Lara Sophia 
It’s FINALLY RHONJ reunion time! We break down all the drama from part one of the RHONJ season 13 reunion tonight. And there’s a lot to cover.
Let’s dive in!
Joe Giudice makes a Cameo
The rhonj reunion kicked off with Teresa Giudice’s ex-husband, Joe “Juicy” Giudice calling to see if she can ask Bill Aydin if he does surgery on undereye bags. Andy Cohen grabs the phone and peppers Juicy with some questions. It turns out the surgery inquiry is for Joe’s uncle, not him. Joe also reveals he has “a few” girlfriends down in the Bahamas.
Andy then asks if Joe misses RHONJ. He admits he hasn’t watched the show in a long time, Andy notes that he doesn’t think Joe watched the show even when he was on it. LOL.
It was nice to start the reunion off with a little levity. Plus, talk about a nice blast from the past.
The RHONJ reunion officially kicks off
As the reunion starts, Teresa says she wants “peace” with Melissa and Joe Gorga and to be done with all this drama after the reunion. But that doesn’t necessarily mean reconciliation, Teresa wants to close this chapter of her life. Melissa agrees but adds that a lot of “truth” needs to come out at the reunion.
Teresa explains that her family spent the whole season trying to hurt her and the man she loves, but Melissa insists that it was the other way around. Melissa claims that she was the one they tried to paint as a cheater. Umm..when did that happen? Wasn’t that Danielle Cabra, Jennifer Aydin, or even better, Margaret Josephs? Try again, Messy.
Andy has to shut down any mention of the cheating scandal quickly. Instead, he pivots to asking Teresa why Dina Manzo skipped her wedding.
Teresa explains that Dina didn’t want to be on camera or have certain people know she was in New Jersey. Melissa clearly doesn’t believe Teresa by her body language. Teresa says she and Dina are all good and that there was never any bad business deal between Louie Ruelas and Dina’s husband, Dave Cantin.
However, Melissa backs up Joe Gorga’s claim that he talked to Dina’s husband about a business deal gone wrong with Louie.
The focus then shifts to why Teresa didn’t invite Melissa’s mom, Donna Marco, to her wedding. Teresa explained that she didn’t want just to invite Melissa’s mom and not the rest of her family. Melissa says that Teresa used her family when she needed them but said f–k you to them all after being with Louie and becoming close to his family.
Melissa and Teresa start going back and forth. Melissa claims Louie wanted to date RHOM star Alexia Eaccharhive before dating Teresa. The On Display podcast host says Teresa’s lies are getting old while Teresa fires back that she’s glad she’ll never have to deal with Melissa again after this reunion. And NOT because she’s leaving the show, because Melissa is leaving the show. Teresa says she doesn’t think they can coexist on the show. Teresa then confirms that if Melissa left the RHONJ, she would “definitely” be out of her life for good.
Teresa tells Andy:
“She’s gotta be outta my life after tonight.”
Dolores Catania firms Paulie Connell Isn’t Divorced
Dolores Catania reveals that Paulie Connell has helped her take down all her walls. The ladies all agree that they are seeing a different Dolores these days.
She says that the relationship she and Paulie have is so different than her relationship with David. Paulie wants to build a life with Dolores, unlike David and Frank, who both had their own separate lives from her. Frank is still living with David, and Dolores’s two kids have remained close to him as well.
As for why Dolores moved in with Paulie without a commitment, she says, “The intention with Paulie is very different” than it was with David.
Dolores then confirms that Paulie is NOT divorced, which shocks Andy considering Paulie claims he has a ring for Dolores. She insists that Paulie is going to get divorced now, but Andy’s not convinced.
Newbie Danielle Cabral Takes Center Stage
Naturally, Danielle Cabral tears up when Andy asks about her estranged brother. Danielle admits it’s been three years since she’s seen her brother, but she will be seeing him at their grandmother’s funeral the day after the reunion.
She then reveals that when she sent her brother a gift for the birth of his daughter, he sent the gift back. This shocks Andy.
If all of that weren’t enough, Danielle explains that RHONJ is her brother’s favorite show, so she’s unsure if he’s watched this past season or not.
The RHONJ newbie continues to insist that she’s not hiding anything about the estrangement with her brother. She jokingly asks Margaret if she has any information in her arsenal that can shed light on it all. Margaret doesn’t appreciate the joke and says she only wants good things for Danielle’s family.
Margaret admits that she was harsh on Danielle in Ireland but claims she attempted to take Danielle under her wing and help her in business. Danielle doesn’t dispute this but denies that she flipped on Margaret.
The conversation then turns to Danielle and Melissa’s relationship. Danielle admits she doesn’t know what happened to their relationship, while Melissa says she tried to really welcome Danielle into the group. Teresa interjects, claiming that Melissa was only being friendly in an attempt to get Danielle on her “team” and for her storyline on RHONJ. Melissa insists Teresa did the same with Rachel Fuda, but everyone agrees that Teresa has no interest in building a friendship with Rachel.
Rachel Fuda vs Danielle Cabral
Danielle says she doesn’t want to be anything like some of the ladies on the show when asked about Margaret and Jackie Goldschneider making fun of her all season long. She insists she’s happy with who she is and slams how Margaret and Jackie treated her throughout the season. Margaret fires back that Danielle should be happy with what a good first season she had while then taking a shot at Jennifer Aydin by mentioning all the endorsements Danielle has gotten since joining the show.
Jennifer A screams that she doesn’t need endorsements, claiming that after she moves on from the show, her life will remain the same, unlike other members of the RHONJ cast.
Danielle then addresses her drama with Rachel Fuda. She admits that, at times, she was so shocked by some of their drama that she just had to walk away from it.
The newbie insists that she NEVER said Margaret has an arsenal – she said Laura Lee Jensen claims Margaret has an arsenal on members of the cast.
Margaret admits that when she watched the show, Danielle’s comment wasn’t as bad as Rachel made it out to be. While she won’t admit that Rachel misrepresented Danielle’s comment, Jennifer A. believes she did.
Jennifer A tells Rachel:
“You absolutely twisted it. She was instigating. She was fueling the fire.”
Margaret then claims that Danielle took the drama very hard the rest of the season, but Danielle says she only did so because Margaret and Rachel “didn’t let it go.”
Andy agrees that they talked about it all season. Rachel interjects that Danielle takes “zero accountability” and that this ties into her estrangement from her brother.
Danielle says if she were an “asshole and a bitch,” then she’d own it to which Rachel replies, “You’re an asshole and bitch to me, and you don’t own it.”
The mom of two screams:
“You’re the biggest bitch that ever walked the face of the earth.”
Rachel then accuses Danielle of taking her insecurities out on her. Yawn. Nice try, Rachel.
Andy tries to squash the beef between Rachel and Danielle, saying he enjoyed them together when they get along. He adds that their drama was so stupid and unnecessary.
There’s some hope that these two can work through their issues, as both admit they do like each other. The two agree on a truce and vow to leave their drama at the reunion.
Melissa Gorga Addresses Criticism of New House
Andy congratulates Melissa on her and Joe’s new house. He also brings up the criticism Joe and Melissa have received over the house and its decor. Melissa explains that she and Joe are still working on finishing up their house despite moving in before Christmas. She claims that the criticism doesn’t bother her at all, except we know that’s not true as Joe and Melissa are revamping their house as we speak because of the hate they’ve received.
Rachel admits that Fuda Tile did all the tile in Joe and Melissa’s new house. Guess that was a thank you for getting Rachel and John on the show. Hmmm…
Teresa Giudice Slams Accusations She “Publicly Shamed Antonia [Gorga]”
Teresa admits she shouldn’t have answered Rachel Fuda’s question about if her kids are close to Melissa’s kids because it was a setup.
When Rachel denies the accusation, Teresa explains that she should have tossed the question back to Rachel and asked why she isn’t directly this question at her bestie Melissa.
“It was a setup question.”
Andy brings up the FACT that Melissa has talked about Teresa’s kids, mainly Gia Giudice. Melissa denies this, but Andy pushes, saying Melissa talked about Gia on her podcast and said the Giudice girls have “hate” in their hearts for her.
Melissa says she was justified in saying that based on the Giudice girls’ actions on the show this year. She goes on to say that the girls do hate her and that she would never through her nieces under the bus for missing an event, adding that Teresa’s girls have missed plenty of her kids’ events over the years. And yeah, Melissa, you called them out on the show for it. Remember when Gia missed being at the church for Joey’s christening? You called Teresa and Gia out for it on the show, and it was the first episode you ever filmed for RHONJ.
Teresa doubles down on the fact that her kids don’t have hate in their heats for Joe or Melissa. Jennifer A. adds that the girls are merely “disappointed” in Joe and Melissa.
As for Melissa telling Antonia not to hate her aunt Teresa due to her drama with Joe Gorga, Teresa says it was all for Melissa’s storyline.
Melissa points out that her kids have never talked badly about Teresa on the show. Teresa fires back that Melissa and Joe are the ones who claimed they put “food on her table.” Because of this lie, Teresa’s daughters felt the need to address it on the show.
Teresa then says that Joe Gorga only came to see her in prison once and only because Bravo was filming it for Teresa Checks In. Melissa then says Joe was a good uncle and helped pack Gia up for college and even drove her to Rutgers.
While Melissa claims she’s had Teresa’s back for the last twenty years, Teresa says she’s been covering for Joe and Melissa all this time, and she’s done doing it.
Then the conversation shifts to Margaret’s ex-bff Laura Lee Jensen. Jennifer says that Laura is convinced that Margaret blocked her from getting on the show.
Andy notes that Margaret did try several times to get her cast. As for Jennifer’s relationship with Laura, she explains the two chat but that they are not good friends. He adds that Laura trying to get on the show as Margaret’s enemy might be interesting.
Teresa quips that’s what Bravo did with Melissa, so why aren’t they doing it with Laura? Melissa says because she’s “pretty cool and interesting.” Yeah, right, girl. You haven’t had a real storyline that doesn’t involve Teresa ever.
The RHONJ OG calls Melissa joining the show behind her back “disgusting.”
“It was disgusting. This was disgusting.”
As for why Melissa and Joe were cast on the show, Andy says:
“She was cute. Joe was funny. They had a double staircase like you [Teresa], which was funny.”
Melissa doesn’t get why they are talking about how she joined the show, but Jennifer A. points out that Teresa “can’t get over it” because there’s never any “accountability.”
Teresa tells Melissa:
“Your whole storyline was me.”
Melissa tries to claim that she and Joe are Teresa’s whole storyline and she should be thankful that they “gave her something.” Sure, Jan.
“I’m never going to look at your face again,” Teresa tells Melissa while listing off all her storylines over the years.
Andy seems frustrated as Teresa drops a bombshell.
Teresa claims that Jacqueline Laurita told her that Joe and Melissa were hanging out with Joe Giudice’s ex-business partner when they joined the show during season 3.
Melissa is flabbergasted and brings up Teresa’s past claim that Caroline Manzo put her in jail. Teresa fires back, saying, “
“No. I take that back. I think you did.”
End scene.
Thoughts on part one of the reunion? Sound off below!
The RHONJ Season 13 Reunion Part One aired on [insert date].
In the RHONJ Season 13 Reunion Part One, tensions escalated as the cast confronted unresolved issues from the season. Explosive arguments, emotional revelations, and shocking accusations took center stage.
During the RHONJ Season 13 Reunion Part One, the cast members engaged in intense discussions and clashes, with notable confrontations involving [insert cast member names]. These interactions contributed to the overall drama of the reunion.
