It’s literally worth “gym, tan, repeat,” at least, according to you Jersey Shore star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.
“I think my forte was my authenticity,” Mike, 43, said on the Monday, Jan. 19, episode of “Trading Secrets” podcast. “I think authenticity is the most powerful atmosphere that can be broadcast in any area of business in any industry. The way I evaluated reality television at that time was that there was no personality bigger than the real thing on television at that time.”
According to Mike, he chose to carry an “amplified” version of himself on MTV docuseries.
“It was all based on my life experience, but it just stepped it up a notch,” he said. “Then once I introduced it to America, it blew up. No one had ever seen characters called The Situation, Snooki (or) JWowand the world fell in love with it.”
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino has opened up about his addiction to cocaine and oxycodone, admitting he spent $500,000 to satisfy his drug habit. “When you think about that number, when you hear that number, that’s a good college fund right there,” the Jersey Shore star, 41, told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on (…)
Mike was among the OG stars Jersey Shore when it premiered in 2009, following a group of twenty-three people living together in New Jersey. years later Jersey Shore went off the air, most of the original cast reunited a Family holidays spin-off in 2018.
Keep scrolling to see more bombshells from Mike about how much he was paid Jersey Shore:
Big paydays revealed
Mike and the rest of the show’s OGs made $25 an hour during the first season, which increased exponentially amid the show’s continued popularity. In season 6, they earned $179,000 per episode.
“Plus, throw in a half a million dollar bonus as well,” he told podcast host Jason Tartick. “We hit the grade bonus every year. Jersey Shore (it was) the biggest show in the country.”
He continued, “The checks were coming in, they were, like, $675,000 a check. I’ve never seen checks like that in my life. You’re talking to an ex-stripper, an ex-drug dealer who didn’t have to file his taxes the year before. Then you start making over $5 million a year with brand deals.”
Mike’s endorsements included Vitamin Water and Reebok as well as stints at “extra shows”. Dancing with the stars.
“We were making over $5 million a year for a number of years in a row,” he estimated, “So at least from ’09 to ’12, it was probably like over $20 million, probably.”
Mike, however, did not try to take advantage of his new income with investments.
“I didn’t. I was just trying to hang on to life on the roller coaster that was Jersey Shore, the brand deals, the Super Bowl appearances (and) I was there Jay Leno probably more than 10 times,” he said. “They probably pay you, like, $500 (to do some talk shows). In that period of time, you are very busy going (ouch) from (all these events).”
‘Jersey Shore’ Gifts
According to Mike, “100 percent” still get royalty checks whenever Jersey Shore is issued in syndication.
“You get them quarterly,” Mike explained. “It’s probably well over six figures every year. It’s (like a pension), you get it for the rest of your life.”
Money can’t buy happiness
In spite of Jersey Shore paydays, Mike counts his 10 years of sobriety and family as his greatest achievements.
“I wouldn’t have the (addiction) center where I’m helping millions of people now, I wouldn’t be 10 years sober now, which is my superpower,” Mike, who shares three children with his wife. Lauren Sorrentinohe said “I’m seven years into a happy, healthy marriage. I have things that money can’t buy, and that’s when you’re rich.”
He concluded, “My sobriety has been earned, my body (and) my six pack has been earned, my family, my kids, my wife, my story (have all been earned). This book is a best seller, it’s my legacy, it’s my life. It’s earned.”