Jersey Shore star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi just revealed a scary health update. The 38-year-old got vulnerable and emotional on social media after undergoing surgery.
Snooki, who is a mom-of-three, shared a candid TikTok to her 4.3 million followers documenting her experience undergoing a hysterectomy. In the eight minute video, the former reality TV star recorded everything from arriving at the hospital to her counting down while receiving anesthesia.
During the surgery, Snooki's doctors removed her uterus, cervix, and fallopian tubes, leaving her ovaries so she doesn't go into early menopause. After the surgery, Snooki told her followers exactly what she was feeling as she laid on the operating room table.
© TikTok"I'm so scared. I don't know what's going to happen," she said through tears, adding that she decided to be: "very vulnerable here, because it's a scary thing and a lot of us women deal with it and no one really talks about it."
Friends and fans of Snooki were grateful for her vulnerability. Her former Jersey Shore co-star Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola commented: "Love you! Strongest [expletive] – it's over now and on the road to recovery." Another fan added: "Snooks I didn't go to the ob for over 10 years and ever since seeing you go on this journey I finally went last week. You're an icon and I am thinking of you and I love you."
© Getty ImagesWhy did Snooki get a hysterectomy?
In February 2026, Snooki was diagnosed with Stage 1 cervical cancer. Two months later, the 38-year-old revealed she would have to undergo a hysterectomy to prevent any spread of the cancer.
"I'm not great with pain, so thinking about removing an organ is scary," she shared in a post to social media about the then-upcoming surgery.
© Getty ImagesSnooki isn't alone in this process. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, about half a million hysterectomies are performed each year in the United States. And Snooki's fellow members of Hollywood have undergone hysterectomies too. Olivia Munn, Kris Jenner, and Kathy Griffin are just a few celebrities who have received hysterectomies.
Inside Snooki's family who double as her care team
Snooki was on Jersey Shore for six seasons from December 2009 to December 2012. She then starred on several spin-off series, Snooki & Jwoww, and Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. But, outside of her career, the reality TV star has a supportive family at home.
© Getty ImagesShe married Jionni LaValle in November 2014. The couple are parents to three children, Lorenzo, 13, Giovanna, 11, and Angelo, seven. Throughout Snooki's health journey, her children and her husband have been there for her.
Also, her parents, Andy and Helen Polizzi have been present figures in her life. They adopted Snooki when she was six-months old from Santiago, Chile, and raised in Marlboro, New York. In Snooki's video documenting her surgery, she showed her parents dropping her off at the hospital.
