Is Ronnie Coming Back to 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation'? Here's the Latest

The Gist:

• Ronnie Ortiz-Magro left Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in 2021 to seek treatment for mental health issues.
• He returned briefly toward the end of Season 5, then remained absent again for a while.
• He has now appeared in the second half of Season 6 — the same season his ex Sammi Giancola rejoined the series.

In the last few years, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. From his relationships with cast members to his baby mama drama, every detail of his life has been addressed on the series.

Flashback to Season 5 of Family Vacation, when it was revealed that Ronnie would likely be absent from the show. He ended up appearing very briefly on the season.

In 2021, Ronnie released a statement on Instagram claiming he would be stepping away from the show to "seek medical treatment for mental health issues."

And now, in the current sixth season of Family Vacation, Ronnie popped up during the second half of the season after being MIA.

So what's going on? Let's start from the beginning...

Back in April 2021, news broke that Ronnie had been arrested on allegations of domestic violence against then-girlfriend Saffire Matos. (The duo later got engaged but called off their relationship in July 2022.)

Though the charges were eventually dropped, Ronnie's arrest violated the terms of a previous plea deal. In November 2019, Ronnie pled guilty to seven misdemeanor charges related to an altercation with his daughter's mother, Jen Harley. Along with fines, community service, and domestic violence classes, Ronnie was sentenced to a three-year probation.

Following the incident in April 2021, Ronnie took to social media to announce that he'd be taking a break from Jersey Shore to focus on his mental health. In a statement posted on Instagram (per People), Ronnie wrote, "After talking to the team at MTV, we have mutually agreed that I will step away from the show while I seek medical treatment for mental health issues that I've ignored for too long."

"My number one goal now is facing my struggles head on," he added. "This process will be difficult, but my number one priority is to get healthy and be the best man and the best father I can for my daughter."

After briefly appearing on the show toward the end of Season 5, Ronnie next made an appearance in the midseason 6 premiere. Ronnie had been communicating with Mike, who also struggled with sobriety, and told him that he sold his house in Los Angeles and that he was "ready to start over" in Florida. Ronnie told Mike that he felt at "peace" for the first time in years and wanted to reunite with the roommates to ask for their "forgiveness."

Ronnie met up with Mike at his New Jersey house and admitted that he missed everyone and wanted to get together with the group.

A super teaser trailer of the show showed that Ronnie would finally reunite with his roommates — including ex-girlfriend Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, who'd made her long-awaited return.

Then, in the episode that aired on Oct. 19, 2023, Ronnie did indeed return, intending to apologize to his fellow castmates for his behavior in recent years. However, Sammi wasn't there.

Sammi had gotten a heads-up from Mike earlier in the episode that Ronnie was on his way over. She made sure to high-tail it out of there with her boyfriend Justin, who just so happened to be visiting at the time.

"[Ronnie's] the reason I didn't come back in the first place," Sammi explained in a confessional, adding that she wasn't ready to see him.

Ronnie is going to appear in the Oct. 26 episode as well, so we'll have to wait and see what happens next as to whether we'll start seeing more of him on the show going forward.

Catch new episodes of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on MTV.