Reality television fans still can't believe it.
In many ways, they remain in shock.
Did Snooki really just up and walk away from Jersey Shore last week? Did she really quit the series that turned her into a household name and, we very strongly assume, also turned her into a millionaire?
Yes. She did.
“I am retiring from Jersey Shore," Snooki said on Friday’s episode of her iHeartRadio podcast.
As for why she would arrive at such a decision?
"The main reason is I just can’t do it anymore. Literally, leaving my kids to film it is really hard on me. I try and quit every single day. I just hate being away from the kids.
"I don’t like partying like three days in a row. It’s just not my life anymore. I want to be home with the kids.”
This seems like a reasonable explanation on the surface, right?
Snooki is the mother to a six-year old named Lorenzo, a four-year old named Giovanna and a baby named Angelo who was born in May.
It certainly makes sense that she'd want to spend as much time with them as possible and it's conceivable that she thinks she's made enough money to ensure financial security for maybe the rest of their lives.
And yet...
... how many weeks out of the year does it take to actually film Jersey Shore?
Would she really give up a six-figure paycheck for maybe a couple months of shooting each year, just because she wanted to be home more?
Maybe.
However, insiders tell Hollywood Life that the veteran MTV personality was motivated to quit the show by something outside of family.
Simply put, Snooki has grown sick of all the drama, specifically as it relates to Angelina Pivarnick.
This Jersey Shore cast member got married in mid-November, with reports quickly surfacing afterwards that her co-stars roasted her in very mean fashion during the wedding reception.
Prior to these nuptials, Snooki found herself in the middle of a feud between Angelina and JWoww in regard to how the latter's boyfriend very clearly flirted with the former during a night out in Las Vegas.
Back in October, Snooki lashed out at the way she had been portrayed on the episodes that focused on this rivalty.
"Editing on a reality show is a bitch," Snooki said at the time, adding:
"I will speak the truth one day with a full, tell-all documentary. Until then, enjoy your pinot and dramer!"
According to Hollywood Life sources, this was the beginning of the end for Snooki on the program.
"Nicole felt the show was heading in a direction that she wasn’t happy with so she left the show," reads this report. "She did not like how everything played out after Angelina wedding and feels she’s being painted unfairly."
Snooki has also evolved to the point where Jersey Shore is not her entire life any longer, this same article explains.
"She wants to focus on her family and business and not the drama,” the source states.
It's true: The Snooki Shop is not just an online clothing and makeup store at this point; it actualy now has a physical location in downtown Madison, New Jersey.
Talk about someone who has come a very long way in the last decade, huh?
