Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi Is ‘Still Trying’ to Have Husband Jionni LaValle Make a ‘Jersey Shore’ Cameo

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi hasn’t given up on her attempts to entice husband Jionni LaValle to make an appearance on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

“Still trying,” the mom of three, 37, exclusively tells In Touch of her hopes for Jionni’s potential cameo on the MTV series. “But who knows? You know, we’re still doing more seasons, or always filming. But he’s doing good.”

Nicole continues, “He’s actually taking me out to dinner for my birthday this weekend. So we’re gonna have, like, nice alone time. We really haven’t had time because I’ve been so busy traveling for filming and stuff like that. And then … the sports with my kids. So we really haven’t had, like, a moment to ourselves. So I’m so excited to just get away from the kids for a second and just have nice alone time.”

While Jionni, 37, appeared in several episodes of the original Jersey Shore, which aired on MTV from 2009 to 2012, he chose not to return alongside Nicole for the Family Vacation spinoff in 2018. Some fans speculated that his decision had to do with his relationship with the reality star and wondered if they had split. However, he cleared up the rumors via Instagram.

“Hey guys, I’m going to visit this subject one time and one time only,” he wrote ahead of the 2018 premiere. “My wife is filming a scene packing up and leaving for her new show and I AM CHOOSING TO NOT be on TV because I simply DO NOT like it. Nicole and I are doing great and became even stronger together while raising our beautiful kids.”

Jionni continued, “You will not see me on her reality show. Being a reality star was never something I wanted to be. … I own my own business and work hard at it, that’s what I do. My wife is a reality star and works hard at that, that’s what she does. We ARE not divorced.”

Nicole exclusively told In Touch in September that she hoped to change her husband’s mind regarding a cameo.

“We’re coming up on 10 years in November and I’m like, ‘Jionni, do you wanna, like, do a scene on the show?’” she said at the MTV Video Music Awards. “So I’m trying to like, you know, make him come on a little bit.”

Nicole and Jionni first unveiled their relationship during Jersey Shore season 3 in 2011 after they met at a nightclub. The couple tied the knot in November 2014. They share kids Lorenzo, Giovanna and Angelo.

Jersey Shore turns 15 years old on Tuesday, December 3. While speaking with In Touch, Nicole reflects on how far the show has come and shares whether or not she expected it to become such a hit.

“I always wanted to do reality. I always wanted to be a reality star, but nothing to where I’m like, ‘OK, this is going to be like my career.’ I just wanted to experience it, have fun, and then go back to my life. So doing this show, I thought it was just going to be, like, a Real World season [where] they switch out the cast [each season]. … I really wasn’t expecting much,” Nicole says.

She continues, “I was just excited to have a free house for the summer, and meet new people and just have a good time, never expecting that it would be like this, and we’re still doing it 15 years later.”