Ronnie Ortiz-Magro made an unexpected appearance Thursday night on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in order to deliver a crucial message:
He has no regrets about stepping away from the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
Nearly two years after walking away (perhaps not completely of his own accord) to focus on his mental health, the 37-year-old sat down and opened up this week about where things stand in his life.
“I feel like I needed a change of scenery and just a change of pace in my life,” Ronnie said on the March 23 episode. “I’ve decided to move from Los Angeles to Miami and open up a new business. It’s a sneaker store called SneakerClinic.”
Ronnie proceeded to emphasize that he isn’t headed to the Sunshine State on his own.
In his confessional, Ronnie revealed he now has full custody of his four-year-old Ariana with ex Jen Harley.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but she keeps me balanced,” he said on air. “She calms my world. I didn’t have the perfect situation with her mother, but she’s turned out perfect. She’s so sweet and so polite.”
Ronnie and his ex welcomed Ariana in April 2018.
The couple then split for good following allegations of physical abuse.
In January 2019, Ronnie was charged seven misdemeanors — including domestic violence, child endangerment, false imprisonment and resisting arrest — after he allegedly pulled a knife on Harley.
Magro-Ortiz pleaded not guilty … but was ordered to stay at least 150 yards away from Harley and his child at the time.
The MTV personality then accepted a plea deal in May 2020 and was ordered to serve 30 days of community labor and pay $20,000 to a woman’s shelter.
For the past couple of years, Ronnie now admits he was “in a bad situation and I almost lost everything that I built.”
“I almost lost my daughter,” he continued. “I was in treatment for eight or nine months, but it helped me grow and it made me a stronger person.”
Ronnie last appeared on the MTV series during a season five episode in August 2022.
In this case, most of his appearance took place while he was meeting with a real estate agent named Cynthia.
Will Ronnie ever be back as a full-time cast member?
“He needs to have relationships with everyone,” Mike Sorrentino previously told TooFab when asked if he had any update on Ron’s status with the group.
“It can’t just be once every couple months. I keep telling him that he needs to keep relationships with the cast and that would remain to be seen and that would be up to him.
“Seeing him in the future is definitely a TBD.
“I hope that he has taken this time off seriously … and I’m sure if he is in better place, there might be an opportunity in the future to see him again.”