How Snooki's Kids Reacted to Her Cervical Cancer Diagnosis: ‘Are You Dying?'
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, famous for appearing in the Jersey Shore franchise since 2009, appeared on Good Morning America on April 23. The 38-year-old spoke about her recent cervical cancer diagnosis, explaining how her children handled the news.
"[My kids] keep asking, ‘Are you dying?'" she explained. "And I'm like, ‘No, I'm not dying, I'm just sick. And I need to figure it out and then Mommy will be fine.'"
Polizzi has three children that she shares with Jionni LaValle, who she married in a Great Gatsby-themed wedding in 2014. Lorenzo Dominic is 13, Giovanna Marie is 11, and Angelo James is 6.
Even though she doesn't plan on adding any additional children to her family in the future, the thought of a hysterectomy still worried her. "I hate [the idea of getting a hysterectomy]," she said. "When he first said we have to do this or it's gonna escalate to stage II-I know I'm done with kids, just knowing that you can't, I don't know, it made me feel like I'm not a mom. Even though I'm done."
In 2022, she spoke candidly about her children with People, explaining that she keeps them as far away from her hit show as possible. "Even if they're 30, I'm like, I don't want you watching that. It's weird," she said. "I mean, even now my kids are 10 and 8 and they're on TikTok and they see old clips and stuff. So they're like, 'Mommy, what are you doing here?' And I'm just like, 'Mommy's a paid actress. They made me do that.'"
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Polizzi also revealed that her Jersey Star costars were concerned about her when they found out about her diagnosis. "I consider them my brothers and sisters," she stated. "I feel like us as a cast, we always said we'll continue filming until we're in a nursing home. It's not over for us. … I'm so glad that [Jersey Shore] happened because I can't picture my life as anything else."
Polizzi will be appearing on the final season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation on May 7.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 7:18 AM.