JERSEY Shore’s Snooki discovered why she was put up for adoption as she spoke to her birth mom for the first time, in an emotional moment.
The 37-year-old was taking part in an episode of the MTV reunion series Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
And she spoke to her birth mom for the first time, after being adopted at six months old from Chile, by an Italian-American family.
The star asked the question: “Why was I put up for adoption?” while speaking to her mum using a translator via computer chat.
The translator told Snooki that her reply was: “When she realized she was pregnant, she told her partner, your father, and he just disappeared, leaving her by herself.
“She didn't have any support at that moment so that was the only option that she had. Even [though] it was painful, she had to let you go.”
In a piece to camera, Snooki explained: “For 36 years, I've been thinking about this question, and now the answer is going to pop up any second. This is insane.”
The star was asked by her birth mom whether she was “angry” with her over being put up for adoption.
Snooki advised that they should probably talk over the phone.
She then spoke to her birth mom on the phone, greeting her by saying “hola,” much to the amusement of JWoww, who had joined Snooki for emotional support.
JWoww told Snooki: “‘Hola!’ You sound like Dora the Explorer.”
Snooki’s birth mom became tearful on the phone, and told her how hard it had been to put her up for adoption.
She went on to say that she’d “never forgotten her.”
Snooki was reassuring and let her mum into the life she’d had, since being adopted.
She told how she’d been raised by “loving parents” who “spoiled” her, and explained that she had three kids - Lorenzo, 11, Giovanna, 10, and Angelo, six - with her husband Jionni LaValle.
The translator told Snooki: “She's happy to know that you are a family now, and she's very happy knowing that you were okay. She's really happy she talked to you, and she loves you.”
Snooki was left unsure as to whether she’d go and meet her birth mom in person, adding to JWoww that she’s “still a stranger,” to her.
Snooki has carved a very successful career for herself, and boasts 17million Instagram followers.
Snooki's appearance on Jersey Shore, led to her being snapped up by talk shows and numerous other reality programs.
In 2013, she competed on Dancing With The Stars, where she was partnered with Sasha Farber.
The couple finished in eighth place.
She went on to compete in The Apprentice in 2017, and Masterchef in 2019.
The star was born in Santiago, Chile, on November 23, 1987.
She received her unusual nickname in middle school, when her friends named her after "Snooki", a male character in Save The Last Dance, because she was the first of her friends to kiss a boy.
The Jersey Shore star has revealed details about her childhood in a YouTube vlog before.
Snooki said: “I don’t really talk about it just because I just feel like my family is my family.”
She added: “I never really thought, ‘What’s my birth mother like? What’s my birth family like?’ Because I’m so content with my adoptive parents and my adopted life and family.
"But you know I thought about it once I started getting older, like, ‘What does my mom look like? What does my dad look like?’”
She added: “I was adopted at 6 months from Santiago, Chile and I was adopted by Helen and Andrew Polizzi.
"They flew all the way to Chile to come pick me up and they said right when they saw me they said I was like, ‘Mama, Dada.’
"So it was meant to be, things just work out that way — it’s called fate."
