Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is about to start a prison sentence for tax evasion, but before he does, he and wife Lauren Pesce are taking some time to enjoy the desert sun on a last-minute honeymoon. The pair posted vacation snaps showing them lounging poolside and posing in front of scenic mountains, People reports.
Sorrentino goes to prison on January 15 for tax evasion, where he will spend eight months. However, he and his wife just married on November 1 in New Jersey, so they wanted to get a little couple time in before he heads behind bars.
The Jersey Shore star met Pesce when they were both in community college, but they spent a few years apart after the show started filming.
“We went out together for about four years, and then once Jersey Shore started we decided to take a break throughout seasons 1 through 6,” the MTV star said. “Once [the show] was over, we eventually reconnected and have been together ever since, for over four years now.”
The couple got engaged on Valentine’s Day this year, and Sorrentino calls her his better half and best friend. He has said that he wants to complete his sentence so that he can return to her and the rest of his family.
Sorrentino has been sober for the past three years after overcoming a prescription painkiller addiction. He recently opened up to his castmates on Jersey Shore Family Vacation about the lowest point in his struggle for sobriety.
He described to Jenni “JWoww” Farley about a time when he was detoxing and, after four or five days of working with doctors and nurses to get better, he decided that he couldn’t take it anymore. He got in his car and drove off, but then-girlfriend Pesce got in her own car and followed him. Sorrentino says he was speeding down the street when a cop pulled up next to him and he pretended that Pesce was a crazy fan trying to follow him.
“I was trying to get away from her, so there was a bit of speeding going on, a little bit of a car chase,” he said. “Eventually, a cop pulled up beside me and I actually said to the cop that there was a crazy fan following me. He just didn’t entertain it. He was like, ‘Mike, you’re crazy.’”
He says he appreciates her persistence now, and thanks to her, he went home and finished the rehab process. He says that she is the reason he continues to fight for his sobriety.
As part of his sentence, Sorrentino will also serve 500 hours of community service and pay $123,913 in restitution.
