The much-anticipated Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion is here — well, the first of three parts, that is — and we are all on the edges of our seats waiting to see what goes down!!
On Tuesday night, Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, and the rest of the show’s contentious cast got together with Bravo exec and after-show host Andy Cohen for a sit-down. As we’ve been reporting via smuggled-out insider info, the entire thing was apparently madness. And Tuesday’s ep confirmed that! Madness was the mood for the night!
Related: Teresa’s Husband Luis Ruelas’ Company Gets SUED For Harassment!
As expected, the whole thing was loud, and dramatic, and angry, and it made for some great TV!!!
Ch-ch-check out all the highlights (below)…
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Lying About Luis?
Right off the top, the s**t hit the fan. Melissa claimed Teresa’s new husband Luis Ruelas initially wanted to date Real Housewives of Miami star Alexia Echevarria before getting with the RHONJ mainstay.
To that allegation, Teresa replied with a booming retort:
“You’re a liar!”
And with that, it was off to the races!!! Melissa replied that it was Tre who was actually the liar:
“Teresa, you’ve been doing that for years. It’s getting old, honey!”
The 51-year-old Bravo vet shot back:
“That’s why it’s gonna be over after tonight! I can’t wait!”
Getting sarcastic at the threat of their long feud suddenly ending, Joe Gorga‘s wife replied:
“Oh why, where you going?”
But Teresa flipped turned the tables on that, claiming:
“You’re leaving!”
At that point, Melissa turned to Cohen and again sarcastically replied:
“Oh, I am? Alright. I didn’t know [that], Andy.”
Everybody Else Is Fed Up!
Teresa then admitted as the entire group looked on that things couldn’t go on much longer like this with the two sisters-in-law’s long, vicious feud:
“I don’t know. I don’t know how we’re gonna coexist, the two of us. She’s gonna be out of my life after tonight.”
The pair flung so many insults at each other for pretty much the entire reunion ep, in fact, that other RHONJ stars were beginning to pick up on it. And how could they not?!
Related: Teresa Claims Luis Lost SO MUCH Money In Joe Gorga Business Deal Gone Wrong!
At one point, Dolores Catania turned to Danielle Cabral, who was seated next to her, and whispered:
“This story is so old.”
To her witty credit, Cabral replied that she was “ready to go to Shake Shack.” LOLz!!!
Forgive And Forget?
Later in the show, Dolores was actually the catalyst for putting together a truce between Danielle and Rachel Fuda following their “stupid” argument over Margaret Josephs‘ “arsenal” of dirt on the reality stars. Through that minor move, the cast all began discussing the idea of being able to “forgive and forget.”
Teresa shockingly claimed that she does just that — to which an obviously exasperated Melissa called bull s**t:
“You forgive and forget? Oh dear God, we’re at delusional’s highest level!”
Angry that her sister-in-law was still sniping at her, Teresa replied that Melissa wouldn’t even be on the show without her:
“Your whole storyline was me!”
Then, Melissa spat back by referencing Teresa’s estranged relationship with her brother (and Melissa’s husband) Joe Gorga:
“Your whole storyline is talking about your brother in every scene! You should thank us for giving you something!”
With Andy nodding on in agreement, thereby implicitly accepting Melissa’s point, Teresa went on the defensive. She began listing everything she’s done on the show in her long run on Bravo. Among the things she listed was the time she and then-husband Joe Giudice served time in federal prison on wire fraud, tax evasion, and bankruptcy fraud charges.
Again going to sarcasm, Melissa quipped this in response to the prison mention:
“Oh, you went to jail, we’re so proud of you.”
LOLz! But seriously tho…
The Drama Goes WAY Deeper
At that point, things turned from just a simple fight to a far deeper drama. Teresa accused Melissa and her Joe — Teresa’s younger bro — of conspiring with a former business associate of Teresa’s Joe (still with us, y’all?) to put the now-ex-couple in prison in the first place!!
Related: Did Teresa And Jacqueline Laurita Finally End Their Years-Long Feud??
As RHONJ fans know, Teresa has previously hinted how she thought former Housewives star Caroline Manzo was responsible for dropping the time on her and her ex-husband. But in the reunion, Teresa claimed she now thinks it was actually Melissa and Joe Gorga who were turning the screws! What???
She said:
“Do you want to go back, Andy? I want everybody to hear this because we’re bringing this all out because this is over after today. Andy, Jacqueline [Laurita] told me, you know Joe’s ex-partner? He didn’t go to jail because he outed me. They [the Gorgas] were hanging out with him and they were speaking to him.”
Melissa replied by calling Teresa the “queen of deflection,” and adding:
“I don’t even know Joe Giudice’s ex-partner. No I don’t, doll. … This is like [saying] Caroline Manzo put you in jail.”
To which Teresa then shouted back:
“No, I take that back, I think you did!”
Damn!!!
‘I Am Not A Rat’
See, this all comes back to a comment the 61-year-old Manzo made a couple weeks ago during a podcast taping in NYC. When asked about Teresa’s prison experience — and specifically who ratted the reality star out — the Food, Love, and Chaos author explained she did not call the FBI on the Giudices way back when, but she knows who did:
“I know who did. PS, I was there.”
Caroline’s daughter Lauren Manzo then added during that May 18 podcast chat:
“But we’ll never say who it was.”
Caroline further clarified, saying she “took the fall” to be the one everybody blamed because “I am not a rat.”
Related: Teresa SLAMS Jen Shah Over Telemarketing Scam & Lengthy Prison Sentence!
Manzo then added this regarding Teresa’s longstanding blame:
“It’s not even about being a rat. There’s this thing called collateral damage. So, when you say something, who’s it going to hurt? Who is this going to hurt by saying this truth? You can believe whatever you like about me. I know I never did — I could never do that. But if blaming me makes you feel better, OK, then your reality. It’s not going to change my day.”
FWIW, Caroline was very complimentary of the Gorgas during that mid-May podcast taping. And, in a follow-up Instagram comment posted the day after the podcast was pubbed, Caroline shut down rumors that she was supposedly subtly saying the Gorgas were the ones who dropped the dime on Teresa:
“Love the gorgas. Never once even implied it was them.”
So if it wasn’t Caroline… and it wasn’t Melissa and her hubby… who was it??? And more to the point with the RHONJ reunion, where do Teresa and Melissa go from here?! S**t is crazy, y’all!! But we wouldn’t have it any other way with this iconic show!!
How about you??
[Image via Melissa Gorga/Instagram/Teresa Giudice/Instagram]
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