‘Jersey Shore’ Star Jenni ‘JWoww’ Farley Admits Roger Mathews Had ‘Nervous Breakdown’ Over Son’s Autism Diagnosis

Jenni “JWoww” Farley spoke out about her estranged husband Roger Mathews‘ first reaction when they found out about their 3-year-old son Greyson Valor’s autism diagnosis. The former couple separated last year and are engaged in a heated divorce and custody battle, including Farley making abuse accusations against Mathews.

“I took the initiative towards getting him help. That was a huge argument between Roger and I. [He was like,] ‘He’s fine, he’s fine, he’s fine,’” Farley said to friend and co-star Deena Cortese during Thursday’s Season 3 premiere of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

“He had a nervous breakdown in the pediatrician’s,” the mother of two said of Mathews. “My heart broke for him because he was like, ‘I just want my son to walk down an aisle and have a family of his own.’”

“As parents, you can only do so much,” Cortese responded. She is a mom to 6-month-old son Christopher John, a.k.a. CJ. Farley also shares daughter Meilani Alexandra, 5 with Mathews.

“It’s f—ed up but I always say I’m going to hold his hand until I can’t, and when I can’t hold his hand anymore, my money is going to hold his hand,” Farley added. “It’s like I’m preparing not for my retirement, but for my kids’ retirement.”

PEOPLE asked Mathews for comment regarding her claims he had a “nervous breakdown. He responded saying: “Jenni and I are friendly and co-parenting well at this stage in the game and both have every intention of doing whatever we can do for both our children.”

In a confessional, Farley also claimed Mathews “believed that Greyson was just a slow learner and he was just going to learn on his own.” His opinion “caused a lot of tension in our household.”

“One parent [is] like, ‘I need to get ahead of this and fix it,’ which is me, and you’ve got another parent that’s like, ‘What are you doing? It’s not a big deal. There’s nothing wrong with Greyson,’” she recalled. “It is such a s—y situation to be in. It’s really hard to explain to people who don’t have kids, the level of sacrifice we make for them.”

Farley filed for divorce from Mathews on Sept. 12 after three years of marriage. The following month, the Jersey Shore star said she felt “very alone” after finding out about Greyson’s diagnosis.

“When Greyson wasn’t hitting his marks in the world of doctors… [Roger] was like, ‘He’s perfect. He’s going to be fine. This is no big deal,’” Farley said. “I felt very alone because I [felt like] the only parent. I thought, ‘Am I bad wanting to get him help because Roger’s not concerned, so should I not be concerned?’”

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.