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The take-away from this episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey seems to be loyalty. And even if someone says they aren’t going to tell you not to be friends with someone, they will still be mad at you IF you choose to be friends with that person.
Just ask Rachel. After seeing Jen Fessler “cozying up” with Teresa, she is questioning their friendship. Plus, a college-bound Gabriella keeps Teresa out of the mix, as she was home prepping to send her off to school. Good thing, because it’s not like she would have been invited to Missy G’s Italian birthday party for Joe anyway…
We’re still down at the Jersey Shore and the houses are still very much divided into what seems to be teams, minus the few who can ride the fence. This is just fine in theory, but in reality, the friendships get muddied, causing more drama than necessary…but we will get back to that later. The Fuda house has prepared a stunning spread of muffins to serve their guests, but not much gets eaten (thank goodness, cuz not much was offered) before John begins questioning Jen Fessler.
John is confused why Jen would even entertain Teresa the night before, particularly since Teresa has been nothing but sh*tty to Rachel and her family. Jen tries to calmly explain what her motive was when it came to talking to Teresa and admits that it was about Teresa learning she said the group did “not execute the plan” they discussed at the reunion. Jen justifies the sit-down with the enemy by stating she doesn’t have any beef with Teresa and Louie, and with that, the music literally stops as Rachel reminds us that not so long ago, Jen didn’t even want to be in the same ROOM as Teresa and Louie.
Jen tries to act like a hero for making Teresa clarify the John as a drug dealer rumor, but Rachel is irritated. She thought she could count on Jen to be on her side when it came to Teresa.
It’s perfect weather for Joe’s Italian-themed party to celebrate his last year in his forties. Margaret tells Joe and Melissa that Dolores is staying at Jennifer’s house and now that Teresa went home to take Gabriella to college, that leaves Jen alone since she (obviously) is not invited to the Gorga party. Dolores is feeling a little awkward, but she will be in attendance anyway. Melissa claims that Jen instigates some stuff, on top of being ridiculously loyal to Teresa, but she is unsure what Jen’s problem is with her, since last year she def tried to hurt Melissa.
Over a Turkish breakfast at Jen’s shore house, they discuss Nate’s celebration of life party and Bill is finally out of surgery (lol). Jen talks about how Melissa has been avoiding her and so Dolores suggests that Jen talk to Melissa about it. Jen reminds her that she has historically always been the one to apologize and move on. She’s getting tired of it.
As a way to extend an olive branch (and since he knows Teresa is tied up at home), Joe decides that he will call Bill up to invite him to the party. Bill kindly declines, as the wives are still not in a great place and it has been bothering Jen a lot. Bill reports back to Jen, who finally feels like Bill has her back…after quite a few seasons of him being wishy-washy. Jen states that she doesn’t need an apology and feels like Joe is simply trying to put a band aid on the bigger issues.
Gabriella is heading to college in 3 days and the best part about this segment is Juicy Joe mocking Teresa’s hello on FaceTime. All of the girls are in tears until Louie walks in with their drink orders. We learn that Joe is not helping pay for college, so it lands on Teresa…and Louie. It’s crazy how much all of the dorter’s voices sound exactly the same and it’s also surprising to actually hear Gabriella speak- this is the most we’ve ever heard her talk in 14 seasons.
After the moving trucks come to take Gabriella’s things away, Teresa and Louie sit down to recap the night before. Teresa can hardly believe that John Fuda is mad because he thought she meant he was the biggest drug dealer now. Teresa laughs about John thinking he’s the God Father and Louie calls him one “ugly mother f*cker.” Teresa thanks Louie for handling everything with grace and for respecting the evening for what it was meant to be.
Later, Dolores kisses Jenifer goodbye and she heads to the Italian festival, I mean Joe’s party. Marge Senior is in attendance along with Kayla and Jamie…one of the new couples that keeps getting added into the mix. John arrives with a blow up doll gift for Joe, but instead of making Melissa laugh, she is more grossed out by it. Frank is back on our screens-praise be- and Jackie is there, feeling out of place, especially since Danielle purposely excluded her from Nate’s party.
As the men sit around, John claims he is getting attacked on multiple levels over baseless rumors and all I have to say is, thank goodness for Frank. He breaks the tension and asks John about the double-headed d*ldo rumor, which causes the men to erupt in laughter, rather than aggression.
Rachel learns through Margaret that Joe called Bill to invite them to the party and that Bill declined, due to the rift between Melissa and Jennifer. Speaking of rifts, Rachel doesn’t understand why Jen Fessler is fighting her fight, especially after she let Jen into her life. Margaret doesn’t like that Jen and Teresa were giggling in the corner, and she wants to sit and talk with Jen to figure it out.
It’s Gabriella’s farewell party and so Teresa has decided to host a party at a restaurant that her friend of 30 years manages. It’s so nice to see all of the dorters come together, especially Milania and Gabriella, who are 16 months apart. Teresa seems like she’s gonna be lost without this one…
In the meantime, they’re busy doing a*s shots out of a blow up doll at Missy G’s while Jennifer and her daughter play boardwalk games. The juxtaposition is hilarious. As the Italian themed party wears on, Frank talks to Dolores and Paul about proposing to Brittany while he is in Costa Rica. Dolores gives her blessing and understands that Frank is more ready to be a husband now than he was years ago.
Marge, Jen, and Rachel finally get together and the whole Teresa convo is immediately addressed. Margaret states, “I’m dying to hear about your chit chat” with Teresa. Jen tries to explain that Teresa was mad because Teresa heard that Jen was talking about the reunion plan. Rachel and Margaret do not believe that Jen owes Teresa any explanation. Jen refuses to admit that she speaks “poorly about Louie incessantly.” And Jackie plops down, inserts herself, and wonders why Margaret is getting worked up about Louie. Margaret is not expecting Jen to fight Teresa, but she doesn’t need to have her head up Teresa’s a*s.
Jen and Margaret begin to yell back and forth and Rachel reminds Jen that she essentially thought she was a ride or die. Jen lets Margaret and Rachel know, “I ain’t your solider,” which takes them back, and then follows that up with, “I’ve got you, but I’m not gonna be you,” which you know does not sit well with Rachel. Rachel tearfully explains that she loves and values Jen, but is confused why Jen would want to befriend someone that is trying to hurt her family. Before storming off, Margaret tells Jen,“ It’s weird [that you’re choosing to be friends with Teresa] because you knew us first and you f*cking just met this girl,” yet Jen remains adamant that she is a good friend to Margaret and Rachel.
Margaret and Rachel fill Danielle in on what just went down. Rachel keeps saying how hard it is to look her best friend in the eye because she has befriend Teresa. She feels like she is being attacked by her best friend and keeps saying she doesn’t want to tell Jen not to be friends with Teresa…buuut she kinda is.
According to Rachel, Danielle does a good job of receiving information that Rachel says about Teresa (who happens to be Danielle’s buddy) and Danielle can see that it doesn’t seem like Jen is showing very much loyalty to Rachel. Jen leaves the party, but it’s interesting because she’s supposed to be sleeping at Rachel’s house that night…so that might awkward. The Gorgas have a wholesome family photo shoot before singing HBD to Joe. Just your typical Jersey party for the books.
Tell us your thoughts on this episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
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