Jersey Shore‘s next generation! Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio has kept his life as a parent relatively private, but he couldn’t be a prouder dad to daughter Amabella Sophia.
Us Weekly confirmed in October 2013 that the MTV personality welcomed a baby girl with Amanda Markert, whom he had a one-night encounter with in Las Vegas. At the time, Amabella was nearly 6 months old.
“I’m proud I’m a father,” DelVecchio noted in a statement to Us. “I am excited to embark on this new part of my life.”
The reality star filed a request for full custody and visitation rights that same month, with a source telling Us that DelVecchio was only told about his child “after the baby was born.” The insider added, “Pauly is taking responsibility and will be in this child’s life one way or another.”
While reflecting on meeting his daughter for the first time, the Pauly D Project alum told Us in November 2013 that he experienced mixed emotions. “I was nervous if she wasn’t going to like me,” he said. “But the second I saw the baby her eyes just lit up, it’s almost like she knew. It was amazing. I knew she was mine right off the bat too because she looks just like me. She came right over to me and put her arms right up to me.”
The Rhode Island native confessed that he “didn’t know what to expect” as he made the transition into fatherhood. “And then, you know, it’s almost like I knew what to do. I felt comfortable holding her. It was an exciting feeling [and] all the nervousness went away,” he told Us, adding that he and Markert were “working out” an arrangement for coparenting.
Two months later, DelVecchio shared a sweet glimpse of his bond with his baby. “Tea Party With My Princess,” he wrote via Twitter alongside a photo of Amabella sitting on the floor with a plastic tea set in front of her.
As Amabella has grown up, DelVecchio has seen more and more of himself in her. “She is my mini-me. … The way she acts and everything,” he gushed during an April 2019 appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan. “She is a prank war champion, too. She pranks me, she hides my phone.”
The Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star went on to tell Us the following month that Amabella even has a strong ear for music. “She knows I’m a DJ, she knows I have these huge crowds, and I am a big influence and she knows what an influence is, she calls me famous when I go to the airport … people yell my name and she sees that,” he said.
While little is known about DelVecchio and Markert’s status as coparents, the Famously Single star joined in on the family fun when Amabella celebrated her 10th birthday. Photos shared by a Jersey Shore fan account in May 2023 showed the “Back to Love” artist giving his daughter a big hug and snapped a selfie at her party, which he attended with girlfriend Nikki Hall.
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Scroll down to see rare photos of Amabella through the years:
