Who Is Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi’s Husband? All About Jionni LaValle

Jersey Shore reality star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi found her happily ever after with husband Jionni LaValle.

After previously saying on the MTV reality series that her “ultimate dream is to move to Jersey, find a nice, juiced hot tan guy and live my life,” Polizzi and LaValle first met at the nightclub Karma while filming season 3 of the series. However, Polizzi later told Larry King that she initially “hated” LaValle.

“I was like, ‘Oh, he’s cute. He’ll do for tonight,’ ” she recalled on Larry King Now in 2018.

But Polizzi changed her tune after hanging out with LaValle several times. “I’m like, ‘I want to marry you!’ ” Polizzi told PEOPLE in 2011, recalling the moment she realized she wanted to spend the rest of her life with LaValle. “I know he’s the one.”

The couple went on to have two children, son Lorenzo and daughter Giovanna, before marrying at the St. Rose of Lima Church in East Hanover, New Jersey, on Nov. 29, 2014. Polizzi and LaValle welcomed their third child, son Angelo, in 2019.

Here’s everything to know about Snooki’s husband, Jionni LaValle.

He is a former wrestler

Raised in New Jersey, LaValle wrestled on the varsity team at Hanover Park High School. He’s also from a wrestling family as his brother, nephew and son have all played the sport.

In 2013, he tweeted that his brother James was inducted into the Hanover Park Sports Hall of Fame. He later congratulated his nephew Vincenzo for becoming county champion in wrestling in 2022. The legacy has continued with LaValle’s son Lorenzo, who placed second at a meet in February 2022.

He studied to be a teacher

Polizzi is a reality TV veteran, but LaValle once had a different career in mind. Early on in their relationship, he was very wary when photos of the pair started popping up in the tabloids.

“He freaked out,” Polizzi told PEOPLE in 2010. “He said, ‘I don’t want to be in that world,’ because he’s trying to be a teacher and, you know, he just wants me to be me.”

He married Polizzi in 2014

After a year and a half of dating, LaValle proposed to Polizzi in March 2014. At the time, Polizzi was also pregnant with their first child.

The couple tied the knot in New Jersey over two years later during a Great Gatsby-themed affair. A few of Polizzi’s Jersey Shore costars were in attendance, including Jenni “JWoww” Farley, who was a bridesmaid, and Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio.

“I wanna get married again,” Snooki tweeted following their Nov. 29 nuptials. “Such an amazing experience celebrating the love between @JLaValle and I! Love u husband.”

He doesn’t like being on camera

While LaValle appeared on the original Jersey Shore, he chose not to join his wife on the series revival in 2018.

“My wife is filming a scene packing up and leaving for her new show and I AM CHOOSING TO NOT be on TV because I simply DO NOT like it,” he wrote on Instagram. “Nicole and I are doing great and became even stronger together while raising our beautiful kids. HOWEVER you will not see me on her reality show. Being a reality star was never something I wanted to be when I grew up. I own my own business and work hard at it, that’s what I do.”

Snooki left the show the following year but returned to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in 2021.

He and Polizzi share three children

Polizzi and LaValle are parents to two boys and one girl.

Their older son, Lorenzo Dominic, was born on Aug. 26, 2012, at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. Two years later, the couple welcomed daughter Giovanna Marie on Sept. 26, 2014. LaValle and Polizzi were officially “outnumbered” when younger son Angelo James joined the family on May 30, 2019.

The reality star has documented sweet moments with her kids on social media over the years. In April 2023, the family of five took a trip to Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort, where they posed in front of Cinderella’s castle.

“The most important thing is family✨ #mycrew #disneyfam,” Polizzi captioned the post.

He is an avid sports fan

In addition to being a wrestler, LaValle enthusiastically supports several sports teams and athletes. He often shares game-day posts cheering on the MLB’s New York Yankees and the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

In 2012, Polizzi told PEOPLE that she spoiled her then-fiancé with Dolphins memorabilia. “I got him some signed Dolphins things,” she shared. “He’s obsessed with the Dolphins and Dan Marino.”

The New Jersey native also enjoys professional wrestling events like SmackDown and has even taken up golf. “Next few months is when I start fixing the swing!” he captioned a 2018 photo of himself on the green.

He starred on his own TV show with Polizzi

LaValle has a contracting background that he used on a home renovation show with his wife in 2016. In the FYI series Nicole & Jionni’s Shore Flip, the duo repaired damaged homes as part of a new house-flipping business. The show lasted for one season.

“We decided we wanted to do it down by the shore because the shore means a lot to us,” Polizzi told PEOPLE. “We met there, and ever since [Hurricane] Sandy hit, there’s a lot of homes that are still destroyed and families couldn’t afford to fix the house, so we kind of wanted to help out the community as much as possible.”

She added: “Jionni always wanted to flip houses. It’s been his dream for a while.”

In 2021, Polizzi returned to the home renovation world as a host for HGTV’s design competition special, Beach Cabana Royale.