Deena Cortese pops a pose. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)"Jersey Shore's" Deena Cortese openly admits that shooting the sixth and final season of "Jersey Shore" last summer was "really hard," because she was dealing with anxiety issues that have plagued her for years, and, even more importantly, her sidekick Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was pregnant and not as available to hang out with her. So it would make sense that she might be dreading Thursday's live cast reunion show that airs after the finale, but the 25-year-old insists that's not the case. "Whenever we get together it's like a celebration, so it's going to be exciting, because it's going to be our last hurrah, you know?" Cortese tells omg!. "It's going to be a good time."
Cortese says she's even OK with seeing Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, the ex-roomie that she feuded with over Twitter in July. Giancola started it when she called Cortese out for getting a BMW too similar to her own (yes, really). "congrats to @DeenaNicoleMTV for her new car that looks EXACTLY like mine. #cantyougetyourownstyle it's alright imitation is flattery," Giancola wrote.
Cortese steps out with Buckner. (Thelonius/Splash News)
Now, Cortese says diplomatically, she’s letting bygones be bygones. "We're like family, it happens," Cortese says. "Sometimes you bump heads, and you get over it." After the "Jersey Shore" reunion, Cortese will be splitting the holidays between her actual family and that of her boyfriend of a little more than a year, Chris Buckner. "Thanksgiving he spent with my family, and I'm going to go with his family Christmas Eve, and then Christmas Day we're going to go with our own families and just hang out at night," she says. "Last year, I went with Chris, and I made these cookies, so I'll probably make those again this year - everybody loved them - so maybe that'll be my tradition."
The treats — Italian seven-layer cookies — won't be the only ones around to tempt Cortese this holiday. She plans to maintain the 15-pound weight loss that she revealed in October by continuing to exercise and eat a healthy diet. Although she admits that she'll be a little more lax about what she puts on her plate for Christmas dinner. "I ate what I wanted on Thanksgiving, and on Christmas I'll be eating what I want. On the other days, I'll watch what I eat."
Deena tries a pole dancing class. (Michael George)
The Jersey girl, who lists cookies, cakes, pastries, and lasagna as her biggest temptations, is constantly trying out new workouts to counteract the calories. Earlier this month, she found herself at a pole dancing class at Crunch Fitness in NYC. "This is my first time trying it out. I would probably do it again with my girlfriends," Cortese says. "I definitely don't feel sexy, but you definitely work your entire body out, which is awesome." Cortese confesses that her boyfriend was just as thrilled as she was about the workout. "He's excited about seeing what moves I got, what new moves I picked up from the class," she reveals with a laugh.
Catch Cortese and the rest of the "Jersey Shore" cast on the show's finale and reunion special on Thursday, December 20, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
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