedding.
Season 6[]
In the beginning of the season, Mike deals with the loss of his beloved dog, Mosey. Then Mike takes part in a celebrity corn-hole competition and he brings the roomies along for support. Later, Angelina and The Situation are on the outs again over their Twitter beef. Mike and Lauren are also expecting their second child, a girl, but as always, The Situation struggles to keep the gender a secret from his roommates.
Career[]
Sorrentino has been a cast member on Jersey Shore since its debut in 2009. Since appearing on the show, Sorrentino has been a guest on many TV talk shows, such as The Howard Stern Show, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien,The Jay Leno Show, Lopez Tonight, SportsNation, Chelsea Lately, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Conan.
In June 2023, he partnered with FilmRise TV to host is own unique true crime series, Statute of Limitations.
Sorrentino co-wrote a book with Andy Symonds about his struggles with addiction titled Reality Check Making The Best Of The Situation with a subtitle of, How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison". It was released on August 6, 2023. He also created a line of fitness powders called Brotrition.
Personal life[]
Sorrentino was born in West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York, and grew up in Manalapan Township, New Jersey. Sorrentino attended Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School and Manalapan High School.
Sorrentino worked as an assistant manager of a fitness center in Staten Island. When he was 25, he lost this job and began underwear modeling.
He has two older brothers, Frank and Marc, and a younger sister named Melissa (who had first appeared during the first season). Marc also serves as The Situation's manager and partner in MPS Entertainment.
On March 21, 2012, Sorrentino confirmed that he had checked himself into rehab "to get control of a prescription medication problem." He checked out of the Cirque Lodge treatment center in Utah on April 4, 2012.
Mike married Lauren Sorrentino in November 1, 2017, and their wedding was shown on Season 2 of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. The couple have three kids together, Romeo, Mia and Luna.
In 2015, at the height of his addiction, Mike tried heroine for the first time and shared his story on an episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation ahead of his book release. That was the day he went to rehab again and he has been sober ever since.[2]
Legal issues[]
On June 17, 2014, Sorrentino was arrested for assault after a fight with his brother at their family's tanning salon in Middletown, New Jersey. He completed a 12-week anger management program in connection with the incident.
In September 2014, Sorrentino was charged with tax fraud for not paying taxes on $8.9 million. In April 2017, further charges were levied against Sorrentino and his brother Marc, alleging tax evasion and the structuring of bank deposits to avoid reporting thresholds.
On January 19, 2018, Sorrentino pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. Sentencing occurred October 5, 2018, at the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark. Sorrentino was sentenced to eight months in prison. He also received two years of supervised probation, to begin after his release, and was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service and pay $123,913 in restitution and a criminal fine of $10,000. Sorrentino began his sentence on January 15, 2019, at the Federal Correctional Institution, in Otisville, New York. He was released on September 12, 2019. This was all documented through seasons two and three of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
On January 17, 2019, Sorrentino's brother Marc began serving a two-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, approximately 200 miles (320 km) away from the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution. He was given an early release date of September 28, 2020.
Relationships[]
Nicole[]
Nicole and Mike were close friends in the beginning. Their friendship started deterioating when Mike accused Nicole of cheating on Jionni with him offscreen. Nicole vehemently denied this and was furious when she found out Mike has been telling people this while the cast was in Italy. During this fight, Nicole threw a wine bottle at him, causing it to shatter against the wall. When the cast returned from Italy, Nicole did try to be friends with Mike, but he couldn't stop stirring the pot and she declared their friendship to be done for good. Even though Mike tried to apologize for his actions in the final season, Nicole didn't fully forgive him or trust him.
Once Mike went to rehab and gotten sober, their friendship was mended and Nicole was proud to see his growth.
Jenni[]
One of Jenni and Mike's iconic moments together was the backfist Jenni gave him while in Atlantic City.
After Mike went to rehab and got sober, he became closest to Jenni and they didn't live that far away from each other.
Ronnie[]
For the majority of the original series, Ron and Mike did not get along. Their love/hate relationship could be compared to Angelina and Jenni's relationship. Ronnie never really trusted Mike due to his habit of stirring the pot and getting involved with other people's relationships. Their beef came to a head in Italy when the two physically fought each other.
When the cast reunited in Miami for Family Vacation, Ronnie didn't fully trust Mike, despite him changing for the better and getting sober. However, Mike did care a lot about Ronnie and had wanted to help him through his issues. When Ronnie was arrested on domestic violence charges, Mike was one of the only cast members to keep in touch with him and would check up on him occasionally.
Angelina[]
Mike has had his share of fights with Angelina over the years. They both share some similarities with each other, such as having the tendency to stir the pot. It was Mike who gave her the nickname, "Dirty Little Hamster", due to Angelina's nonexistent cleaning habits. The two could not stand each other, both often screaming and insulting one another. When Sammi came back in season six of JS: Family Vacation, Mike explains to her that while he and Ang are friends, Angelina is the kind of friend who will backstab you and ask why you're bleeding. Ironically, the same could be said about Mike as well, especially when it comes to his friendship with Angelina. Mike also has a tendency to get too invested in her love life, even going as far as making evidence boards of her supposedly cheating on Chris.
Despite their frequent fights, they have shown times supporting one another during good and bad times in their lives. Angelina supported Mike during his prison sentence and would often show up to celebrate many milestones in his and his family's lives. Mike has offered advice to Angelina during her marital issues with Chris.
Mike and Angelina knew each other well before Jersey Shore. Mike was the one who referred Angelina to the producers. They also went "two or three" dates at a club before the show. They made out a few times, but nothing serious.
Sammi[]
Mike had an attraction towards Sam during the first season. Nothing happened between them as Sammi liked Ronnie.
Vinny[]
Vinny and Mike were good friends throughout the series, but he did get annoyed with Mike's behavior as the show went on. After the show ended, Vinny did say he distanced himself from Mike until he got sober and made better life choices.
Vinny does get visibily ticked with Mike's constant quoting and pot stirring, but still is close friends with him.
Pauly[]
Pauly and Mike were the first two people to enter the house and they became fast friends.
Deena[]
When Deena first entered the house, she had an attraction towards Mike and had wanted to sleep with him. The first day they met, she actually took her clothes off in front of him, much to Mike's shock. However, Mike wasn't interested in her like that. They got along for the most part, until Mike got into a fight with her in Italy, which made Deena throw a spatula at him.
Quotes[]
- "Alright we got a situation." (Jersey Shore opening)
- "The Situation is under construction." (Family Vacation opening)
- "Everybody's chipping in hard."
- "Maybe I went about somethings the wrong way ... There's pressure on all of us."
- "That rug reminds me of Ron and Sam's relationship."
- "It just so happens that Deena defies the laws of intelligence. I never thought someone would make Mooki look like a rocket scientist."
- "Wow. Ronnie's mom's gangsta."
- "When Ron is crying on my shoulder, good old Sammi, the sweetest b!tch you'll ever met, is callin' another dude. Sammi, you got caught you sneaky bitch!"
- "I run into my boy, Arvin ... he looks like a jacked-up-guido-MacGyver!"
- "BDS is in the building!"
- "We didn't come this far just to get this far."
Notes and Trivia[]
- Before his indictment, Mike owned several exotic cars including a 458 Ferrari, 430 Ferrari, California Ferrari, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911, and an M5 Jeep.[3]
- His first name is Pauly's middle name, while his middle name is Pauly's first.
- When the show first began, he, Pauly, and Nicole were the highest paid cast members.
- Danny said Mike was the laziest worker.
- He and Angelina were the only cast mates who didn't appear in Snooki & JWoww.
- Mike, Vinny, and Angelina were not invited to Snooki's wedding. Mike and Angelina also were not invited to Jenni's wedding.
- When Mike went to the audition for Jersey Shore, the producers asked if he had a nickname. His nickname at the time was "Mikey Abs" since his friends would call Mike over and have him show girls his abs. The producers asked if he had anything else, and he recalled that a few days ago a girl pointed to him and said "that's a situation", only for Mike to point to his abs and say "these are the real situation." Mike said people called him The Situation. The producers asked if he had it trademarked so he lied and said yes. When he left the audition, he called a family friend to get his new nickname trademarked.[4]
- Pauly, Mike, Jenni, and Vinny are the only cast members to be in the main cast in every season in both Jersey Shore and Jersey: Shore Family Vacation.
Appearances[]
| Season One | ||||
| "A New Family" | "The Tanned Triangle" | "Good Riddance" | "Fade to Black" | "Just Another Day at the Shore" |
| "Boardwalk Blowups" | "What Happens in AC" | "One Shot" | "That's How The Shore Goes" |
| Season Two | ||||
| "Goin' South" | "The Hangover" | "Creepin'" | "Breaking Up" | "The Letter" |
| "Not So Shore" | "Sleeping with the Enemy" | "All in the Family" | "Dirty Pad" | "Gone, Baby, Gone" |
| "Girls Like That" | "Deja Vu All Over Again" | "Back Into The Fold" |
| "Gym, Tan, Find Out Who Sammi Is Texting" | "A House Divided" | "At the End of the Day" |
| Season Five | |||||
| "Hurricane Situation" | "One Man Down" | "Dropping Like Flies" | "Free Vinny" | "Nothing But Nice" | "The Follow Game" |
| "Love at the Jersey Shore" | "Sharp Objects" | "The Truth Will Set You Free" | "One Meatball Stands Alone" | "We Are Family" |
| "Awkward!" | "Raining Men and Meatballs" | "The Icing on the Cake" |
| "Ranchelor Party" | "Not Again" | "Where's Ronnie?" | "Tuxedo Time" | "The Hitch-uation (Part 1)" | "The Hitch-uation (Part 2)" |
| Season Three | |||||
| "Goodbye Mike" | "Thirty Days Later" | "JWoww Gets Her Groove Back*" | "Gym, Tan, Strip" | "Tick. Tick. Tick. *" | "Strippendales" |
| "The Incident at the Strip Club" | "Millennials" | "Holy Drama" | "4 Fists. 2 Bottles. 1 Shore House." | "Last Night Is Canceled" | "Snooki Goes to Washington (Part 1)" |
| "Snooki Goes to Washington (Part 2)*" | "Only in Jersey*" | "Back to the Jersey Shore" | "Psychic Larges" | "Single J-Woww" | "Chicken Cutlets and Ketchup" |
| "The Shorefather" | "Prenups and Misdemeanors" | "Unresolved Issues" | "Crash the Bachelorette" | "Beignets, Blow Up Dolls and Bridesmaids" | "P-Woww" |
| "So That Happened!" | "Rewriting History" | "You Had Me at Um, Hello!" | "The Speech (Part 1)" | "The Speech (Part 2)" |
Note:
* denotes voice only appearance.
Note:
* denotes voice only appearance.
Note:
* denotes voice only appearance.
Note:
* denotes voice only appearance.
| "The Staten Island Notebook" | "Wild 'N Out: Jersey Style" | "Knock Knock! Who's There?" | "Another Day, Another Crisis" | "Vin Day" |
| "Tequila and Theories" | "Dirty Try Out" | "Just Flip a Table" |
Gallery[]
Promotional photos[]
Miscellaneous[]
Video[]
