Gang's all here!
The cast of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation gushed to E! News' Daily Pop co-host Lilliana Vazquez today about co-star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's return to the legendary MTV reality franchise. In an exclusive clip from the June 2 interview, Lilliana asks the stars to dish on what it was like filming again with Snooki following her dramatic 2019 "retirement" announcement.
"She came in like she never left," Angelina Pivarnick laughed.
The season four teaser trailer even shows Snooki popping out of a cake to surprise her roommates—and it truly was an unexpected shock to the cast who were filming in the snow-filled Poconos.
"She didn't even tell us that she was coming back!" fellow meatball Deena Nicole Cortese revealed. "We were completely, completely surprised."
Snooki's long-time BFF Jenni "JWoww" Farley revealed that the whole group was "crying like little babies" when they first saw Snooki. "It just finally felt complete again," JWoww admitted.
Mother of three Snooki previously told Daily Pop co-host Carissa Culiner in Feb. 2021 that she needed a well-deserved break. "Jersey Shore's been my life for ten years," Snooki said. "And I loved my roomies, but I just needed—my soul needed—a break because the drama was getting too much. And I feel like I wasn't being the best mom that I could be to my kids."
As Snooki returns to Family Vacation, co-star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is exiting the franchise for mental health reasons.
Snooki also came back just in time for some big milestone moments: JWoww got engaged to Zach "24" Clayton Carpinello in March, Deena gave birth to her second son Cameron in early May and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino welcomed baby Romeo Reign with wife Lauren Sorrentino on May 27.
The close friend group gushed that Big Daddy Sitch is already a perfect father. "You can see the proof in everything that he's transformed in his life, when it comes to his life, his marriage, his friendships," Vinny Guadagnino explained.
Pauly D added, "This was the last piece of the puzzle for him. He got married, went to jail, transformed his entire life...That's everything he's ever wanted. He's going to be such a good dad."
Mike and Lauren will be "flawless parents" to their newborn son, as JWoww praised. As for her own wedding planning, the coronavirus put JWoww and Zach's nuptials on hold. "I would love a destination wedding," JWoww teased.
But don't expect any bridesmaid drama like at Angelina's big day! "Besides the kids being involved, I don't know if I'll have a maid of honor or anything like that," JWoww stated.
And what about their new wintry landscape? JWoww jokes this season will be like "hell froze over" while Vinny compares the Poconos to Italy.
"It's guidos in a new environment!" the Revenge Prank host laughed. Even Vinny's former flame Angelina can agree that they all felt like "fish out of water" on the snow-covered slopes.
Watch the hilarious interview above for all the details!
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns Thursday, June 3 on MTV.