It literally pays off to “gym, tan, repeat” — at least, according to Jersey Shore star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.
“I think my strong suit was my authenticity,” Mike, 43, said on the Monday, January 19, episode of the “Trading Secrets” podcast. “I feel that authenticity is the most powerful vibe that you can emit in any area of business in any industry. How I evaluated reality TV at the time was that there was no larger-than-life personality in reality TV at the time.”
According to Mike, he opted to bring an “amped up” version of himself to the MTV docuseries.
“Everything was based on my life experience, but just turned up a notch,” he said. “Then, once I introduced it to America, it just exploded. Nobody had ever seen characters named The Situation, Snooki [or] JWoww, and the world just fell in love with it.”
Mike was among the OG stars on Jersey Shore when it premiered in 2009, following a group of 20-somethings living together in New Jersey. Years after Jersey Shore went off the air, most of the original cast reunited for a Family Vacation spinoff in 2018.
Keep scrolling for more of Mike’s bombshells about how much he was paid for Jersey Shore:
Big Paydays Revealed
Mike and the rest of the show’s OGs made $25 an hour during the first season, which increased exponentially amid the show’s continued popularity. By season 6, they earned $179,000 for each episode.
“Plus, add in a half a million dollar ratings bonus, as well,” he told podcast host Jason Tartick. “We hit the ratings bonus every year. Jersey Shore [was] the biggest show in the country.”
He continued, “The checks were coming in, they were, like, $675,000 per check. I had never in my life seen checks like that. You’re talking to an ex-stripper, an ex-drug dealer who didn’t have to file his taxes the year before. Then, you start making upwards of $5 million per year with brand deals.”
Mike’s endorsements included Vitamin Water and Reebok, as well as stints on “extra shows” like Dancing With the Stars.
“We were making upwards of $5 million a year for a few years straight,” he estimated, “So at least from ’09 to ’12, it was probably like $20-plus million, probably.”
Mike, however, did not try to leverage his newfound income with investments.
“I didn’t. I was trying to hold on for dear life on the roller-coaster that was Jersey Shore, the brand deals, Super Bowl appearances [and] I was on Jay Leno probably 10-plus times,” he said. “You get paid probably, like, 500 bucks [to do some talk shows]. At that time period, you’re so busy going [to and] from [all these events].”
‘Jersey Shore’ Royalties
According to Mike, he “100 percent” still receives royalty checks whenever Jersey Shore airs in syndication.
“You get them quarterly,” Mike explained. “Probably, every year it amounts to over six figures. It is [like a pension], you get it for the rest of your life.”
Money Can’t Buy Happiness
Despite major Jersey Shore paydays, Mike counts his 10-year sobriety and family as his biggest achievements.
“I wouldn’t have the [addiction] center where I’m helping millions of people now, I wouldn’t have 10 years sober now, which is my superpower,” Mike, who shares three kids with wife Lauren Sorrentino, said. “I have seven years of marriage in a happy, healthy marriage. I have things that money can’t buy, and that’s when you’re rich.”
He concluded, “My sobriety is earned, my body [and] my six-pack are earned, my family, my kids, my wife, my story [are all] earned. That book is best-selling, it’s my legacy, it’s my life. It’s earned.”
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