Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has come a long way since her Jersey Shore days! The mother of three found fame on the hit reality show — but today, she looks nothing like she did on the original MTV series. After losing weight, getting breast implants and becoming a mother, the starlet has changed a lot and she’s loving it.
We first met Nicole as a spunky go-getter with a heart of gold in late 2009 when the now-famous reality series about Italians in New Jersey debuted. Initially, she had a hard time fitting in with costars Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, Vinny Guadagnino and Angelina Pivarnick. However, following a heartfelt apology for her drunken behavior on the group’s first night at the shore house, the cast welcomed her with open arms.
During the series’ initial season, Snooki’s image became a worldwide phenomenon — so much so that she became one of the most popular celebrity Halloween costumes in 2010. Her appeal, along with the charm of her costars, cemented the series as one of the most notable reality shows of all time.
The original run of Jersey Shore came to an end in late 2012 — but Snooki was already taking over the channel. Her successful spinoff series with bestie JWoww was titled Snooki & JWoww and premiered in June of that year. The series ran for four seasons and ended in late 2015. In 2013, the starlet competed on season 17 of Dancing With the Stars alongside pro Sasha Farber. She received 8th place honors and overall good reviews from the judges.
Though it seemed her Jersey Shore days were behind her, she joined the original crew (sans Sammi) for the Jersey Shore Family Vacation reboot, which premiered in April 2018. The new series has had four seasons so far and Mike confirmed there would be a fifth on Twitter on February 13, 2021, revealing they were already filming. Unfortunately, Snooki wasn’t a part of the most recent season. After season 3, she told her fans she was moving on.
“I have to do what’s best for me at the moment, and I am retiring from Jersey Shore,” she revealed on her podcast in December 2019. “I am not coming back to Jersey Shore for a season 4, if there is one. And there’s a lot of reasons why, but the main reason is really, I’m just like … I just can’t do it anymore. I hate being away from the kids, I don’t like partying three days in a row, it’s just not my life anymore, And I wanna be home with the kids. I don’t mind a here or there going to a dinner or whatever, but it’s just really hard on me to leave the kids and film the show.”
Nicole has had an incredible family by her side throughout her reality TV career. She got engaged to boyfriend Jionni LaValle in March 2012. They welcomed their first child, son Lorenzo, in August of that year. Snooki gave birth to their second child, daughter Giovanna, in September 2014. The couple tied the knot two months later in late November. In May 2019, she gave birth to her third child, son Angelo. Though she’s focusing on them and her health right now, it seems she may be making an appearance in season 5, as she was reportedly spotted filming in March 2021.
Scroll through the gallery below to see Snooki’s impressive transformation from first meeting her on Jersey Shore to now!