Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Recalls Spending Massive Amounts On Drugs

Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino has reflected on his drug-fueled past amid the release of his tell-all memoir, "Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation - How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison."

According to the "Jersey Shore" star, he had spent half a million dollars on drugs and even engaged in smuggling activities at the peak of his career. The actions eventually led to him reaching a point of personal rock bottom and doing whatever he could to become and remain sober in 2015.

Ahead of his eighth sobriety anniversary, Sorrentino opened up about spending a truckload of money on drugs. During a recent interview, the reality television star explained that even though he already had an addiction problem, the popularity of "Jersey Shore" heightened the difficulties he encountered with addiction.

As it turned, the MTV reality show's six-year success brought him so much money that he had no problem spending a whopping $500,000 to sustain his drug habit. The "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation" expressed:

"I was a young and wild, careless kid, and once you gave kids millions of dollars and Ferraris and Lambos and girls screaming my name and yes-men everywhere, it was hard to turn that off."

Continuing the conversation, the soon-to-be father of three added, "That was my problem for many years — how do you turn off the excess? And I think it wasn't just my problem. Most people in our world or in the celebrity world or in the entertainment world, they have a problem turning off the excess button."

While he had the financial resources to get any drugs of his choice, he had a problem with "smuggling" them on the set of the reality show and even talk shows.

Ultimately, Sorrentino resorted to extreme measures to "smuggle" these drugs, compelled by a miscalculation of his "appetite" and "dependency" on them. Remembering one particular incident, he stated to ET:

"The one in Italy was very, very risky because you're traveling across the country and I smuggled in a couple hundred Roxys in a shoe, in an Altoids case that I disassembled."

He disclosed his elaborate efforts, claiming that he concealed the drugs in a shoe placed among 20 other pairs to "disguise" it. To further dissuade airport security from scrutinizing every bag, he packed numerous bags, knowing they would grow tired after inspecting a few. 

Looking back at his escapades, the "Celebrity Big Brother" contestant has no doubt that his ability to keep up was "insanity." Eventually, he could not hide from his reality anymore. In his words:

"I got to the point in my life I couldn't hide it anymore. I got to the point where I needed to do something different, and the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Once I started to become sober, I really just turned everything over and was doing everything differently."

In case you missed it, Sorrentino announced his plan to release a memoir in July. At the time, he had taken to Instagram to post an image of the book's cover featuring a close-up of his face, which was split into two. In the caption, he wrote:

"I'm so proud and excited to announce my book is coming out this fall! I've been writing my autobiography for over a year now, and it's finally done and ready to share with the world. I wrote about trying heroin, losing the love of my life, finding myself broke and homeless, and how when everything seemed lost, I refused to give up."

To help his sobriety, Sorrentino had joined an Alcoholics Anonymous group, and he showed an appreciation for them in 2021. Per The Blast, he had uploaded a picture of him holding a copy of the book, "Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous," to Instagram, effusively writing under it:

"For those of you who do not know what this book is, it saves the lives of countless individuals each year. Most of you know that I struggled with addiction to pills, but this program can be related to any addiction or substance that you use. It is a program of fellowship and changing perspective and perception."

He added that after he "first got out of treatment," he followed the suggestions given to him, including going to a meeting every day, doing the treatment for nearly one year, and getting a sponsor.

After noting that the tips helped "put me on the path to recovery and helped make the man that stands before you with five years clean and sober," Sorrentino, who was expecting a child then, wrapped up:

"Now more than ever, as I am about to bring a little man into this world, I want to help create a world where people are not ashamed to get the help they need."