Amanda Markert Instagram, Pauly D Instagram
Amabella Sophia Markert is Pauly D’s only daughter. She’s five years old, and is the product of a one night stand between Pauly D and Amanda Markert, a former Atlantic City waitress.
In the early years of Amabella’s life, Pauly D’s relationship with Markert was hugely contentious. The two traded public jabs, and Pauly D even accused Markert of extorting their daughter for fame.
However, in recent years it appears that things have become more civil, as Pauly D talks frequently about spending time with his daughter in interviews. Markert seems to have primary custody of Amabella, though, which might be why she doesn’t appear in the Jersey Shore reboot.
Here’s what you need to know about Amabella:
1. Amabella’s Mother, Amanda, Has a Second Child From a Previous Relationship
Amabella’s mother, Amanda, has an older child from a previous relationship. His name is Mikey. Though Amanda doesn’t talk about Mikey’s father on her social media, she frequently posts photos of Mikey.
Both Markert and Pauly D kept the news about Amabella’s birth under wraps until she’d been born for several days. He told Us Weekly at the time, “Sometimes in life things aren’t planned and may even scare you at first, but they end up being a blessing, that is how I feel about having a daughter.”
Though Pauly D did indicate, in the early years of Amabella’s life, that he wanted sole primary custody, it’s clear that Markert is the one with primary custody of Amabella. She frequently posts photos of Amabella and Mikey, writing in one Instagram, “very proud of my little lady!”
2. Pauly D Once Accused Markert of Trying to Exploit Their Daughter for Fame
In 2013, when Amabella was only five months old, Pauly D gave an interview with TMZ in which he said that Markert was “100 percent” exploiting their daughter for fame. “I want to give the baby the best life she ever had,” he said.
In response, Markert fired off a series of tweets, calling out Pauly D’s apparent failures as a parent and claiming that she had been taking care of her daughter financially all on her own. “I have been financially supporting Amabella MYSELF for the past five months,” she tweeted. “Apparently he wrote a check and sent it a few days ago just to show the media the copy of it…publicity stunt.”
She added, “I love my children more than anything in this world. The chaos he has created is a shame.” She then went on to claim that Pauly D had never contacted her to see the baby, and that she had never “denied him his rights as a father.”
In the years since, she’s deleted her Twitter, and it appears that she and Pauly D have reconciled enough to see one another once in a while.
3. Pauly D Has Said He’s ‘Super Protective’ of Who He Chooses to Introduce to Amabella
Over the years, Pauly D has given interviews about his daughter, though he’s careful not to put pictures of her on his Instagram, and has been outspoken about his protectiveness over her. In an interview with Us Weekly, Pauly D said that his daughter was vaguely aware of his unusual lifestyle.
“She knows I’m a DJ,” he said. “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. She is already aware and then so I tell her that I use that for good, to bring awareness to causes like this. To help prevent that kind of thing to prevent the bad. I let her know.”
In an interview with People, Pauly D said, “She’s 4 years old. She’s my life. She’s my princess. She’s a little mini-me. She wants to be a DJ — I got her a DJ room. She’s scratching records already. She’s so funny. She just wants to follow me around and do every single thing that I do.”
He went on to admit that he spoiled his daughter, and that she gets “whatever she wants,” but insisted that she doesn’t behave in a spoiled way.
Amabella has left such a large impact on her father that she’s changed the way he dates, he says. To Entertainment Tonight, he explained, “Now, I’m even more picky when I pick women to actually meet her or my mother. Only certain ones will meet them. I put my standards up a lot higher now.”
4. Amabella’s Mother, Amanda, Met Pauly D in Atlantic City
Over the years, there’s been a good amount of speculation as to how Pauly D and Markert got involved, and what the extent of their current relationship is. Markert and Pauly D had a one night stand which led to Amabella, multiple publications have reported.
Markert had worked as a Hooters waitress in the past, studying Forensic Psychology at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. She was working as a waitress for VIP Bottle Service at the Pool After Dark, a club in Atlantic City.
TMZ published several photos of Pauly D and Markert at this club, the night before they had their one night stand in the summer of 2012.
5. Other Jersey Shore Castmates Have Lamented How Little Time They Get to Spend With Amabella
In the past, some of the other Jersey Shore castmates have questioned Pauly D’s relationship with his daughter, including his decision to not post any photos of her, as well as her absence from New Jersey.
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi said once, “[I haven’t met his daughter] yet. It’s just hard because his daughter lives with her mother.”
She added, “She doesn’t live near us, so anytime Pauly has the daughter they’re at his house and Pauly lives in Vegas, which is hard! I’m like, ‘Pauly, bring the baby to Jersey and we can have a play date all together!’ It hasn’t happened yet, but he said he’s down to do it, we’re just waiting and seeing when we can do that.”
Former co-star Angelina Pivarnick also weighed in, questioning his decision to not post photos of Amabella online. She said, “That’s just something I don’t get…I’d be posting left and right about her. It just boggles my mind …”
“I wonder what she looks like, you know what I mean?” she said. “Because there’s like no pictures of her … If I had a baby with a guy and even if we’re not together, I’d want the guy to be in the kid’s life.”
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