Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is a free man.
E! News can confirm the Jersey Shore star was released from prison in Otisville, N.Y. on Thursday morning. Sorrentino's wife, Lauren Pesce, accompanied him as he made his long-awaited departure from the federal correctional facility.
"We are elated to finally close this chapter of our life," he said in a statement to E! News. "Thank you to our family, friends and fans for the continuous love and support during this time, it brought us so much peace and comfort. We look forward to continuing our life as husband and wife and working on baby situations! We truly believe that the comeback is ALWAYS greater than the setback and we can't wait to show the world ours."
Hours later, he made his return to Instagram, posting a picture of him with his wife and dog: "Living my best life with my beautiful wife."
Sorrentino served eight months for one count of tax evasion. He is now expected to complete two years of supervised release and 500 hours of community service. After pleading guilty and before his Oct. 2018 sentencing, Sorrentino paid off his $10,000 fine and $123,000 restitution fee.
In 2014, U.S. prosecutors accused Sorrentino and his brother Marc Sorrentino, who was sentenced to 24 months, of hiding millions of dollars the reality TV star earned on Jersey Shore between 2010 and 2012. Sorrentino, 37, self-surrendered to authorities and officially began his sentence on Jan. 15, 2019.
Throughout his time behind bars, Sorrentino's Jersey Shore co-stars kept fans updated on his wellbeing and even shared photos from their prison visits.
Snooki "Nicole" Polizzi told E! News her castmate was "having the time of his life."
"It's like his in a senior home, he's playing Bingo, he's helping people recover in jail," she explained at the time. "We all talk to him through an email, so I talk to him like once a week. He's in the gym a lot, so he's probably gonna come out ripped."
Pauly D and Vinny Guadagnino also confirmed they'd speak with Sorrentino "every day," with the latter telling SiriusXM host Jenny McCarthy, "He sends me such positive vibes. He gets me through my day."
"He sees Lauren his wife once a week and he has so much to come home to," Pauly D also explained. "He has a job—he'll be filming—so he just wants to get it over with and do his time."
Lauren, who tied the knot with Sorrentino last November, even admitted their relationship improved because of his prison time. "Even with him being away, our bond has grown stronger," she told us at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in June. "We're in the end game now, we got two months left and we got a lot to look forward to."
Something tells us there will be a welcome home party held for Sorrentino in the very near future!