Ronnie Reveals How Mike's Sentencing Brought The 'Jersey Shore' Cast Closer Together

The return of Jersey Shore Family Vacation will tackle the show's most serious debacle ever, as Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino heads to prison. Mike's prison sentence has been looming large over the entirety of Jersey Shore Family Vacation, and although the time has finally come for him to face the music on screen, his castmate Ronnie says Mike's sentencing brought the Jersey Shore cast together. Ronnie Ortiz-Magro spoke to Elite Daily about the intense hardships that will be a part of the upcoming Jersey Shore Family Vacation episodes, and how those struggles actually proved just how strong of a bond the housemates have.

Fans of Jersey Shore and the rebooted Jersey Shore Family Vacation know very well that Ronnie and Mike don't always get along — the two had the biggest blow-up of the first season of Family Vacation — but despite their fights, Ronnie says he will be there for his co-star through all of the highs and lows. And that includes Mike's lowest low, when he was sentenced to eight months in prison in the fall of 2018.

Trailers for the new batch of Jersey Shore Family Vacation episodes show that the whole cast was present for the sentencing to support Mike, and Ronnie explains how important it was for everyone to band together in that moment. "Mike has been such a big part of our lives. Obviously, we’ve all had our ups and down with Mike, but we’re all brothers and sisters. And with your brothers and sisters, you have fights and your ups and downs, but you’re always there when they’re down. We had to be there for Mike. It was the hardest time of his life and Lauren’s life, and when we found out he was getting sentenced we had to come together and let him know no matter what we’re here for him.

Ronnie adds that he, as well as the rest of the show's cast, has remained in contact with Mike during his prison time through emails. They have also visited Mike in person, as shown in photos on Mike's Instagram account.

But Mike's imprisonment is not the only weighty issue that the cast will be dealing with in the new season of Jersey Shore Family Vacation. Around the same time as Mike's sentencing, JWoww filed for divorce from her longtime husband Roger Mathews. Ronnie echoes his sentiments in regard to how the cast all came together to be there for JWoww during her split.

While Ronnie's personal drama dominated the beginning of Jersey Shore Family Vacation, fans might not be seeing as much chaos from Ronnie moving forward now that he is a father. He shares that having his daughter, Ariana Sky, has changed every aspect of his life, and taught him to grow up and focus on spending time with his family. Of course, that was not easy while filming Jersey Shore Family Vacation for the bulk of last year, but he says that nothing in his life compares to being a father.

Jersey Shore Family Vacation will return with new episodes on Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET.