Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi Reveals She’s ‘Retiring’ From ‘Jersey Shore’

Is Snooki officially saying goodbye to the Jersey Shore? The longtime cast member said on this week’s episode of her podcast, It’s Happening With Snooki and Joey, that if Jersey Shore Family Vacation returns for a fourth season, she won’t be part of the cast.

“It’s definitely a hard decision,” Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi said, before taking a gulp of wine to gather the courage to spill the beans. “You guys, I love you so much and don’t hate me for my decision. But I have to do what’s best for me at the moment. I am retiring from Jersey Shore.”

“I am not coming back to Jersey Shore for Season 4 if there is one. And there’s a lot of reasons why, but the main reason is… I just can’t do it anymore,” she continued. “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.”

The 32-year-old is mom to sons Lorenzo, 7, and Angelo, 6 months, as well as daughter, Giovanna, 5.

She went on to explain that the drama of the most recent season, which aired this fall, also played into her decision to leave the show. “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.”

Much of Season 3’s storylines revolved around the drama stemming from an incident when Angelina Pivarnick got flirty with Jenni “JWoww” Farley’s boyfriend in Las Vegas. Although Snooki wasn’t present for the argument, Angelina accused her of automatically taking JWoww’s side. Snooki argued that she was not trying to take sides, but it led to a major blowout between the women, which left Snooki in tears.

She added that the drama grew so intense that she has even been the subject of death threats on social media.

“I just need to do what’s best for me right now and right now I’m just not comfortable filming that show anymore with the direction it’s going and all the drama, and getting death threats and getting death threats to my children … over this freakin’ reality show that’s not even that serious. And people take it too seriously to where I’m getting death threats with my kids.”

“If I’m doing a reality show, I want it to be fun and I want it to be light-hearted and lately it’s not that,” Snooki said. “The show is getting so dramatic. I can’t be part of something like that, especially when I’m leaving my kids and I’m hurting. I just need to do what’s best for me right now.”

She said her castmates were “trying to talk her off the ledge” but that she explained, “the show isn’t what it was when it comes to fun and just being silly. It’s all drama, and team this and team that and death threats. I’m just not about it anymore and it’s not cool.”

The reality star said this is not the end for her on reality TV, but it is the end for her on Jersey Shore.

“I love my roomies to death. They know that. I’m not going anywhere when it comes to that and them being my family,” she said. “I’m not saying goodbye to reality tv and me working as a reality star anymore and me just going away and hiding like a hermit. I don’t want to do that, I just want to move on from the show because I don’t like the direction it’s going in with the drama and just the cattiness, I just can’t do it.”