‘Jersey Shore: Family Vacation’: Deena Cortese Thinks Angelina Pivarnick, Vinny Guadagnino Pairing ‘Is Toxic’ (Exclusive)

The Jersey Shore crew is hitting the road again for a new season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, and Deena Cortese tells PopCulture.com there’s plenty of drama to come amid the antics and hilarity. Cortese revealed that “some drama trickled in from last season” ahead of the Season 6 premiere of the MTV show on Jan. 26 and got real about the complicated relationship between Angelina Pivarnick and Vinny Guadagnino.

In the newest trailer for the upcoming season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Cortese, Guadagnino, and Pivarnick hit the road with fellow Shore stars Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Pauly “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Angelina Pivarnick and Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, where they learn the newly-single Pivarnick may still be harboring feelings for her old hookup.

Despite the will-they-won’t-they nature of Pivarnick and Guadagnino’s friendship over the years, Cortese thinks the two would “absolutely not” be a good match if they ever actually got together. “I think both of them together is toxic, but we have fun teasing them,” she admitted. “We wouldn’t mind if they had a night together though – it would be funny.” Truthfully, Cortese said she thinks “Vinny’s over it at this point,” but that won’t stop his friends from teasing him. 

There’s also plenty of support for Guadagnino from the Jersey Shore family, especially as they cheered for him on Dancing With the Stars‘ most recent season. “I was so proud of him,” Cortese said. “He did so much better than I expected. …I feel like the judges were a little hard on him but all in all, he did so good.” While the mother of three “would actually love” to have her own stint on DWTS, Cortese said she’d have to bring sons CJ, 4, and Cameron, 20 months, with her. “Cameron’s a spitfire,” the MTV star gushed. “He just wants to do everything his big brother does, and CJ is the sweetest soul. …I love being a mom and I love watching them.” 

Going from wild days on the original Jersey Shore to a mom of two, Cortese admits, “It is crazy to think we started when we were like 21 years old and I’m 36 now – and I’m still filming.” It’s “so amazing” to have a fan base that continues to grow, she added. “I love that fact that our fan base stuck with us, and they grew up with us basically. …[and] all the sudden there’s this younger generation that’s finding clips on TikTok!” Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns with a brand new season on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.