Inside Mike The Situation Sorrentino's Marriage
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and wife Lauren Sorrentino (née Pesce) have faced quite a few "situations" throughout their love story. The two actually met way before the MTV cameras became a fixture of their lives, and they had to go through many ups and downs to get to where they are today. As Mike told People in October 2018, "We went out together for about four years, and then once Jersey Shore started we decided to take a break throughout seasons 1-6. Once it was over, we eventually reconnected and have been together ever since." Lauren and Mike have been there for each other through the good and the bad, the fist pumps and the speed bumps, and the mistakes and the Funfetti cakes.
And now that they are about to start a new, diaper-adorned chapter of their relationship, we wanted to take a deep dive into their relationship and marriage to see how they went from college sweethearts to parents-to-be. So let's get into the marriage of Mike and Lauren Sorrentino — or as they call themselves, "The Situations."
Mike and Lauren Sorrentino were college sweethearts
It's no secret that Mike and Lauren Sorrentino are an adorable couple and share tons of their sweet PDA moments on social media. But what some fans might not know is that these two actually met in math class in college back in 2004. When the couple spoke to Us Weekly about the early days of their relationship in 2015, Mike revealed that when he first joined the cast of Jersey Shore, he had just gotten out of a multiple-year relationship with Lauren.
Lauren said after they graduated, their post-collegiate endeavors took them in two very different directions. "I went into the work world and he went into fitness modeling and then Jersey Shore," she shared, noting that they were "on good terms" after they split. She told the outlet, "I was nothing but happy for him. We were on our own different paths in life. Timing is everything." But she also added that she didn't watch much of Jersey Shore because she "didn't like a lot of the things he did."
While there were many challenges along the way, the two now look back at their four years together in college fondly by posting tons of throwbacks on social media. Mike even took part in 2020's "how it started vs. how it's going" meme, sharing a pic that he and Lauren took back when they first started dating alongside a more recent snap.
The gym, tan, love story of Mike and Lauren Sorrentino
The saying "if it's meant to be, it will be" definitely seems to apply to Mike and Lauren Sorrentino. The two found their way back to each other after Mike finished filming Jersey Shore (for the first time), and evidently, the timing was just right. Lauren told Us Weekly that they had remained "in touch" over the years after they broke up and that she was "nothing but happy" for Mike's success. Funny enough, it was a classic GTL (gym, tan, laundry... duh) run-in that led to them getting back together. Only in Jersey!
In May 2019, Lauren told Too Fab that about a year after the final season of Jersey Shore's original run, "she ran into Mike at a New Jersey gym." As she recalled to the outlet, the two "picked up where they left off." The two dated for quite a few years after they got back together, and things were serious enough that Mike even ended up giving Lauren a promise ring.
Mike Sorrentino and Lauren Pesce headed to reality TV
Not long after Mike Sorrentino and Lauren Pesce got back together, the two dove into the reality TV world together. In 2015, the couple made their Marriage Boot Camp debut where they worked on many issues, including Sorrentino's struggle with addiction to prescription painkillers. The Jersey Shore star revealed to People that he got "100 percent" sober after checking himself into rehab for the second time. He explained that while he had been sober in the past, his addiction resurfaced after a doctor prescribed him with painkillers for a rib injury.
Sorrentino told Us Weekly that they felt like they were "definitely a stronger couple" after their time on the show. "They just teach you certain tools in order to better the relationship," he shared. "It was a totally different experience for me. It definitely was an eye-opener for sure. It made me vulnerable and open up. We learned a lot about each other." And ever since this experience, Sorrentino's other half has celebrated his sobriety milestones on social media with captions like, "I'm so proud of this man @mikethesituation I love you forever!!! #2yearssober." In December 2020, he shared on Instagram that he reached five years of sobriety.
The Situations don't mind working together
Mike and Lauren Sorrentino decided to take their love from the TV screen to the digital screen when they launched their own YouTube channel called The Situations. On their channel, which was launched in 2018, they give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at their lives and cover everything from plastic surgery to home renovations. And, of course, there's lots of food content. Mike and Lauren have a series called "Eating Our Best Lives with The Situations" where they take viewers on their fast food cheat day adventures. And they don't hold back with the mukbangs; sometimes, the couple orders one of everything that's on the menu. Try getting through one of those episodes without wanting to go hit up a drive-thru. (Spoiler alert: It's nearly impossible.)
As far as these two are concerned, it seems like working together works. Mike and Lauren are partners in life and in business, and it has been quite the successful, um... situation. In March 2020, as their YouTube channel continued to grow to over 185k subscribers, Mike and Lauren also launched a podcast. Titled "Here's the Sitch with Mike and Lauren," the show "offers up advice on healthy living, fitness, recovery from addiction, and much more," per the podcast description. Some of the topics they've covered so far include responding to negativity, dealing with failure, body image, and growing through pain. If you love The Situations you'll love getting to hear them talk about these topics for an hour straight on their podcast.
Mike Sorrentino asked his 'better half' to marry him
In early 2018, Mike Sorrentino and Lauren Pesce announced their engagement, and in June of that year, fans got to see the moment play out on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. "I've been wanting to get to this day for so long," Sorrentino said on the proposal episode. (via People). "And right now, I'm feeling like all these bad times that I've been through, it's all worth it for this moment right here." While getting down on one knee, Sorrentino said to Pesce, "You're my best friend, my college sweetheart, my better half. You make me a better person. Please make me the happiest man on earth. Will you please marry me?" She said yes, he put the reportedly $65,000 ring on her finger.
As People noted, Mike also opened up in the episode about the timing of the proposal. When talking to his fellow Jersey Shore castmate Vinny Guadagnino, Mike said that he had wanted to pop the question as soon as possible to make sure he "locked down a good girl" before he had to head to prison. Mike explained that looking forward to a life with Lauren would help him get through his jail time. "Lauren is the light at the end of my tunnel," he said (via People). "Lauren is my everything, Lauren is my best friend, she is my soulmate, she is my better half. And knowing that I found that, I'm willing to face anything in life."
The Situation's fairytale wedding situation
Similar to their engagement, Mike and Lauren Sorrentino shared their wedding experience with fans on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation with the majority of the cast in attendance. As Us Weekly reported, Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Vinny Guadagnino, and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro were all groomsmen, and Jenni "JWoww" Farley and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's daughters handled the flower girl duties. Lauren told the outlet that they consider their Jersey Shore co-stars' kids "are like nieces to us."
Distractify reported that the event at The Legacy Castle in New Jersey ran the couple a whopping six figures. After the big night, Mike told Us Weekly that the venue was "fit for a king and a queen," and by all accounts, it sounds like things went off without a sitch, er, hitch. "I can't believe that we were able to pull off such an unbelievably beautiful wedding like that," he said. "We're on cloud nine right now." He also took to Instagram calling their wedding the "Best Day of my Life."
Mike announced on Instagram that two decided to get married in November 2018 before he had to report to prison in January of the following year. And around the time of their big day, a source told Us Weekly that he "really wants to spend as much time as he can with Lauren" and called the wedding "a great distraction for him."
Lauren Sorrentino stood by Mike Sorrentino
In 2018, TMZ reported Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino was sentenced to eight months in prison for tax fraud. As CNN noted, he "pleaded guilty to tax evasion and concealing income, stemming from a 2014 indictment for falsifying business and personal tax returns between 2010 and 2012." He also had to shell out $10,000 and was ordered to do 500 hours of community service. And Lauren Sorrentino was there for him through it all. "It's been very stormy for a while. The odds were against me. People bet against me," Mike told People. "But against all odds, she's been there throughout the ups and downs, the good times and the bad times."
After the Situation was released from prison, his very first post back on Instagram was a photo of himself, Lauren, and their dog Mosey. "Living my best life with my beautiful wife," Sitch wrote. In the picture, Mike is in a shirt from his merch line that reads, "The comeback is always greater than the setback." Lauren shared the same photo, adding some Maren Morris lyrics: "The house don't fall when the bones are good welcome home honey." The posts were flooded with fans sending their well-wishes, with comments like "Welcome home Mike, happy to see the fam back together again" and "so proud of you, congrats on being done. Welcome back Sitch!"
There's a baby Situation on the way!
Mike and Lauren Sorrentino have always opened up their lives to fans, and that sure didn't change when they found out they were going to be parents. In November 2020, both Lauren and Mike took to social media to share their baby announcement and wrote, "Our biggest blessing is on its way." They also tagged their child's Instagram account, @itsbabysituation. And not long after this exciting announcement, the Sorrentinos revealed another update on Baby Situation's account: "IT'S OFFICIAL – I'M A BABY BOY."
This exciting pregnancy news comes around a year after Lauren got real about experiencing a devastating loss shortly after Mike was released from prison. During a November 2019 appearance on Strahan, Sara & Keke, Lauren said, "At about six and half, seven weeks, I miscarried ... It was heart-wrenching ... When I found out we were pregnant, I felt like this is why we went through all these challenges for years and that this was our time and it was our blessing ... It was hard. It was really difficult."
Fans couldn't be happier that the Situations are expecting a baby; people flooded the Sorrentinos' pregnancy announcement and gender reveal posts with love and support. Hey, if there was ever an occasion to raise a glass of Funfetti cake!