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'The Situation' Is Now 18 Months Sober
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Reality TV star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is now 18 months sober, he told People last week.
The 34-year-old Jersey Shore alum says he’s been “100%” sober ever since he checked into rehab in 2015 in an effort to tackle his longstanding painkiller addiction.
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Sorrentino became a household name after the MTV show debuted in 2009. The Staten Island native who dubbed the saying “GTL”—for gym, tan, laundry—was known on air for his hard-partying lifestyle and love of working out.
Previously, Sorrentino took a trip to rehab in 2012, the same year the Jersey Shore finally receded from the airwaves.
"Mike today? I wake every day these days with a smile," he said at the time, according to CNN. "Happy to be alive. Happy to have the family that I have. Happy to have the fans that I have, the friends.”
In 2014, Sorrentino bounced back into the news when he was arrested after a tanning salon fight in New Jersey. He was charged with simple assault and, after he made bond, paparazzi cameras caught sight of the celeb walking out of the Middletown police station with some bruises and scratches. As part of a plea deal, he attended a 12-week anger management program, according to NJ.com.
That same year, he was hit with federal charges for allegedly bilking the government out of income tax owed on more than $8 million. He was originally scheduled to go to trial in 2015, but the case got pushed back after his lawyer withdrew when Sorrentino failed to pay him, according to USA Today.
He stayed sober through some tough times, but then ran into problems after he cracked a rib at the gym and a doctor prescribed him painkillers.
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“From there it was just a spiral,” he said. His fall off the wagon sparked some problems with his family and longtime love interest Lauren Pesce.
“Your emotions are blocked,” he said. “So you really ruin relationships with everyone in your life.”
In 2015, Pesce and Sorrentino appeared on Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars and now the celeb is slated to appear on the show’s upcoming Family Edition, where he’ll hash out problems with his older brothers.
In April, Sorrentino and his brother Marc were hit with new tax evasion charges that could net years in prison, if they’re found guilty. A trial is scheduled for 2018.
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Keri Blakinger is a former drug user and current reporter living in Texas. She covers breaking news for the Houston Chronicle and previously worked for the New York Daily News and the Ithaca Times. She has written about drugs and criminal justice for the Washington Post, Salon, Quartz and more. She loves dogs and is not impressed by rodeo food. Find Keri on LinkedIn and Twitter.
