Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi Got Candid About Her Parents on 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation'
Mar. 10 2023, Updated 11:27 a.m. ET
The women of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation are opening up about family ties. During the March 9 episode, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Angelina Pivarnick, Deena Cortese, and Jenni "JWoww" Farley got candid about adoption, with several of the reality stars sharing their personal experiences with the topic.
We learned that JWoww’s mother was adopted, Deena met her biological sister at age 7, and Angelina’s dad might not be her biological father. Not only that, but Snooki opened up about the circumstances surrounding her adoption as an infant. Read on for more details about Snooki's parents outside of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
Who are Snooki's parents? Helen and Andrew Polizzi adopted their daughter at 6 months old.
In July 2018, Snooki got opened up about her adoption story on her YouTube channel. The Jersey Shore star explained that she has never had a burning desire to learn more about her biological parents, claiming she is more than content with her Italian-American adoptive family.
"I was adopted at 6 months from Santiago, Chile," the 35-year-old explained. "And I was adopted by Helen and Andrew Polizzi. They flew all the way to Chile to come pick me up, and they said right when they saw me, they said I was like, 'Mama, Dada'."
She added that "it was meant to be," and to her, "things just work out that way."
And during the March 9 episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, the reality star shared more information about her adoption when discussing Angelina Pivarnick’s desire to have children.
"My mom couldn’t have babies, so she was trying to adopt kids," Snooki said of her mother, Helen. "She actually had a boy first, and then that fell through. Then it was like, 'Oh, we have a little tiny Chilean in Chile,' and she picked me up in 6 months."
Snooki said her birth parents wanted to give her a better life.
While Snooki always sensed she was adopted, she didn’t start questioning why her biological parents placed her for adoption until she was around 16 or 17 years old. Finally, when she was in her early 20's, she asked her dad about the circumstances surrounding her adoption when he was drunk.
"Basically, my birth parents had other siblings, and they couldn’t afford me," she explained in her 2018 YouTube video. "I can’t even imagine because I have two kids, putting up a child for adoption, to give them a better life."
On Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Snooki further elaborated on her birth mother’s circumstances, saying she had "like 10" other children.
"My mom said they had a lot of kids, and they wanted to give me a better life," Snooki revealed. "I’m so grateful. Can you imagine? I never really talk about being adopted, just because I’m so secure with how I ended up with my adoptive parents."
Snooki also revealed to her cast-mates that her birth name was Claudette before her adoptive parents changed it to Nicole. Though to some fans, the only name that matters is the one that made her a reality TV icon, which is, of course, Snooki.
Watch Jersey Shore: Family Vacation on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on MTV.
