Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino has confirmed that his wife Lauren did not give him permission to shop an ’emergency sex tape’ during a time of financial struggles, as the Jersey Shore star clarified confusion over the shocking revelation from his upcoming memoir.
The 41-year-old talks candidly in Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation, about the true depths of his drug addiction – and reveals that he stashed away an X-rated video as an ‘insurance policy’ in case he ever needed cash for drugs or debts.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, the MTV star cleared up headlines claiming that Lauren and his mother, Linda Sorrentino, gave him the ‘OK’ to sell the intimate tape in which he featured with ‘four’ participants.
‘I have to sort of clarify this,’ he said. ‘My wife and my mom were in the same room when I addressed my team [about the tape]… We were bleeding money and I was desperate.
Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino has confirmed that his wife Lauren did not give him permission to shop an ’emergency sex tape’ during a time of financial struggles
The Jersey Shore star, 41, clarified confusion about the revelation he makes in his upcoming memoir, which details how he saw the tape as an ‘insurance policy’ for hard times
‘The shooting star of the situation was about to come in for a crash landing and I know it sounds crazy for someone to say this or under these words, but I always had this notion that if an emergency situation had transpired, I had this trusty sex tape to reveal’.
The reality star, who served eight months in prison for tax evasion in 2019, continued: ‘It is so crazy to say, but I had it. It was me and a number of participants, I think about four.’
But fearing for his relationship and the reality of what he would have to do in order to release the intimate clip, he was quickly dissuaded him from going public with it.
‘Once I started to go down the road or journey of selling said sex tape, I realized that there was more negatives than positives,’ he added. ‘I wasn’t excited about some of the things that we we had to do, and I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not going to do it.”
He then quipped: ‘So to clarify it, I didn’t get the okay, I didn’t get the okay from mom. I didn’t get the okay from the then girlfriend, who is now my wife. They were in the same room when we were discussing options that I had this emergency sex tape.’
The father-of-two admitted that the impact it could have had on his relationship was a key deciding factor.
‘I’m glad that I never released it,’ he said. ‘I’m sure that it would have had many unintended impacts on my relationship, my career and everything. I’m glad that I didn’t release it.’
The star then joked that he could join the host of celebrities making money through adult-subscription platforms like OnlyFans.
‘Somebody contacted me recently and they wanted feet pics from me for $10,000 a month. And I’m like, “You know what? That’s not bad”. You know?,’ he said. ‘I might be able to give y’all feet pics for a $10k payment a month.’
He continued: ‘I even showed it to my wife and we all laughed. I showed it to my cast mates and they just got a real chuckle out of it… If you start to see feet pics, we’ve got a situation, man.’
Mike famously neglected to pay $8.9M in taxes, which led to an eight-month sentence at Otisville Federal Correctional Institution until he was released in 2019
Mike famously starred in the hit MTV reality show between 2009-2012, before the show later returned to screens as Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (pictured in 2009)
Mike honestly recounts the hurdles on his journey to sobriety in the 296-page memoir he co-authored with Andy Symonds.
The TV star admitted that the fame and fortune that came with starring in a hit MTV reality show between 2009 and 2012 was akin to pouring ‘gasoline on fire’ for his inner demons.
The 296-page memoir, co-authored with Andy Symonds, drops on December 19
In fact, the star reveals in the book that his attorneys once informed him he’d spent an estimated $500K on cocaine and oxycodone.
Another shocking revelation sees the star open up for the first time ever about the day he tried heroin, something he had not even shared with his wife before penning the memoir.
Reflecting on his decision to share all, Mike explained: ‘It was really tough when I decided to really bare my soul and tell that story of total rock bottom.
‘I was comfortable telling that rock bottom story because I eventually used rock bottom as a trampoline. But that was my darkest moment and I wanted to tell that story because I always told myself that I would never try heroin, that I would never cross that line.’
He continued: ‘I had the money, the resources and the status. I didn’t need to go that way. But I thought it was important to tell this story because even I succumbed to it.
‘I was making upwards of almost $200,000 per episode. I didn’t have to go that low. Then once I did, my life was on the line. I could have easily overdosed. I could have easily died. And I wouldn’t be here.’
The TV star admitted that the fame and fortune that came with the show was akin to pouring ‘gasoline on fire’ for his inner demons
The star reveals in the book that his attorneys once informed him he had spent an estimated $500K on cocaine and oxycodone
The star explained how he felt that ‘God had spared’ him ‘for the bigger picture,’ telling DailyMail.com: ‘I believe that God, the Almighty, used my mom as an angel and used my girlfriend – who’s now my wife – to save my life on that day. I get a little emotional when I talk about it because it’s a very raw and tough time in my life that I did something that I never thought I was going to do.
‘I could have died from it. Eventually that next day I surrendered. I threw the the white flag and went to rehab. And I never turned back.’
He added: ‘I think it’s very important to share these stories to the public and to other people that are suffering from the disease of addiction that you, too, can also recover. If Mike can do it, you can, too.’
Sharing his hopes about the impact his memoir might have on others, Mike mused: ‘Everyone that reads this needs to be to understand and get the message that it was not just overcoming addiction in the book. There was overcoming obstacles such as a miscarriage, a baby in the NICU, prison time, the United States court system, probation and community service.
‘I think I showed that the key is to not give up on yourself and to understand that if you believe in yourself and you don’t give up, the comeback is truly greater than setback.’
Mike – who will celebrate his eighth ‘Soberversary’ in December – continued: ‘You hear all the time about those sad stories, the negative stories. So it’s very important to scream from the rooftops, the successful stories, to shed a light, to let people know that if The Situation can do it and get sober, you can too.
Another shocking revelation sees the star open up for the first time ever about the day he tried heroin, something he had previously not even shared with his wife
The TV star with his college sweetheart-turned-wife Lauren Pesce Sorrentino (R) and their two children – son Romeo Reign, two, and daughter Mia Bella, 10 months
Sharing his hopes about the impact his memoir might have on others, Mike mused: ‘I think I showed that the key is to not give up on yourself… the comeback is truly greater than setback’
‘At the end of the day, I think I outlined the blueprint of how I overcame every obstacle, which was relying on my faith, you know, taking things one day at a time and almost like understanding that when good things happen in your life, this too shall pass, but also, when bad things in your and happen in your life, that too shall pass as well.’
He concluded: ‘Remain grateful through it all and I think that you are attract abundance and other things in your life positively.’
Adding that he hopes the book will be turned into a movie one day, Mike even shared his suggestion for the cast.
‘ I think Miles Teller would do a good job,’ he mused. ‘And I would love to be in it as a cameo. Maybe I’ll be the rehab therapist doing the intake or something like that.’
The MTV star and his wife – who split for a decade in 2007 – will welcome their third child, a daughter, in March. They recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on November 1.
Elsewhere, fans can catch more of The Situation in the first part of the sixth season reunion for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which airs this Thursday on MTV.
Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation – How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison hits shelves on December 19.
