Jersey Shore’s Sammi Says She Wishes People Would Stop ‘Associating’ Her With Ex Ronnie

Jersey Shore’s Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola may be working with ex Ronnie Ortiz-Magro on the reality show, though she exclusively tells In Touch she wishes people would stop associating her with him.

“I don’t know why everybody is, like, still associating me with him,” Sammi, 37, tells In Touch while promoting the return of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. “It’s been so long now, can we just move on from that aspect of my life?”

The former couple dated from 2009 until 2014, and their messy relationship played out during the original series.

“He lives his own life. I live my own life. We happen to be coworkers,” she continues. “We just happen to be working together, but his life does not pertain to me and my life does not pertain to him.”

Sammi – who got engaged to boyfriend Justin May in March – points out that she has “dated other people after” Ronnie, 38. “I know sometimes everybody’s so fixated on the show that sometimes people think that that’s my, like real life, but they forget sometimes that I had a life outside of that, as well,” the longtime reality star says. “I’ve moved on, it’s been so many years. I’m 37 now. We dated when I was 22.”

“Life has happened. Life has moved on,” Sammi adds. “He has his own life. I have mine and it is what it is.”

Sammi concludes the topic by stating, “We’re not gonna be friends, but we work together.”

After the original Jersey Shore concluded in 2012, Sammi opted not to participate when the spinoff series premiered in 2018. Ronnie was among the original stars to return, though stepped back in May 2021 shortly after he was arrested on domestic violence charges.

“After talking to the team at MTV, we have mutually agreed that I will step away from the show while I seek medical treatment for mental health issues that I’ve ignored for too long,” the father of one said in a statement at the time. “My No. 1 goal now is facing my struggles head on. This process will be difficult, but my No. 1 priority is to get healthy and be the best man and the best father I can [be] for my daughter.”

After his arrest, Ronnie’s attorneys, Scott E. Leemon and Leonard Levine, told Us Weekly that “the L.A. County District Attorney’s office and the L.A. City Attorney’s office determined that criminal charges were not warranted against Ronnie related to the incident that occurred in April.”

In light of his absence, Sammi confirmed her return to the MTV show in March 2023. After reuniting with her former roommates during season 7, Sammi was forced to confront Ronnie when he made rare appearances throughout the season.

Prior to the return of the show, Nicole ‘Snooki” Polizzi exclusively told In Touch that fans can expect to see more of Ronnie in upcoming episodes. “Ron comes back a lot, so there’s a lot of stuff going on,” Nicole, 36, shared at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 11.

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns with new episodes on MTV Thursday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET.