Since his 2009 debut on Jersey Shore, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro has earned a reputation as the most drama-prone roommate — a difficult feat among a cast infamous for its beachside antics.
As part of the “RSVP” crew with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny Guadagnino and Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, the Bronx native started his Shore career as a partier, inventing the drink “Ron-Ron Juice” and dancing all night at Karma and Bamboo. He settled down somewhat after he began dating fellow cast member Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, but their off-and-on relationship quickly became one of the show’s biggest sources of drama.
In season 3, things reached a breaking point when Ortiz-Magro destroyed Giancola’s belongings during a blow-out fight and tried to throw a bed outside while she was still on it. By the time the show ended in December 2012, the pair had reconciled after many on-camera splits and were moving in together.
Less than two years later, the couple broke up for good. “Me and Sammi aren’t together anymore,” the reality star told Us Weekly in August 2014. “We just grew our separate ways. She’s still a great person. I love her as a person and I care about her but we went our separate ways. That’s it.”
Ortiz-Magro returned to the spotlight in summer 2017 as a cast member on season 2 of Famously Single, where he met Malika Haqq, but the pair dated for just two months and split before the show even premiered.
Shortly before Jersey Shore: Family Vacation began airing in April 2018, Ortiz-Magro met Jen Harley, who he dated off and on through October 2019. The pair have one daughter, Ariana, also born in April 2018.
As with his previous girlfriends, the MTV personality had a tumultuous relationship with Harley. The pair had several fights on the show related to Ortiz-Magro’s alleged infidelities, as well as off-camera conflicts that involved the authorities.
In January 2019, he entered a one-month treatment program for depression and alcohol addiction. “I decided to go to treatment because I wanted to be a better person, a better father for my daughter,” he told Us in February of that year. “Eventually, all the bad decisions I was making were going to lead me to places that I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be led to the place that I am now — that’s happy, healthy and the best role model for my daughter.”
Things seemed to be going smoothly for Ortiz-Magro for a few months, but in October 2019, he was arrested for domestic violence after an altercation with Harley where their child was present. After pleading not guilty to all charges the following month, he was put on probation for 36 months.
In 2020, the reality star seemed to get back on the right track, reuniting with Ariana and meeting new girlfriend Saffire Matos. However, in April 2021, he was arrested again for domestic violence and later released on bond.
One month later, Ortiz-Magro revealed in an Instagram Story that he would be stepping away from Jersey Shore in order to “seek medical treatment for mental health issues that I’ve ignored for too long.”
Keep scrolling to read more about Ortiz-Magro’s ups and down through the years: