Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi Explains Why 'Jersey Shore' Needs to 'Move On' Without Her (Exclusive)

(Ohannes Eisele/Afp Via Getty Images)

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi may be leaving Jersey Shore behind, but she'll always have her "family."

The 32-year-old reality star recently stopped by ET with Jersey Shore Family Vacation castmates Deena Nicole Cortese, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Jenni "JWoww" Farley, where she opened up about her decision to leave the MTV series after over a decade on air.

Recommended Videos



"It's not called Nicole Show; we're all a part of this together," Snooki tells ET's Ash Crossan when asked how the series will move forward without one of their fan-favorites. "I just feel like people move on sometimes. And having three kids and leaving and doing all of it is just really, really hard for me."

Seemingly alluding to all the controversy that's unfolded with Angelina Pivarnick (especially after her November wedding to Chris Larangeira), Snooki said she can't fathom trading in quality time with her kids for "toxic" situations. Snooki shares three children, Lorenzo, 7, Giovanna, 5, and Angelo, 8 months, with husband Jionni LaValle.

"I've said this before but I don't want to leave my kids and go into a toxic environment where there's drama and I'm upset all the time," she confesses. "I just can't do that. So, I just had to make a move."

Sadly, the show will never be the same without Snooki, but fans will still get to see her in the final episodes of season three.

"This whole season that's coming up, Nicole is a part of it, because we filmed it already," JWoww explains. "She made the decision after the season wrapped. Because what the viewers are going to see is, it is really dramatic."

"I'm going to miss my meatball," Deena adds. "There's more to her leaving than just the kids. You'll see."

JWoww told ET that in regard to leaving their kids, she and Deena are "going through the same emotions" as Snooki. JWoww shares two kids, Greyson, 3, and Meilani, 5, with ex-husband Roger Mathews, while Deena and her husband, Christopher Buckner, welcomed their first child, son Christopher John ("CJ"), last January.

"It's like we're going to leave our families, we're going to leave our children and when you go into a workplace where it's just like, 'Ugh,'" JWoww says. "Don't get us wrong, we love our production and we love the majority of our castmates, but then there are times when you're like, 'Why am I leaving my family to just scream, fight and argue all the time?'"

However, all the drama that surrounds this crew -- which also includes Paul "Pauly " DelVecchio, Vinny Guadagnino and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro -- is what has made the show successful, as Mike pointed out during the interview.

"This is reality TV. There's good times and there's bad times and that's what makes it so great," he explains. "We really have an awesome dynamic and that's why we've been around for 10 years."

That being said, is there any way Snooki would reconsider returning as a full-time Shore member in the future?

"No, it's not happening," she exclaims. "There's no chance!"

The only way that's happening, according to Deena, is if Snooki "comes and visits us for dinner," or "makes some visitations."

"Oh, yeah," Snooki replies. "I love my roomies. They know that."

Jersey Shore Family Vacation returns for the continuation of season three on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. In the meantime, watch the video below for more from the cast!

RELATED CONTENT:

'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' Sneak Peek: Mike Sorrentino Makes His Big Return

Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi Says She's Leaving the 'Jersey Shore'

'Jersey Shore' Star Angelina Pivarnick Marries Chris Larangeira