Ronnie Ortiz-Magro has broken his silence on the SiriusXM interview that sparked health fears, revealing he was four months sober at the time of the notorious nodding incident.
The “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” star, 40, told The Post that prescription Seroquel — not illicit drugs — caused him to appear drowsy during the April press tour for the show’s final season. The Bronx native takes the medication nightly for insomnia and bipolar disorder, and a badly timed dose before his early-morning call time left him struggling on air.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, he’s on fentanyl, he’s on opiates.’ And it’s like, ‘F–k, I’ve never done any of that in my life.’ And I’ve always been open about what my substance of choice has been,” he said.
“If I was using the drug of my choice, I would have been up. I would’ve done 100 interviews.”
That drug of choice, Ortiz-Magro disclosed, was cocaine — a substance he had returned to in January after his prescribed regimen of Seroquel, Abilify, Zoloft and Wellbutrin failed to ease his depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety.
“I got to a point where it was like, ‘Well, the drugs that I’m taking aren’t working, and it’s like, I feel like s–t every day. And this isn’t how I’m supposed to feel,'” he explained.
“And then it’s like, ‘I’m just gonna self-medicate. I’m gonna start using again because that’s the only thing that I feel like I have control over.'”
The reality star emphasized he was not using cocaine during the Manhattan press trip. Instead, a cascade of travel delays pushed his Seroquel dose to 3 a.m., mere hours before his 7 a.m. Call.
“I didn’t even want to go to press because I was already going through it. So it was kind of my fault because I kept pushing the flight back, then I finally got the last flight out, which made me arrive late, which made me take my medicine late,” he recalled.
“My call time was at 7 a.m. So when I woke up, it was still in my system … Next thing you know I’m a couple hours in and I’m like, ‘S–t, I’m not gonna make it.'”
The April incident capped a period Ortiz-Magro described as his lowest point, with addiction and depression converging for the first time in his life.
“I’ve always suffered from depression, and I’ve always suffered from addiction. But I’ve never had both,” he said.
“But it’s not my choice, for me, it’s genetics. My depression, my bipolar comes from family. My father was an addict for most of my childhood, he’s been clean for 20 years. I just never thought it would happen to me and it did.”
The combination drove him to suicidal ideation before he sought professional intervention.
“I’d never felt this struggle where it was like, ‘OK, if I go to sleep tomorrow, it will get better.’ You try that that doesn’t work. Then you’re like, ‘OK, like, let me start using.’ That’s not working. You’re like, ‘That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.’ And then, of course, you start having suicidal thoughts. That comes into play because you’re like, ‘There’s no answer.'”
In May, Ortiz-Magro traveled to Beond, a medically supervised treatment center in Cancun, Mexico, where patients receive ibogaine — a plant-based psychedelic illegal in the United States. The former West Palm Beach, Fla., rehab patient said the experience differed sharply from his two prior stints in conventional facilities.
“People in rehab, they’re like down and out. But people at Beond, you could tell they’re there because the next choice is death,” he observed.
“The ibogaine, it takes away those cravings. So now you’re able to just live life without having … we call it ‘monkey brain’ … this thing in the back of your head saying, ‘You know, it’d be good to have a drink right now.'”
Since returning home, the father to 8-year-old daughter Ariana — whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Jen Harley — has centered his recovery on family, faith and fellowship. He recently took Ariana to Universal Studios and a Teddy Swims concert, and has reimmersed himself in Alcoholics Anonymous with a new sponsor.
“I’m going to church again, I do AA meetings, I have a sponsor again,” he shared.
He marked four months of sobriety in an Instagram post that drew nearly 4 million views, writing, “It’s been 4 months. I haven’t had to take any depression meds, anxiety, bipolar and touched a drink or drug.”
The outpouring of messages caught him off guard.
“I never answer my DMs. But that day I was answering so many. People saying, ‘Thank you.’ Everyone being supportive and showing so much love … that also drives me … to stay sober,” he said.
“Because it’s like yeah, people love the old Ronnie, but they love this Ronnie more.”
“So I’d rather be this person than the other person any day of the week,” he added.
Ortiz-Magro continues filming “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” as the series approaches its conclusion.