After Jersey Shore star Deena Cortese shared a photo in bed with her sons, she clapped back to critics about her cosleeping arrangements.
“Please leave the cosleeping comments to yourself,” Cortese, 37, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, October, 3. “They are 3 and 5, and yes I know and they know we can transition but we love the cuddle time.”
She continued, “Time goes by so quick [sic], let me cuddle my babies while they still think I’m cool 😂.”
Cortese shares sons Christopher, 5, and Cameron, 3, with her husband of seven years, Chris Buckner.
After Cortese’s message, her MTV costar Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi agreed with the sleeping arrangement.
“Cosleeping for life! I miss my 12- and 10-year-old wanting to cuddle with me,” Polizzi, 32, wrote via Instagram comment. “Screw everybody else.”
Polizzi shares sons Lorenzo, 12, and Angelo, 5, as well as daughter Giovanna, 10, with husband of 10 years Jiovanni LaValle.
While both Polizzi and Cortese have been staples on Jersey Shore and its current Family Vacation spinoff, their respective little ones are not aware of the reality TV show that made them famous.
“[My eldest two] kids think I’m an actress,” Polizzi exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2021. “I tell them that it’s not real. I’m just acting, like, I’m playing a role, that’s what they think. … I don’t think they’re ready for that yet. So as of right now, I am an actress.”
Polizzi explained that she and LaValle, 37, want their kids to have “normal” upbringings before explaining the history of Jersey Shore.
“They’ll kind of get it [then],” Polizzi added at the time. “Like, ‘Listen, Mommy had some crazy years before she was a mommy. She let loose. So whatever you see on TV back then, just do the opposite of what I did.’”
Polizzi’s family is a major storyline in season 7 of Family Vacation as the reality TV star takes a 23AndMe DNA test, which is currently airing on MTV.
“Obviously, I was adopted, so I really dive into that with seeing where I was from,” Polizzi told Us at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards last month. “It’s a lot and it’s still going on right now, so I’m excited for people to see that because I never really talked about my adoption and how I felt about it. And it’s very emotional, so it’s a very vulnerable moment for me.”
She continued, “I also wanted to do it because I know adoption’s a big thing that nobody talks about. There’s a lot of adoptees and they have all these questions, ‘Should I reach out? Should I not reach out?’ So I’m glad that I got to show my side. It can be positive and it’s comforting.”
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.