Part 1 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion special could be pretty much summed up in six words: Teresa and Jacqueline hate each other. On the Sunday, November 6, episode, all of the castmates reunited to discuss highlights and lowlights from the season, and, it turned out, to dig the knife in a little deeper to those they didn’t like. Watch the most heated moments in the video above, and read on for our recap!
Teresa Asks Andy, “Would You Drive a Ford?”
Things kicked off with a discussion about Teresa Giudice cruising around in a fancy Lexus immediately after returning home from prison (for fraud, ICYMI). Asked by her fellow Housewives if she really didn’t realize that might not look great to outsiders, Teresa shrugged and said, “I can’t worry about what it looks like to people.”
Andy Cohen then agreed that maybe it would have made more sense to get a more sensible car, like a Ford. She then turned to the host and asked, “Would you drive a Ford?” Andy didn’t miss a beat. “If I owed a lot of money, yes,” he said. Teresa didn’t have much to say to that and the conversation rolled along.
Jacqueline’s Journey to Glam-ma
Next up was Jacqueline Laurita and her journey to becoming a glam-ma. As she held her grandson in a clip, Jacqueline said, “This is our new little gentleman, the future of New Jersey!” Jacqueline had been in the room when her daughter, Ashlee, had given birth, and recounted what a special experience that was. “It was so amazing and Pete [Ashlee’s fiancé] was down in her face and he was talking to her so sweet,” she recalled.
Asked by a viewer if Pete had proposed because Ashlee was pregnant, Jacqueline denied it, saying that Ashlee hadn’t even known she was pregnant at the time he asked her to marry him.
As she chatted with Andy about her new grandson, Teresa and new bestie Melissa Gorga had a side conversation about Ashlee’s recent tweets about them. “She’s a mom, but the other night she was tweeting a picture of me as an ape,” Teresa said when Andy asked why they were talking over him. “That was because you were making fun of the way I look on the show!” Jacqueline blasted back.
“Your daughter needs to learn respect,” Teresa said. “Your daughter needs to learn respect!” Jacqueline replied. Jacqueline then insisted her daughter was “an amazing, beautiful mother” and Teresa stood up and did a 180-degree spin, asking, “Do I look like an ape?” Clearly they weren’t getting anywhere.
Andy Compliments Joe Gorga’s Penis
Yes, this happened. Referring to a clip from the season in which Joe Gorga‘s junk was in full view, Andy mused, “He’s got a pretty d‑‑k.” Melissa jumped in, affirming her husband “could be a penis model.”
His praise out of the way, Andy laid into Joe about his comment that he brought home cake while his wife brought home crumbs (even though Joe had apologized on camera already). Andy asked Joe to admit that the comment was sexist. “Define sexist,” Joe said. “You were being an a‑‑hole,” Melissa offered as an explanation (though that didn’t really answer the question, but still).
Joe responded by taking Melissa to task for making him Sloppy Joes for dinner one time and Andy called him “a little bit of a caveman,” which Joe seemed to take as a compliment. Oh, also, Joe weirdly admitted he lost his virginity at the age of 9, and Teresa admitted that she had walked in on it happening. Moving on.
Teresa Accuses Jacqueline of Getting Her Sent to Prison
Anyone who watched last season would not be surprised to see that there was still no love lost between Teresa and Jacqueline — however, it was still surprising to see just how deep the hatred now ran. After a lengthy, semi-nonsensical argument about “Strippergate” from several seasons back, Melissa flat-out accused Jacqueline of being involved in the spreading of the rumor. (As a refresher, there had been a rumor circulating that Melissa had been an exotic dancer.)
“I swear on my children, I had no involvement,” Jacqueline said, but that wasn’t remotely convincing to either Melissa or Teresa. Melissa cited the fact that Jacqueline did not show up to tape the reunion that year as evidence of her guilt. Jacqueline said she didn’t show up because she was in the thick of dealing with her son Nicholas’ regression due to his autism and couldn’t take the negative energy.
“You hurt me. You hurt my family. You should be ashamed of you,” Teresa said. “I never did anything to hurt you.” Teresa then went one step further and accused Jacqueline of setting her up to sell a story to a tabloid about how Teresa was going to go to jail. “You wrote that story about the jail!” Teresa shouted. “You needed the money!” They then exchanged a few words about whether their husbands had ever cheated on them before Teresa went for the jugular.
“You set me up,” Teresa said. “In my gut, either you, or you and Caroline [Manzo], set me up. You guys were behind everything, calling the government, everything, yes.” Siggy Flicker and Dolores Catania‘s jaws dropped to the floor when they heard that accusation, and Jacqueline demanded that Teresa clarify what she was implying.
“You seriously think I called the government on you?” she asked.
“Yes,” Teresa said. “I’m so happy I got that off my chest. I believe that. I do believe that. I believe it in my gut. I feel it in my gut.” Even Andy looked surprised at what he was hearing. “You are gross and you set me up!” Teresa shouted.
“No wonder you’re so angry at me,” Jacqueline mused.
Tell Us: Do you think Jacqueline called the government on Teresa?
Part 2 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion airs Sunday, November 13, at 10 p.m. ET.
