Ronnie Ortiz-Magro’s cry for help became a sticking point between he and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino during Jersey Shore Family Vacation‘s season finale Thursday.
At the final family dinner, Mike started to needle his friend about his “spiraling” during their time on vacation, including bringing back girls from the club and drinking to excess.
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But the friendly teasing turned into a full-out screaming match over whether Ronnie’s partying was getting problematic and the vibe of the family dinner completely changed.
“You made [partying] your life. You let it affect your whole life, you let it destroy your life. Bro, look at you! You f—ing got a tax evasion, you almost lost everything you f—ing earned,” Ronnie yelled at Mike, who is more than two years sober after abusing prescription painkillers. He’s also awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to tax evasion in a New Jersey federal court in January.
It was then that Mike dropped a truth bomb, revealed that prior to filming, Ronnie had called him to tell him he needed to go to rehab after the season was over, and asking for help.
“No, I said I needed help,” Ronnie responded.
“Are you kidding me? You said you were going to rehab!” Mike yelled, to which Ronnie shot back, “My rehab is different from your rehab.”
“Rehab is rehab,” Mike said, incredulously.
Rehab or not, Ronnie said it was the fact that Mike told everyone something he had said in confidence that really got to him.
“You put people’s dirt out there — you have to bring it in the house,” he said. “I don’t have a problem. I help myself. You never helped yourself. Lauren helps you now. I take care of f—ing Jen, I take care of my kid, and her f—ing kid. F—ing facts, end of the f—ing story, bottom line. So don’t ever f—ing say I need help.”
Mike soon shut the fight down, apologizing for what he had said, but the two left the dinner table clearly still steamed at one another.
Later, to Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Ronnie said, “I went to him and confided in him, that’s like talking to a sponsor almost!”
“He used it as ammo,” she agreed.
Ronnie said all the progress he and Mike had made since their rivalry during the show’s original run was destroyed.
“Now were back at square one,” he said. “You’re the situation, you’re still a little b—.”
While Mike defended his spilling of secrets as an act of care, Deena Cortese chided him, saying, “If you cared really that much about him, you would have brought it up privately.”
“I’m coming from a point of love,” Mike said, defending his actions. “Listen, I’m not judging, I’m concerned. I love Ron, I love every single person in this house, and I’m gonna keep it real.”
He does eventually recognize, however, that he messed up his friendship with Ron, and immediately went to apologize to his roommate at a lower decibel.
Ron, meanwhile, also recognized his part in the fight, telling Jenni, ” When someone goes low, I need to stop going lower, because it doesn’t solve anything.”
The two hugged and agreed that even though they fight, they’ll always be “brothers.”
What a truly fitting end to their Family Vacation.
Season 2 of Jersey Shore Family Vacation will premiere in August on MTV.
Photo credit: MTV
