Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino Reflects on ‘Once in a Lifetime’ ‘Jersey Shore’ Journey 15 Years Later (Exclusive)

It’s been 15 years since Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino first stepped foot into the Shore house — and his time on Jersey Shore has turned into “a gift that keeps on giving.”

As Jersey Shore: Family Vacation prepares to celebrate the iconic reality TV show’s 15th anniversary with a new season debuting May 29 on MTV, Sorrentino opened up to PopCulture.com about how “crazy” it feels to look back on the past 15 years.

Asked if it feels like 15 years since he first stepped into the spotlight, the 42-year-old father of three admitted, “It doesn’t. I mean, we are literally turning into a classic, a staple of a brand that everyone loves, and it’s so very, very cool.”

Sorrentino said he’s always amazed at the “people of all ages — parents and grandparents and young kids” who stop him on the street. “It’s so crazy, the demographic is so wide,” he told PopCulture, “and they love the show, they love my family, they love the squad. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing. … We turned 15 minutes of fame into 15 years and the story continues.”

A lot has changed for Sorrentino over the past 15 years. Not only is he preparing to celebrate a decade of sobriety in December, but he’s also become a husband to wife Lauren and a father to their three children.

“My sobriety means so much to me,” said Sorrentino, who launched his own recovery and treatment centers, The Archangel Centers, last year. “It’s definitely the secret sauce to why I’m so successful, and it’s also a very, very good example for those that are in sobriety and young men that are growing up today that you can do it without a substance. I’m just as popular and just as good on camera without any help.”

And while the MTV star has had many titles over the past 15 years, from The Situation to The Instigation and The Snitchuation, he said, “Dad has been the best title for me.”

“I worked very, very hard to be the dad I am today,” added Sorrentino, who has now been married to his college sweetheart for seven years.

Looking back to the beginning of Jersey Shore, if Sorrentino could tell his past self anything about where he would ultimately end up, he said, “I would probably say, ‘Do something today to make your future self proud and never give up. Always move forward. And don’t forget, the comeback is always greater than the setback.”

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation returns for a brand new season on Thursday, May 29 at 8 PM ET on MTV.