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‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Recap: Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice Are Both Angry at Jacqueline Laurita

There’s no place like home, especially when you live in the Garden State. On the Sunday, August 21, episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, it seemed that all of the women were struggling to navigate new territory with their families. Some of these upcoming changes (like Jacqueline Laurita‘s daughter being on the verge of getting engaged) were happy ones, while others (like Joe Giudice preparing to head to prison) … not so much. But first thing’s first: Here’s what went down in the aftermath of Jacqueline’s dinner-party battle with Teresa Giudice.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey
‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey.’ Tommy Garcia/Bravo

Melissa Is Angry (at Jacqueline!)

In a strange turn of events, Teresa’s sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, was angry — but not at Teresa. Instead, the Envy boutique owner was upset with Jacqueline for bringing Melissa’s husband, Joe Gorga, into her “chick fight” with Teresa. (ICYMI, Jacqueline called Joe to ask him whether something Teresa had claimed was true.)

Related: PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Biggest Fights Ever

“I’m f–king pissed you called my husband,” Melissa said when she met up with Jacqueline for a seemingly friendly lunch. She went on to insist that her husband had never told Teresa that Jacqueline wasn’t a good friend, but argued that even if he had, Jacqueline should have called her, not Joe, to discuss it. Jacqueline, however, was not persuaded.

“I don’t need to do the three-way thing and talk to you and you talk to your husband,” Jacqueline quipped. When Melissa began to protest, Jacqueline cut her off. “I’m supposed to just take that your husband was talking s–t about me to my friend after all the s–t I did for your family?” She added, “I tried to put you guys together a million times!” (You guys = Teresa and Melissa, back when Teresa and Melissa were fighting like Teresa and Jacqueline were fighting now.) Jacqueline also added that Teresa brought up Joe first, so he was fair game.

Jacqueline speculated to the camera that the “new ‘namaste’ Teresa” was actually “a con artist,” but to Melissa, Jacqueline agreed to simply “never discuss” Teresa. Neither Melissa nor Jacqueline seemed to like that arrangement, but for now, it was the best they could do.

Teresa Struggles to Prepare for Life as a Single Mom

The brawl with Jacqueline was the least of Teresa’s worries. Since she’d returned home from “camp” (camp = prison), the mother of four had witnessed firsthand the tension in her household between her daughters and their father. After Joe happily cut Teresa’s ankle bracelet off, marking her return to true freedom (a cheerful moment), the matriarch announced that they would be having a family meeting to try to set things right in their home.

Related: PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Kids, Then And Now

During the meeting, her four daughters voiced complaints about their parents that included — but were not limited to — Joe calling them fat, Teresa spending too much time on her phone, and the meeting itself being “annoying.” Teresa was saddened to hear that her daughters felt she didn’t pay enough attention to them; she explained that she would soon be the sole provider, so easing up on her work responsibilities really wasn’t an option.

To help improve everyone’s mood, however, Teresa had organized a surprise outing for the family to celebrate Milania’s 10th birthday at an indoor skydiving park. While it was decidedly less glam than her parties of previous years, Milania (and everyone else) had a great time … until the birthday girl announced that for her 11th birthday she wanted to go “real skydiving” and then realized that her dad wouldn’t be there for the celebration. She turned to Joe with wide eyes and asked how long he was going to be at “camp,” and he did his best to gloss over the answer (since the answer was a long time).

Siggy and Dolores Turn Over New Leaves (Kinda)

Newbie Housewives Siggy Flicker and Dolores Catania were also struggling to reshape some of their family dynamics at home. Siggy had recently decided it was time to reconnect with her Judaism by hosting bi-monthly dinners with her kids (without their phones). Neither child was excited about this, although the first dinner proved to be a success but not without a struggle.

Meanwhile, Dolores had to face her fear of standing, financially, on her own two feet. Though she got divorced well over a decade ago, the gym owner relied heavily on her ex-husband to pay for … well … pretty much everything (including a recent ongoing house renovation project during which she started to somehow assert her independence … no comment). Siggy tried to help Dolores act like an adult and get motivated to actually show up for work at a gym she now owned (the first one she co-owned with someone other than her ex), but Dolores didn’t seem to be making much progress.

Ashlee’s Getting Engaged

Though she was still reeling from her fight with Teresa, Jacqueline received some happy news: Pete, Ashlee’s boyfriend, was going to propose. Not only that, he wanted Jacqueline to help him pick out the ring. “I know she’s the one,” he said to Jacqueline, who immediately cried.

Related: PHOTOS: Real Housewives' Plastic Surgery: See Their Before and After Pictures!

“To find that love of your life is really special. I think it’s so cute that he’s including me because that’s a really special moment,” Jacqueline said to the camera.

The pair hit up a local jewelry store to find the perfect bling. While they shopped, Pete reiterated that he was certain Ashlee was the woman he wanted to marry and how much he wanted the ring “to be something she is going to enjoy for the rest of her life.” Jacqueline was clearly overcome with emotions but kept it together in the moment.

“I’ve shed a lot of tears over Ashlee over the years,” she later reflected to the camera.

“I’ve seen her come full circle. These are happy tears.”

Happy tears are good because Jacqueline might have more not-so-happy tears headed her way soon — a bunch of the women decided it was time Jacqueline and Teresa bury the hatchet (at least far enough that they could hang out together for the sake of the group), and convinced both Teresa and Jacqueline to join them on a girls’ spa weekend.

Though Teresa insisted Jacqueline was “evil,” she agreed to go when Melissa asked.

What could go wrong?

Tell Us: Do you think Teresa and Jacqueline will make up on the trip?

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

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