RHONJ Recap: All Bats Are Off

This week’s episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey RHONJ Recap kicks off with Teresa Giudice attending therapy.

The mom of four admits she feels good ahead of the wedding and reveals she’s been in therapy for the past six months. Teresa admits that Louie pushed her to do therapy to handle her delivery and emotions better. Teresa and her therapist discuss the recent boys’ night, and Teresa explains that her brother, Joe Gorga, told Louie to ‘Go F–k’ himself multiple times. She explains that while she called Joe and “made peace” after the incident, he still skipped their housewarming party, which hurt her to no end. The 50-year-old admits she wishes her parents and brother could have been at her party. She explains her dad’s fallout with his sibling over 100 dollars and how she grew up without cousins, making it clear she doesn’t want the same for her kids or her niece and nephews. On top of that, Teresa reveals that while the whole Giudice family went to Antonia’s Sweet 16, Antonia didn’t come to Milania’s Sweet 16, which hurt because they were always so close.

At Margaret Josephs‘ house, she is recuperating from wrist surgery. Jen F. stops by for a visit, where Marge reveals the surgeon had to re-break her arm. Marge says she is going to the baseball game but will sit on the sidelines, cheering everyone on except Jennifer Aydin, who she plans to avoid at all costs following last week’s showdown. Marge admits she crossed the line with Jennifer and wasn’t acting like herself. The scene shifts to Jennifer A’s house, where her kids are celebrating finally being on summer break. Jennifer A. tells Bill she doesn’t want him to be nice to Margaret, especially after she called her a drug addict because she smokes pot (which is legal in NJ) at night after her kids are asleep. She then insists that the rest of the ladies know that Margaret is an evil manipulator, so they all stay quiet when she hits below the belt.

Over at Dolores Catania‘s house, she and Paulie sit down with Dolores’ dad. They explain that Paulie will have a heart procedure to recalibrate his heart so he won’t be at the upcoming charity softball game. Instead, Dolores’ dad will support her in Paulie’s absence. The dad-daughter duo then go for a walk. During the walk, Dolores’ dad asks her if she’s happy, and she confirms she is pleased with Paulie. Dolores’ dad supports her setting boundaries with Frank Catania and thinks she and Paulie are a good fit for each other.

Melissa Gorga and her hubby Joe then meet up with Rachel Fuda, her husband John, and Frank and his girlfriend Brittany at the batting cages to practice before the big game. Frank says this will be the first time she and Paulie will be in the same place together. The group admits that Paulie isn’t like the other guys Dolores has dated. However, Frank notes that her relationship with Paulie messes up their family dynamic. Everyone in the group takes a shot up at bat, and they all suck. Melissa brings up Marge’s joke that she could easily date a ball player and tells everyone that Jennifer A is trying to make it into something it’s not. Rachel tells the group that at Danielle Cabral’s daughter’s birthday party, Teresa and Jennifer A. told her not to trust Margaret and to watch her back. Rachel adds that Teresa doesn’t want to be on Margaret’s bad side. This news shocks Melissa, who quickly dubs her sister-in-law “fake” and hates Margaret. Melissa then says Louie is manipulative and tries to control everything by getting Margaret back on their side. She insists that Teresa hates her, Joe, and Margaret and that the RHONJ OG wants to “ice” Marge out of the group. Rachel says she has her mind and isn’t influenced by anyone.

It’s finally the day of Dolores’ charity softball game, and she is super excited to raise even more money this year. The group starts slowly trickling in, with Margaret telling Danielle that she won’t fight with Jennifer A at the event despite their drama at Jen F’s house the week before. Marge insists Jennifer A is crazy for trying to start drama between her and Melissa by claiming Marge wants to see Melissa date a ball player. Danielle doesn’t think Marge’s comment about Melissa’s marriage is cool, even if it was a joke. As the rest of the group comes in, Danielle explains that Teresa and Jennifer A warned her and Rachel to be careful around her and that she’s a better friend than an enemy. Danielle also makes it clear she trusts what her friends are saying about Marge and is struggling to get to know her.

Jennifer and Bill arrive. The mom of five gives Marge the cold shoulder while Bill politely says hi. Melissa and Joe are getting ready for the game with their youngest son, Joey, as Teresa and Louie arrive. Joe quickly pulls Joey away from his aunt and cousins as they enter the room, which is weird. Teresa, Gia, and Milania finally see Joey and hug him. Melissa and Teresa discuss the calendar and show it to the kids. The family seems to be having a happy moment.

The game gets started, and everyone is having a good time. Rachel talks to Jennifer A, who admits she only brought her youngest daughter Olivia to the game. Rachel tells her that Olivia broke her heart when she said she wanted to be a therapist for love. Jennifer A is shocked and says Olivia has never told her that before. She admits it’s sad, which is exactly why she never wanted her kids to know about Bill’s affair. Jennifer explains why she can’t get over what Margaret did to her family.

Dolores then tells some group members that Paulie’s not there because he’s having heart surgery the next day. Melissa quips that she thought he wasn’t there because he didn’t want to be around Frank, who admits he misses his relationship with Dolores and even started crying about it the other day. Everyone is sad about the changes, but Dolores knows it’s for the best.

As the game continues, the Housewives and their families slowly start to make a comeback on the scoreboard thanks to the kids, who have stepped up to the plate. After Joey goes up to bat, Teresa calls him over to chat. Gia admits in her confessional that it’s hard to see her little cousins getting so big that she can’t be there for them like she wants to be. She adds that it seems like her aunt and uncle want to put a wedge between the cousins. After a few minutes, Joe quickly pulls his son away from Teresa and her girls.

Dolores’ team surprisingly won the game. Yay, Housewives!

The next day Bill and Jennifer A. head to therapy. Bill doesn’t seem happy to be going to therapy, but Jennifer thinks this is the best move for their family. Jennifer tells the therapist about Bill’s affair and how their children found out. She admits that she is still angry about the affair but is primarily concerned about how it affects their children. Bill says because of the affair, he feels he can’t micromanage his kids how they need to be. While Jennifer feels like she’s Bill’s employee and says that Bill puts all the parenting on her shoulders while he goes to the pool house after work without even saying hi to her or the kids. Jennifer is fed up, while Bill is still as silent as ever.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm on Bravo.

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