Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino | The Comeback Story: Sobriety, Struggles & Second Chances

Episode Date: May 30, 2024

#741. In this heartfelt episode of Off the Vine, Kaitlyn Bristowe sits down with Mike Sorrentino, famously known as "The Situation" from Jersey Shore. Mike opens up about his childhood, his parents' divorce, and the wild behavior that followed. He shares candid stories about his early ambitions, his college nickname "Mikey Abs," and his journey to the spotlight. Mike delves into his struggles with addiction, revealing the financial and personal toll it took on him, and his path to sobriety. From his rock-bottom moment to his incredible comeback, Mike's story is a testament to resilience and the power of surrounding oneself with positive influences. Don't miss this inspiring conversation about redemption, the challenges of reality TV fame, and Mike's ongoing pursuit of his dreams. You can purchase his new book here: Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation - How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison If you’re LOVING this podcast, please follow and leave a rating and review below! PLUS, FOLLOW OUR PODCAST INSTAGRAM HERE! EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: (1:43) - Mike talks about his quiet childhood and how his behavior changed in high school. (3:43) - Early ambitions and the desire to be in the spotlight. (18:50) - The financial and personal toll of addiction; “I spent upwards of $500,000 on opioids”. (23:49) - The emotional recount of his rock-bottom moment and feeling spared to tell his story. (29:01) - Mike's challenge of staying sober during the reboot of Jersey Shore. Thank you to our Sponsors! Check out these deals!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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please contact Conix Ontario at 1866-531-2600 to speak to a advisor free of charge but mGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with i gaming ontario i'm katelym bristow your session is now starting everybody welcome to off the vine podcast i'm your host katelym bristow today uh we've got mike a.k.a. the situation, aka what does he now call himself Big Sitch Daddy, or the Big Daddy Sitch? I don't know. It's amazing. I knew he had been in recovery. He's nine years sober. We talked all about his journey to get there. His rock bottoms in the pivotal moments in his life of when he knew he needed help. A little bit about his time in jail. His wife, who was his college sweetheart and how she stood by his side. His new book that's called Reality Check. And it was just actually a really enjoyable, of course, entertaining conversation. Writing a book, is no joke. It wasn't, you know, and I don't half-ass anything in life. So I put my all into, you know, every single day that turned into weeks, that turned into months, into years. And then, you know, we have this finished product, which is pretty much a five-star book. My mind switches every month.

So then I'm like, what if I wrote something? And then two years later, I'm like, no. Oh, yeah. Well, you know, being in reality TV for so long, you always have to recount how you felt months ago, years ago, in certain flashbacks and certain things. So all of that experience have prepared me to write this kick-ass book. Yeah. That's true. I feel like, like, even on Bachelor and Bachelorette, they would make us, like, say it was week 10. Yeah. I'd have to go back to night one, put on the same dress, do my hair the same, go back, put myself back in that moment. And usually speak in present tense if you're doing an interview as well. Yes, exactly. I know you'd get it. I want to know, like, going backwards quite a bit. Like, what were you like as a kid? I feel like,

Do we know this about you? I feel like, do you have you ever? No, I really don't. That's, you know, very new. But as a kid, are we talking about teenage? Are we talking about young? Young, like what if your parents were going to describe you as a young child, what would they say you were like?

They would say that I was quiet, very sweet until I maybe hit high school. I was the same way. I was so quiet. I was so shy. I was nervous to talk to anybody. and then high school hit, and I was like a different beast. I was always, you know, very sweet. My mom describes in my book, I was, you know, the sweetest little boy, very nice, almost

like angelic-like. And then once I got to high school, that's when I started to sort of blossom and become a people person. I became a class clown. Yeah. And things started to go in that direction. Like, where do you think that stems from, though? Because for me personally, it was, I did the exact same thing. I became the class clown.

I was like a big personality. I started getting more comfortable with who I was. I was. I liked the reaction I was getting from people when I made them laugh. And I think it's because my parents are going through a divorce. And I was like, you know what? That does make sense. I mean, probably for me, I made my parents to get divorced around 19. And that could explain sort of some of those years after that, which I became even wilder and became a drug dealer. But in my earlier years as a young boy. I think being the third child, and I think that's where it came from. Being the, being the third boy in the family, you're always, you know, you're the third. So you need to sort of speak up and

not necessarily be loud, but make yourself be noticed. But you want your voice to be heard. Yeah. You wanted your voice to be heard. That's so interesting. And what age was it when you started doing television? 26 about, 26. Which is wild too. So you got into like this kind of wild lifestyle and then you're put on a TV show. Yes, I always wanted to be in the spotlight or on TV. I actually wanted to be in movies. Did you really? Yes.

In college, my abs were so ripped up that people were just amazed upon, I'll be honest, my presence, I'm not in the plan. No, I believe you. And there's a reason that you are on television. It's because of, yeah. And my nickname in college was Mikey Abbs, where when people or my friends wanted to get attention at clubs, they'd be like, Mike, come on over here. And I'm like, show them.

I'm like, okay. I lift up my shirt and show them my abs. And people were just, you know, mesmerized? Mesmerized that they were so ripped up. They looked like implants as a young man. So, yeah. And so I started to maybe around 25, 26. That's your signature booth.

Yeah, 25, 26. I started to send in photos to New York City modeling agencies and underwear to see if I had what it took around that time. And you did. Yes. As soon as I sent the photos in, I was immediately signed, like, within three days, which was a sign to me that I was on the right path. Yeah. You know, my father gave me an ultimatum at the time.

He was like, because he found drugs in the house, and I was a drug dealer. And he said, I'm kicking you out. He said, you know, Uncle Sam's going to have to straighten you out. He said, or you can go to the Navy. And he said, I'd give you two weeks. So, I'm like, so I went down to the Navy. recruiting center, and I took the ASVAPs. And that is sort of like an aptitude test. I got a 67. So, and then they were about to ship me off to the Navy, probably in like a week or two, I had to

sign the forms. And then I remember going home and like, okay, I'm about to get kicked out or I have to go to the Navy. What am I going to do? And I was around 26. And I'm like, oh, man, I'm like, you know what? Everybody over the past couple years has said how ripped up my abs. They were so ripped up. They're like, you should have done something with that, meaning like almost like a past tense. I'm still a young man. I'm like 25, 26 years old. So that's when I gathered up enough strength to send those photos into New York City. I was immediately signed three days later. And then I told my dad, I'm like, I guess I'm couch surfing because it was a sign to me that, you know, I was on the right direction. So I started, you know, underwear modeling at that time

for a couple months, and I was, like, sleeping on friends' couches. I love that. How did you get ripped? Why were your abs so ripped up? I think it was just genetically. I was just really into sports, and I was always very active. I was a very skinny kid. And I knew how to flex my abs. I knew how to breathe. I knew the muscle control, the techniques, and I used to practice all the time. So when people asked to see that my abs, I knew how to flex them, show them, and breathe correctly, isometrically, to make sure, like, oh my God, people like, what is that, you know? I love that.

Yeah, that's how pretty much I got my start. And then a couple months of underwear modeling, I wasn't getting booked because the male photographers kept asking me to go on a date. Stop. And I was like, is this how the business is? They kept, you know, can we take it to our Hampton's house? Can we take you here? Can we take you on vacation?

And I'm like, oh, my God, the stories are true. Yeah. The stories are true. You know what I mean? Oh, my God. What am I going to do? You know, I don't want to get down on my knees. That's not happening.

Well, a lot of people were. Yeah, a lot of people do. So eventually I didn't succumb to the pressure. And I fell into sort of a flyer that said the hottest guidos and guidates in the tri-state area report to Atlantic City, New Jersey, Harris Club on this weekend. And that's where I reported to. No way. Did you have any idea it was going to be? you what it was. Oh, definitely not. I was excited that I sort of, you know, came to this impasse.

You know what I mean? Like, I wasn't getting booked. And I was like, what's going on? Everyone is amazed by my abs. What's going on? I'm not sleeping with the photographers. Is that why I'm not getting a gig? Right. And then maybe two months later, you know, I had this, this audition for at Harris. Yeah. That's, were you a little bit jaded going in though? Are you like, okay, these producers going to ask me on dates? Is it going to be? Or was it a complete different? experience for you. I had a I had a lot of confidence because I knew that as soon as I like unbuttoned my shirt, people were like taken back. I wish I had that confidence. Like like so I didn't need airbrushing. And so I knew like there was something about me. There was an it factor. So when I went to

this audition at Harris and I walked into that audition and there was like the hottest guidos and Guitats in the tri-state area. Everyone was tan. Everybody was good-looking. I felt I was a cut above the rest. I love that. I honestly, I had delusional, I'm not saying you were delusional. I had delusional confidence when I was auditioning for The Bachelor.

And then that show cut me down. Yeah. Like, then I'm like, oh, I was talking about how you surround yourself with people who love you your whole life, and then you go on a reality show and you realize people hate you for just being who you are. Yeah. It's like a bizarre transition. So have you kept the confidence?

Oh, I definitely have kept the confidence. I mean, listen, we've turned 15 minutes into 50 minutes of fame into 15 years. But at the time, I just knew I had something because, like I said, when I had unbuttoned my shirt, like, girls would be drawn to me and guys would be like, oh, my God. Like, they would be like taken back. So I knew that factor alone would take me somewhere. And it did. Yeah, Jersey Shore ended up being like the biggest reality TV show ever made. Like, still to the state, probably the biggest one, like next to the hills.

I mean, Jersey Shore has the biggest ratings ever on MTV at $8.9 million, which is almost like Game of Thrones numbers. That was season number four where me and Ronnie fought in Italy. Those were the – and we still have the record to this day. Yes, we still have the record to this day. And now – I mean, listen, last week Jersey Shore Famine Vacation was on, which is the new series. Yes. We were the number one show on cable last week. It's crazy how much you stick with people, like they feel like they grew up with you.

Yeah. And they quoted you and they wanted to be you. And then now they're in the same like age group and starting family's grown. So they're like, okay. It's like they grew up with you. I feel like this kind of bachelor world too. Yeah. Yeah. The fans have grown up with you. Yeah. They're invested with you. And once everybody, you know, knows your name and you become a household name. You know, it's almost like your life and your show is their comfort. Yeah. They put it on when they're when they're, you know, cleaning their kitchen or sitting down with their kids. And it's super flattering for sure. I was just out. I go once a year. to Broadway in Nashville. It's too crazy for me, but I went the other day with Kristen Cavaleri and a bunch of girls from Laguna Beach. And it had been, I don't know how many years since they were on. What? Like, yeah, like Laguna is like 14 years maybe. Yeah. And the girls like, some of the girls, like haven't really done anything since and some of them have, but people recognize them. That's crazy. Like crazy. And it's just. It was like the golden age of reality TV. Yeah. When we started in the hills and Laguna Beach and then Jersey Shore was after them. I mean, a little bit before us was Jackass and Osbournes.

But those shows garnered millions and millions and millions of viewers. And you just don't see that today. You what? Is it just social media or you can stream or like what is it that people aren't? I think things you have so many choices these days. There's so many different streaming choices. Yeah. You know, maybe that's why we haven't shifted to streaming just yet.

We have like a footholding cable where we're like usually number one every single week. But I would love to see it. I mean, listen, the Kardashians, they moved over from E to. Hulu, so, you know, that's, that could be an example. I always wonder that with Bachelor franchise, too, how they're not in streaming yet. But it's, it feels like, I'm like, well, cable feels like a dying breed, but then people are still stuck in their ways with keeping cable and watching cable TV. Yes.

I mean, it's a very weird time right now. Yeah. With streaming, with cable. I mean, a lot of industries are not doing well. So if you're like, you know, excelling in a down market, I mean, you're, you know, that the results speak for themselves, you know? Yeah. I also, I really appreciate how honest and open you are about certain things.

Yeah. Even just you saying, you know, you're into drugs. Like, how did you get, was it just like your friend group that you were hanging out with? Or what, what made you get into that? You know what? I, over time, I have realized that authenticity is in, is an unmatched vibe. Yes. Okay.

And I think that's what people, that's why people have been drawn to the situation. When it came to drugs, I'll be honest, I was just a young man experimenting, you know, and like most people, you know, when you're in your 20s, you go to the bar, you know, you're drinking, you're having fun, you know, around that college time, you're experimenting. I was just to the extreme. Yeah. You know what I mean? I pushed everything to the envelope, you know? Right. Which is why you're good at interviews, which is why you're good at, like, you know, you don't do things like you see.

said half ass. So when it's probably part of that personality. Yes. It's all or nothing. And that's how I'm finally now nine years clean and sober because I realized it was all or nothing. Yes. And I put all hands on deck in 2015 once I had hit rock bottom. And I'm like, you know what? Like most people fail from recovery. Most people, they actually tragically pass. I know best friends and family members that have in order for me to have an amazing comeback i need to really put all hands on deck never give up and keep moving forward and in order to have a shot at in a comeback and here we are nine years later i'm really proud of you oh thank you that's my dad is uh 32 years sober yeah yeah he i've like i attend his a birthdays it's just it's amazing what it does for a person is do you do a or i know it's

supposed to be anonymous. Yes, yes, yes. I do it differently because I'm on TV. I do more service work. Yeah. You know, I have done the 90 meetings and 90 days. And if you read my book, I did everything to the letter, the sponsor, the recovery network. And I remain sober year after year. And then eventually, once I had rebuilt my life back and I had this beautiful foundation and family, that's when I started to give back. And I speak at colleges and high schools and events around the country, you know, even on Jersey Shore, I display a very positive message. I celebrate my sober versaries every year on social media. If you see my page, it's, you know, all the time positive and I'm promoting God and family the whole time. So listen, if the situation can do it, so can you,

right? I love that. Yeah. Well, and I was wondering, like, if you were still using, do you think you would be here? Oh, hell no. Yeah. No way because my personality was very extreme. You know, It still is to this day where I got to keep an eye out on the situation, pretty much, that's inside of me. Yeah. You know, and I've learned through anger management, I've learned through therapy, I've learned from trial and error over, you know, many, many years. What was, what is the secret sauce or the secret blueprint for my success? And what that is, is the easiest way for me to explain it is, is that you have a good wolf and a bad wolf inside of you. The wolf that you feed wins.

And I always feed the good wolf. Like I say it's a fear monster and a love monster. Yeah. And I choose which one I want to feed similar thought process. And it is just even that little small micro shift in your brain to think about what monster you want to feed has changed my like whole mindset. Yeah. I mean, listen, in life, you're going to come across, you know, certain situations.

where you can either think of a million ways it's going to work or a million ways that it's not going to work. I choose to be the million ways that it's going to work. See, I don't and I'm working on that. I'm like doomsday intrusive thoughts. I mean, I'm definitely probably a conspiracy theorist, but that's probably for another podcast. But my wife is like, you're like an alien. She's like, you're 99% positive all the time. I never let the bad days get me. You know, I've turned my Ls into lessons. And I, A lot of times I tell people, I say, you want to know why addicts believe in God, because they've met the devil. Yeah.

So I've been through so many situations in life. I've been to prison. I have attained my dreams, millions of dollars, and then I've lost them. Let them slip through my fingers because of my own decision, indecision, and substance abuse, and then fought my way back to the top of the mountains. So I've learned a lot in all of those lessons and events. What was the moment for you that you knew you needed help? I mean, there was definitely a couple moments between, you know, or a lot of moments from 2010 to 2015. There was a rock bottom moment in 2015 that I had tried heroin for the first time.

And that was something I said I would never do. Yeah. Because I was my situation. I was a multimillionaire. I was a household name. Everybody knows me. I don't need to do that, you know? And then sure enough, one day I found myself at the crossroads with somebody through a bundle of heroin on my lap.

Because it's probably like you've tried everything at that point. And it's, was it curiosity or was it? It was more so in the moment that this had happened in 2015, I had spent about $1 million on lawyers to defend a case, the United States versus Mike the situation. Okay. my accountants had informed me. They sat me down and they said, Mike, we went through your finances and it looks like you've spent upwards of 500,000 to 600,000 on oxycodone and cocaine. Okay?

At this particular point, I was about three months behind my rent and I was probably looking at eviction. I was really depressed at the time. Self-doubt was through the roof. So I called up one of my buddies and I was like, this was a child. friend. We drove to school together. I said, listen, man, can we go cop some prescription pills? He's like, yeah, sure. He goes, I'll come to your house, we'll drive, and it'll be really quick. No big deal. I'm like, all right, no problem. He comes to my house, and he drives. We take my white

corvette, and he goes, we're going to Newark. And I was like, bro, I can't go to Newark, man. I'm like, Mike, the situation in Newark, I'm like a big sign that says, come arrest me. Everybody knows my face. I can't go anywhere. He goes, you stay in the car and I'll go in and don't worry about it. I'm like, okay. I reluctantly said, okay, although this was really almost like my idea. So we get down to Newark and he goes in these apartment complexes for a few hours. There was actually a few hours. I was literally profusely sweating in my car because I'm hearing sirens. You're doing the wrong thing. You know it's a bad idea. Your girlfriend, who is now my wife, is texting me. You know I'm up to no good. and finally he comes back to the car he says we're good we jump back on the new jersey turnpike i'm like okay the time that was a couple hours wasn't uh it wasn't wasted okay and also i'm not gonna get sick which means if um if anybody knows anything about opiates if you take them your body will get dependent on them yeah and then you start to not feel good almost like uh plu like symptoms so i'm like okay i'm not going to get sick so we're on the new jersey turnpike and he throws on

my lap almost like a bundle. It was like a, you know, with rubber bands. I've never seen it before. And it was this yellowy substance. And I'm like, dude, what are you doing? I thought we were getting, you know, raucocets. Rock cassettes were at the time, or anyone that doesn't know what a rocket is, it is a 30 milligram oxycodone. So it's almost like three percocet tens put together. Yeah. So that's what a rocket set is. And so now we didn't get my drug of choice. So I'm worried. I'm like, Oh, man. But in my hand is this bundle of heroin. And I'm like, what am I doing? I told myself, I would never do this. And you always heard stories of people that tried heroin that never came back. And maybe even tragically passed from the first time. They even tried it. So I was like, oh, my God, what am I doing? My life is on the line right now. We get to my house and I'm fighting with my girlfriend at the time. So I tell her, I'm like, listen, I just want to go to my room. I want to be alone. I'm in a bad moon. I go up to my room. I lock the door. Now I'm face to face pretty much with the devil, okay, this bundle of heroin. And I unwrap it.

I'm like, you know what? If I just try a little bit, it's not a big deal. I have a very high tolerance from my opiate usage. I'm like, I'm going to be all right. I'm not going to die, you know. So I take a little key bump up. I'm like, if I try a little key bump, I should be okay. So I try the first key bump.

And I'm like, oh, my God, I really didn't like it. I kind of felt a little dirty at the time. But I'm like, you know what? On my other shoulder was like a little devil and was like, why don't you try a little bit more? Why don't you, you know, maybe that will make you feel a little better. So I go in to try the second key bump and my phone rings. And it says mom on it. And I'm like, this is crazy.

This is really too crazy. It says mom on it on my left hand. On my right hand, I have heroin, which is the devil. It was very hard for me to reconcile my mom. mom on one hand and the devil on the other. So I pick up and I'm like, Mom, what's up? And she's like, are you okay? And I'm like, am I okay?

Like, what do you mean? Am I okay? So I'm like, she's like, I have a bad feeling and then no joke. I'll never forget this. A lot of times I almost cry when I tell the story because it's so real. I literally looked up at the ceiling because I'm like, are there cameras in my ceiling right now because this is too weird? And at that particular point, my eyes and my ears were open just a little bit.

to hear the message that I think God was sending down to not go through with this. And so at that particular point, I told my mom, everything's okay. I hung up. As I was hanging up on the door was my then-girlfriend, who's now my wife, was banging at the door uncontrollably, almost like another angel. And at that particular point, I was like, this is too much. You know, I flushed the heroin down the toilet. I opened the door. I had a tear coming down my eye, and I embraced my then-girlfriend, who's now my wife.

and I said, I need help. I went to treatment next day. I'm going to cry. I know. I just cry every time I tell the story. It's so, it's like, I feel like God had spared my life so that I'm here nine years later with my book to help other people. Well, you have such a platform and a voice.

And like it's, I always get full body chills when I hear people's recovery stories. Yeah. Because usually it does involve like a godlike moment that takes over your body. And like a woman's intuition is already insane, but a mother's intuition. It was both. And for that to all come together and so crazy. And to have somebody like your now wife, who was your girlfriend at the time, stand by, yeah. She was banging at the door.

And then, and again, she didn't know what I was doing on the opposite side of the door. Right. You know what I'm saying? She just knew that I told her I wanted to be alone. And that stuff came with that. Right. So, so when I had, we had embraced, we had kissed, I had a tear coming down. I then called my pretrial officer because the government was overlooked.

me at the time so that I called them. And I actually told the government at the time, I'm like, listen, I got a problem. And I need to go to rehab. And then once obviously I went to rehab, they tested me. And I had, you know, heroin in my system and other things. And obviously, fast forward to today, which I'm, you know, almost nine years clean and sober in December. Congratulations. And thank you. And thank you for also, like, being open. And it feels like at this point, and maybe this is a question, are you comfortable with your story now? Oh, my God. I think my story's amazing. Yeah. I love my story. My story is like, It's like a Martin Scorsese film and all of these these crazy stories that are in the book

and then I'm telling you right now. Those, when I was at my worst, those were the test in the testimony. Yeah. Okay. That's when you look at the end of my book and you're like, oh my God, he has a beautiful family. He's got three babies. You know, I married my college sweetheart.

You know, I'm living my dreams and teaching others to do the same right now. So it's just like it's a really good story. I wonder to if like I always hope that it can certain people's stories can reach an audience even outside of mine. Yeah. And I don't know who of my listeners struggles with addiction, but I'm sure you get asked this a lot. But what advice do you give people if they're like in that place in their life or they're like, you know? Oh yeah. I would say don't give up on yourself.

You know, if Mike the situation can do it, so can you. Yeah. You know, that's really the short of it, you know. But it's just like you have to understand that we're all human and we all make mistakes. Okay. It's okay to raise your hand and say, I need help. Yeah. You know, and I did it a number of times in my life. I raised my hand. I got the professional help and I followed what the professionals said as well as the people that came for me that have the clean time that are doing it right. Those are the people that you follow. Yeah. You know, like you said, your dad, right? How many years we got? 32. Oh my God. Can I scream from the rooftops? That is amazing. Anytime I see someone that tells me that they are in recovery, whether they have a month or, you know, a couple months, a couple years, they always get, I always get a big hug for me. Because I know how hard it is. Yeah. I mean, especially like you said, nobody could ever imagine what that feels like unless you've been through it. So like I wouldn't, like nobody would

know how sick you get so that you want that hit of that next thing so that you don't get sick and then it just spiraled. Yes. Yeah. A lot of the times you just can't see in front of your face. Yeah. It's like, you know, there's so much fog in front of your face. And then there's someone that has clean time more professional and they're sort of like the lighthouse trying to let you know hey there's there's help over here and we can show you the way so you were sober when you had to do jail time yes I was probably about three years clean and sober at the time wow and so did that help you keep a positive mindset while you were in there and people ask me all the time getting clean and and recovery was so much harder than prison but you know what I mean so once I got to

going to prison, it was like I had already faced the devil. Yeah. And now I had had found an amazing program that was working for me. And I found like that secret sauce, which was being my best self one day at a time. And at the end of the day, I put my head on my pillow and let God, let go and let God handle the rest. Yeah. Yeah. That's certain things that you say, I'm like, my dad says that to you.

I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's so beautiful. And my dad always says, like, it's so unfortunate. that people have to have a problem to do AA or to get, you know, that mindset because it changes your life. It does. I apply sort of the principles from AA and A and A in every aspect of my life.

Yeah. You know what I mean? It's because early on when I was a younger man in my 20s experimenting, I didn't realize that I had an obsessive personality and I didn't have the education on addiction on what you need to recover. And what you need to recover is you need to address. physically, mentally, and spiritual. You need to address all three. You can't just detox yourself and be like, I'm peaches. Totally. It doesn't work like that.

Yeah. Yeah, it's a lot deeper than that. And many, like, nine years, I wonder what, like, I feel like nine years has that flown by or has, are you like? Around, around two, two years, the reboot for Jersey Shore came around. And I had to challenge myself to go back into bars and clubs. and places that people tell you to refrain from. And I'm like, yeah.

And I'm like, when they wrote the AA and the NA book, there was no such thing as a reality star at the time. So I'm like, I got to kind of like break the mold here. And I have to sort of do this because this is what I want to do for a living. I want to continue to go for my dreams. I want to continue to make TV shows. And so I'm like, okay, I got to do this. So I started to go into, you know, the bars and clubs.

around two to three years clean and sober and I'm like, you know what, I'm staying in my own lane and running my own race. I'm getting dyed sodas. I'm getting red bulls and I'm getting chicken tendies and we live in. So, you know what I'm saying? So that's like when that's when like a new persona came and I'm like, okay, I'm now Big Daddy Sitch. You know what I'm saying? Because I took what worked with the situation and in a different time in my life, now I'm like Big Daddy Sitch. You know what I'm saying? Big Daddy Sitch is sober. I'm married. I'm, you know, I love my foods. I'm not this, you know, I don't want to say this villain that I used to be, but

there is that, I don't know if it's like. It's almost like an internal villain that wasn't actually you. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Good observation. Yeah. That's, yeah.

I feel like people could see that too. And now they just like, I feel like feel so connected to see you sober and still living your best life, even better, obviously. Yeah. It's definitely a good story. I remember when I wrote this book, people like, I've been watching. watching you on TV for 15 years. I know everything about you. I don't need to read your book. I'm like, everything that is in that book was actually never said and never told before.

That's why, yeah, that's why you get to write this book. It's like you're, you get to, you know, reality TV, you get to be a character. But in a book, you get to share all different sides of you. You're not one dimensional anymore. Give the details that people didn't know. Yeah, exactly. if people read the book, what are they going to learn about you? Well, everyone loves a good comeback story. Yes. So I was a very big fan of the Wolf of Wall Street movie. And when I was writing this book, I'm like, I feel that my story is better.

Yeah. And finally, when I finished writing it and we started getting reviews and stars and things like that, it's like my masterpiece. It's my legacy, and I'm so proud of it. It's a page turner. If you pick this book, I guarantee, if you pick this book up, I guarantee you probably won't be able to put it down. Well, and I also bet it's for everybody. Like, I don't think, you know, like, even if somebody lived under a rock and didn't know who you were, I bet they would take something from the book. 100%. It's a, it's a comeback story, but then also there's a love story woven in between.

And then, like I said, you know, it's got a lot of good stuff and it's got a lot of good tea in there. Yeah. Oh, good. Oh, you got a little bit of everything in there. And, yeah, so let's talk about your wife. Does she ever talk about her journey as to standing by everything that you had gone through and seeing you come out the other side? Like, what is her perspective on who you are now? I mean, she is so proud of her husband now. Yeah. You know, we've been married for almost six years now.

We have three beautiful children. She is definitely the main reason I am here today. She has saved my life many times. When you read that book, she did not quit. Unfortunately, her younger brother had tragically passed because of the disease of addiction. No. So, you know, at 25. So around the time we were dating, I'm sure in her mind frame, she was thinking, I'm not going to, this is not going to happen twice on my watch.

Yep. And sure enough, she just told that story on an episode of Jersey Shore Family Vacation a couple weeks ago. And it was such a touching, gripping story. It really was really good. I'm going to go watch that one now. Yeah, it's a good one, yeah. So where do people watch it after it's already come out? You can, I know you can get episodes on iTunes.

I know you can get episodes on Amazon and Philo. Obviously, it's on cable on MTV. How has parenthood impacted your relationship? Because, I mean, my wife is, she's a super mom. She is. She's doing three babies under three. What? Three under three.

Under three? Three under three. Yeah, we have. Bless you guys. Yes, we have, Romeo is about to be three this month. Mia Bella is, I think, 13 months about. Wow. And then the youngest Luna Lucia is, she's like six weeks.

Congratulations. So we have three under three. It's a very happy baby circus in our home. Oh, I love that. Three hundred three. I have so much respect. My wife is, she is killing it. I'm so proud of her.

She's really stepped into that role as being an amazing mother. an amazing wife. And again, she's a saint. Yeah. So I got to like probably lobby for a holiday for her or something. You know, I'm serious. She saved my life. We started a family together.

Like she inspired me when I was in college. She inspired me in college when we broke up and she started to go for her dreams into the fashion world. Yeah. And she's the reason why I really started to try to go out for TV and modeling because I'm like, I wanted to, I didn't want her to like. like get away, you know what I mean? I wanted to show her like, hey, I can be someone too, you know?

Oh, that's, wait, I love a good romantic story. Like my dream in another lifetime is to marry my high school sweetheart and like, like, and my parents to get back together. Like, yes, yeah, no, we have, that's what I'm saying. I do have that good story. I ended up marrying my college sweetheart. We were together for four years in college. We broke up during my Jersey Shore years.

She didn't want to be with a guy on an unnamed reality show on, on the other end of the phone while her boyfriend's telling her what's happening in the house. She was 100% correct. Yeah. And then we eventually reconnected in about 2013. Yeah. And I was in deep and active addiction at the time. Yeah. And when she saw me, she loved me, but she knew I needed help. Yeah. And she didn't quit on me. And eventually in 2015, I went into recovery. And now nine years later, I'm sober nine years. I got three babies. I've been married for six years. And we're killing it right now. We're thriving. You are. It sounds like she also, like, she has the ability and the patients to know that you needed help, but you needed to know you needed help.

You know, like she let you come to that conclusion. Yeah. I mean, listen, she was in car chases with me when I would go through detox, right? And after about three days of detox, if you know anything about that, you go through some... Narnly shit. Yeah, you go through sort of some excruciating pain. And you start to self-doubt starts to go through the roof. And you're like, maybe I shouldn't go through with this.

And one time I had that feeling, maybe I'm not going to go through with this. And I tried to escape my detox in a Lamborghini. And my then-girlfriend, who's now my wife, jumped in an M-5 to chase me because she thought I was going to the drug dealer's house, which I was. And eventually we got pulled over. And the cop goes to me, Mike, what are you doing? I go, there's a crazy. fan behind me.

No. There's a crazy fan behind me and he looks at me. He goes, Mike, I just ran the plates at your car. I go, yeah, you got me off. So I'm getting to a fight with my girl. All right, I'm going to go home. And you see, like, God's been on my side the whole time. Yeah.

You know, it's so unbelievable. So now, you know, years later, I'm at this podcast tomorrow. I'm going to celebrate, like, opening up my own treatment center. Shut up. Tomorrow, yeah. Tomorrow, yeah. We're not cutting the ribbon, but tomorrow's the day. that we're celebrating the going down this journey of Mike, the situation opening up his

treatment center. Well, congratulations. I feel like I just like want to congratulate you on so many things. Like you're just doing so many big, amazing, like any things. You know what? I just was able to redirect that nervous energy as a young man into only positive, like we said before. You know, and now that the book is done, the next chapter for me would be, you know,

to continue to help millions of people, you know, continue to share my story of experience. and strength of hope and now open up centers. Yeah. And really get it out there. Yeah. Was it hard to write at any point to put yourself back into these situations? It was. Yeah.

It was. Every single chapter was tough, you know, because it was also a very difficult journey writing about being a young man because I was single at the time. Right. And now I'm describing events as a single man. And now, first and foremost, I'm a sober dad. Yeah. I'm a devoted husband.

But so I had to have a talk with my wife to be like, listen, I'm going to really walk the fine line here and just tell the truth, but also be respectful. Yeah. And so I did that as well, but every chapter was difficult, especially probably one of the last chapters when I had to speak about my son being in the NICU, which was a very, very tough experience. You think that when you have a child, you have the child and you go home. Right.

You know, but it doesn't happen like that every time. I had, you know, my firstborn, he was in the NICU for two weeks and my wife was just, she was distraught, you know, she was going home without her baby. and had to leave the baby at the hospital for two weeks. And every single day I had to go back to the hospital, speak to the doctors, strategize what we were doing, accept or reject some of their plans. And it was definitely one of the toughest times in my life. And I always tell people, and I describe in the book that not my faith was put to the test

because my faith was so strong in my God above is how I survived all that. And as I say, I was just swinging the sword. We made it out to the other side. Now he's, you know, he's three years old, you know, where he's going to be having a birthday soon. Before I got here, he gave me a big kiss. Oh, Romeo. And so it was adorable.

What a honey. That's so cute. So there's just everything is in the book. Where can people find the book? Are you doing a book tour? Yes. You know, we've done sold out book tour so far. We've done New Jersey, New York, Brooklyn, Staten Island.

We're doing Connecticut, Massachusetts. and everyone has been, it's been crazy. They show up to the book signings with Funfetti Cake, chicken tannies, diet soda, it's unbelievable. It's like so, so cool. It really is. It really is. But what's most amazing about it is the families, the mothers and the brothers and the sisters

that have been touched by addiction that come to my signings. They have the story and they give me a hug. And I'll be honest with you. I almost tear up every single time. It has been so amazing. You can get the book wherever the book is sold. Yeah. And it's on Amazon as well.

And they're even calling my team right now about the rights, which means I might make this bad boy into a movie. I was going to say that. They should. Yeah. Because you think about how big that movie was Wolf of Wall Street. And if your story's better, you've got to do something. It's definitely better. Yeah.

Listen, they've been, they called up and they said we're going to be sending that offer soon. But at the end of the day, we'll see when it happens. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. And the book just came out. It's been out a couple months. So it's kind of early.

Yeah. And I'm so excited and grateful that people want to make this into a movie already. Yeah. And where can, I know they can find the book anywhere, but your tour dates. Do you have like a website? Yeah. Oh, yeah. You can go to my Instagram.

Yeah. You know, I would say Twitter, but it's now X. Yes. You know. And we have the tour up and also places or links to buy the book as well. This is my last question and it just came to me because I'm actually genuinely curious. What is a misconception about what? what people think about jail?

I think prison. Prison. Is it different? Yeah. Stop. Jail is different than prison? I think so. I think jail is like state.

Oh. And then prison is federal. Oh. Yes. I didn't know that. I think so, yeah. Okay. Okay.

I think so. So I think that for me, when I went to prison, your insecurities can get the best of you. You know, you watch these. You're there with your thoughts. Yeah. You know, yeah. You can listen.

You can watch those movies and what happens in prison. Like, oh my God. Oh, my. God, it's about to be a situation, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. But once I got there, you know, it's different. You know what I mean? My insecurities were put to rest.

As soon as I got to prison, the Italians and Russians were waiting for me with like a welcome bag. And I was well received in prison. I think they realized that I was a man trying to turn over a new leaf. And that's very admirable. And you can respect that. So I was looked out in prison. And it was very uncomfortable. Yeah.

The bed's uncomfortable. The food's not good. But you've got to make the best of your situation. You know what I'm saying? And that's what I did. You know, I lost the weight. I worked out. I stayed busy.

I stayed positive. I turned my else into lessons. And I let the fires of life turn me into a better man. God, I feel like I'm just inspired just talking to you the last hour. Oh, man. It was an amazing podcast and very grateful that you invited me on. Well, congratulations on everything. And good luck with all the centers.

and everything that you're doing. And I can't wait to read the book. I'm Caitlin Bristow. Your session is now ending. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind a rating in review.