Years after making her reality TV debut on Jersey Shore, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is finally revealing the backstory of her “Snooki” nickname.
On this week’s episode of Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari, the Jersey Shore Family Vacation star was asked about her unique moniker, which, as fans of ‘Jersey Shore’ may remember, initially confused a few of her roomies upon her arrival to the Seaside Heights shore house back in 2009.
Nicole went on to explain to Kristin that after she filled out an application to be on the MTV reality series and eventually auditioned for a spot in the house, producers “really wanted everyone to have a nickname.”
“ … I’m like, ‘Well, [my friends] call me Nick,’ and they were like, ‘No, something else,’” Nicole recalled. “And I’m like, ‘OK, well, one of my really good friends, my only friend Katie, she’s the only person that called me Snooki or Snooks, and it’s from [the movie] Save the Last Dance.’
“ … she was the only person in my life that ever called me Snooks, she never called me Nicole,” she continued. “So I was like, ‘All right, well, my one friend, Katie, calls me Snooki’ and they were like, ‘Done.’”
While Nicole opted to go with “Snooki” as her nickname, the fictional character in the 2002 movie is actually credited as “Snookie” not “Snooki”; the character is also a man. (Fans may remember Snookie for his famous line in the film, “They call me Snook, the c**chie crook.”)
In an interview with Steve-O‘s Wild Ride podcast in 2023, Nicole revealed more details.
“[In “Save The Last Dance”], the DJ’s name was Snookie,” she said. “I made out with a guy for the first time, out of my friends. And she was like, ‘You’re Snookie.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, fine.’ So that’s what I put in the application. And now everyone calls me Snooki.”
During her interview with Kristin this week, though, Nicole stated that she initially tried to keep “Snooki” separate from “Nicole.”
“When I became a mom, I was like, ‘I’m Snooki for, like, the show and that’s the brand and that’s who I am on the show,'” she said. “But me as a mom, I want to be Nicole.’ That’s when I first became a mom. Now I’m like, ‘Whatever, I don’t care.'”
She did admit, though, that “Nicole” and “Snooki” are very different personas.
“Snooki is the girls who’s going out for the mom’s night out and enjoying herself and having fun,” she said. “And then Nicole’s the mom, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, being a mom at home, being a slob.”
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(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
