Jersey Shore’s Deena Cortese Reveals Why Son Never Wears Shoes: ‘CJ Has Metatarsus Adductus’

There’s a reason why Deena Cortese and Chris Buckner‘s son, CJ Buckner, doesn’t wear shoes in any of her photos. After receiving plenty of questions on the subject, the Jersey Shore stare decided to reveal the medical reasons behind the mystery. On Tuesday, January 14, she took to Instagram to explain that her 12-month-old son has been diagnosed with Metatarsus Adductus, a foot deformity that children can be born with.

“I’ve been getting a lot of messages about CJ’s feet, how he walks and other mothers ridiculing me for not putting shoes on him at 1 year old,” Deena, 33 wrote, sharing a photo of a message she sent to someone asking about the issue. “CJ has Metatarsus Adductus,” she revealed, “and will be getting night braces to get it corrected. He’s had it since he was born, but we noticed it at 10 months when he started walking. The doctor says it’s common, and we’ve been on top of it. Unfortunately, his right foot has an extreme case and he literally can not get a shoe on. That is why CJ isn’t in shoes and just socks and booties.”

However, the MTV star didn’t just want to share the reason behind her son’s lack of shoes. She also wanted to explain to fans what her experience has been like dealing with the mom-shaming she faced before coming forward. “Please, before messaging me telling me what I should do or asking and making comments about why he’s not wearing shoes, maybe ask if I’ve already looked into what you see could be wrong … because more than likely I have,” she said.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7T4vWdJxEM/

“Anything you guys notice about my son, I most likely noticed it before anyone else. I just didn’t think it was necessary to let anyone know why his feet went the way they do … or the reason he’s not wearing shoes.” Though she made sure to let her followers know that she “appreciates the concerning messages,” she suggested they “come in asking and not telling” about what might be going on. “That doesn’t make a mother feel great,” she admitted. 

The mom’s followers had her back in the comments section, revealing that some of them have dealt with the same thing. “[It] happened to me, and they said that it’s OK and that kids that have this problem become good athletes!” one fan wrote. “No worries.” Deena was glad to hear it — and revealed she wasn’t exactly sweating about whether not her boy would be winning any races. “He runs faster then me already,” she shared.