‘Jersey Shore’ Star Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino Tried to Keep Snooki From Quitting ‘Family Vacation’

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino tried his best to keep Jersey Shore co-star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi from quitting the Family Vacation reboot, but in the end, he’s honoring her decision to step down. In a new interview with Us Weekly ahead of the MTV show’s season premiere Thursday, Sorrentino and co-star Vinny Guadagnino revealed they’re still holding out for a Snooki return.

“I didn’t agree with it, but I have to support my sister,” Sorrentino said of Polizzi’s choice. “I had texted her, called her and tried to convince her to reconsider, but she has to do what’s right for her and we have to support her as a family. Maybe she’ll come back and revisit, maybe she’ll have a change of heart. Who knows? I’m hopeful for the future.”

Guadagnino joked Snooki “quits every day” because of the difficulty of filming with sons Lorenzo, 7, and Angelo, 6 months, as well as daughter, Giovanna, 5, at home.

“It’s like, you want to do this thing so bad but you get pulled back in to your newborn baby and stuff,” the Long Island native said. “So hopefully, she can find a way — if there is one out there — to balance both. But right now, the scale, I think, was kind of tipping toward, it wasn’t working out.”

Polizzi announced she would no longer be filming Family Vacation back in December on her podcast, It’s Happening With Snooki and Joey.

“I am not coming back to Jersey Shore for Season 4 if there is one,” she said at the time. “And there’s a lot of reasons why, but the main reason is… I just can’t do it anymore. Literally, leaving my kids to film it is really hard on me. I try and quit every single day. I just hate being away from the kids. I don’t like partying three days in a row. It’s just not my life anymore. I want to be home with the kid. It’s just really hard for me to leave the kids and film the show.”

She added that the drama with Angelina Pivarnick on the most recent season of the show also played into her decision. “Our show, Jersey Shore, is about family and making fun of each other and having a good time and laughing and just knowing that it’s all in good fun. Lately, everything is so serious,” she admitted.

“It’s not about a team anymore. Fans are against one another when it comes to a cast member. I don’t want that. I’m not leaving my kids for days on end to film this show when that’s the result of it. I don’t like the turnout of it. I don’t like the person I’m portrayed as. It’s getting to be a little too much.”

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns to MTV Thursday, February 26, at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for SiriusXM