'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' Star Pauly D Lost His Dad Paul DelVecchio Sr. in May 2024

Unlike his Jersey Shore: Family Vacation co-stars, Pauly D isn't always as forthcoming about details surrounding his most private moments. His young daughter, for example, isn't on the show, and he doesn't talk about her much with his roomies. And although he once spoke about his dad, Paul DelVecchio Sr., on a different reality show, Pauly D seems to prefer to keep some things private.

Still, after the May 16 episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, a tribute appeared on-screen that said, "In loving memory. Paul DelVecchio Sr. May 7, 1952 – May 4, 2024." As most fans know, Pauly D's name is the shortened version of the name he was given after his father, making him Paul DelVecchio Jr. And this was the show's way of paying tribute to Pauly D's dad.

According to an obituary posted online, Pauly D's dad passed away "peacefully" at the age of 71. Although it isn't totally clear if there was one illness or something else that contributed to Pauly D's dad's death, he did have health problems in the past. Fans might remember seeing the senior Pauly D on The Pauly D Project once upon a time.

He'd suffered a stroke at that time. And, while it was more than 10 years before his death, it marked a rare glimpse into Pauly D's family life outside of the Jersey Shore family. But it's commonplace for Pauly D to keep the two world mostly separate. While his co-stars' families often appear on the show, from Angelina's quirky grandmother to Vinny's Uncle Nino, Pauly D's family has remained mostly out of the spotlight. And that seems to be how he intends to keep it.

Pauly D's mom once appeared in a very early season of the original Jersey Shore series. But his sister, Vanessa, is something of an enigma. She isn't part of the franchise like the relatives of some of the other OG stars, and there isn't much known about her outside of being Pauly D's sister and having a daughter of her own.

However, it's clear that Pauly D likes to keep his private life, well, private. And after spending more than a decade in front of the camera sharing everything else, can you really blame him? Luckily, this means he gets to mourn his father in private, and leave some of the more dramatic family moments to his co-stars.

Watch Jersey Shore: Family Vacation on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on MTV.