'Jersey Shore' Star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Announces Major Decision Regarding Reality Series

05/14/2021 08:32 am EDT

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is "stepping away" from Jersey Shore as he focuses on his mental health and wellbeing. The 35-year-old said Thursday that he is taking an undisclosed break from the hit MTV reality series as he seeks medical treatment for "mental health issues" that he has long "ignored."

"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 Jersey Shore Family Vacation cast member wrote in a statement shared to his Instagram Stories. He added that his "number one goal" is to face his struggles "head on."

Acknowledging that the "process will be difficult," he said he's focused on being the best dad he can for his and ex-girlfriend Jen Harley's 3-year-old daughter Ariana. He said that his "#1 priority is to get healthy and be the best man and best father I can for my daughter."

The news comes the same day that his attorneys confirmed that he will not be charged by the LA City Attorney's office in a new case following his April 22 arrest on suspicion of intimate partner violence with injury. At the time of the arrest, he was on probation for another domestic violence case involving Harley. The LA City Attorney's office announced that in lieu of charging Ortiz-Magro in a new case, it has filed a probation violation against him. His probation hearing is set for late June in Los Angeles.

"We are very happy that after further investigation both the LA County District Attorney's office and the LA City Attorney's office determined that criminal charges were not warranted against Ronnie related to the incident that occurred in April," read a statement from Ortiz-Magro's lawyers, Scott Lemon and Leonard Levine. "As we previously stated, there was a rush to judgment by the media."

Ortiz-Magro was an original cast member on Jersey Shore from 2009 to 2012 and currently stars on the Family Vacation spinoff, which premiered in 2018. He and Harley welcomed Ariana Sky Magro in 2018.

A source close to the Jersey Shore star told E! News that the psychological treatment facility is "a wellness center" that he is attending for "treatment to focus on his mental health," adding that "it's not a drug- or alcohol-related type of rehab center."

Following the April arrest, Ortiz-Magro was detained at an LA jail and later released on $100,000 bond. Authorities have not revealed the name of the alleged victim, though Harley was not involved. Ortiz-Magro's girlfriend, Saffire Matos, spoke out on social media about the arrest, calling out "misleading information" online. "With anybody who reached out with concern I appreciate it with all my heart, but everything that's being portrayed out there are not facts," she wrote on her Instagram Stories on April 26, noting that she and Ortiz-Magro were "fine."

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