RHONJ’s Jen Fessler Spills On Teresa & Melissa’s ‘Sad’ Feud & The Cast’s ‘Really Fun’ Trip To Ireland (Exclusive)
‘RHONJ’ newbie Jennifer Fessler dishes on her first season, which sometimes gives her ‘anxiety’ now that it’s airing on TV, in this EXCLUSIVE new interview.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s 13th season kicked off with a bang on Feb. 7, when the cast got together for two group events and viewers were introduced to a few new cast members, including “friend of” Jennifer Fessler. Jen, who was introduced as a friend of Margaret Josephs‘, came onto the scene and immediately started sharing her opinions on various hot topics like Margaret and Teresa Giudice‘s falling out, Jennifer Aydin‘s issues with Dolores Catania, and more. She also offered a bit of comic relief during Danielle Cabral‘s mozzarella-making party during the Feb. 14 episode, and we quickly fell in love with her. Now, she’s diving even deeper and opening up about Teresa’s long-standing feud with her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, and whether there’s hope for any sort of reconciliation.
Yeah… this is now a Jennifer Fessler fan account. Love this bitch so much, she’s the perfect comedic relief. She understood the assignment 😂💀#rhonj pic.twitter.com/dscz9zS4vx
— Daily Bravo 💌 (@dailybravomail) February 19, 2023
During an upcoming episode of HollywoodLife‘s Pay Attention Puh-Lease! podcast, Jennifer, who watched RHONJ before joining the show, told us, “[Their feud is] such a different thing when you watch it as a viewer as opposed to being in it and actually knowing these people and becoming friends with these people. And what I think is what everyone thinks, which is that it is just so sad. And I think I’ve shared with both of them probably, but I’ve had moments with my own family… bigger, larger than just moments. I think at one point, there was a lot of time that went by that my sister and I didn’t speak, and I was devastated and she was devastated and we’re very close. And how can you even compare a situation like that to… this is a whole different level. So I have nothing that I can really add. I wish that there was something I could say that would be insightful. I think I’m saying what everyone’s saying, which is just that the whole thing is really, really sad.”
Jennifer thinks there’s some “hope” for a reconciliation, but it won’t be easy. “I’ve watched lots of the franchises and I’ve watched lots of reunions where at the end, or maybe not even at the end, but you hear someone will say, ‘Listen, I would be there for any one of these women.’ There is a sisterhood here. So I like to think that that’s true in New Jersey. I’m not going to bet my money on it necessarily, but I have hopes. I mean, I think things do change. I think that’s part of what makes Housewives so great is that you can actually see recovery. And in some of my friendships, and everybody has friendships that unfortunately that dissolve, but here, you’re in a situation where you’re going to be together continually regardless. So I think that it helps to facilitate sometimes making up. And I really, really hope [they can reconcile], because when things are good, as you’ll see in Ireland, they’re so good.”
The cast of RHONJ will travel to Ireland later this season. It’s their first international trip in many seasons, and Jennifer said everyone had an amazing time together. Obviously, there was also some drama, but overall, it was “really fun”.
She explained, “I mean, we had the best time. I had the best time. I think everyone would actually say that. It was really fun. I mean, we got to go to Ireland obviously. It was really, really fabulous. And I think that it’s going to be, I hope it’ll be people’s… some of people’s favorite episodes because of the fact that they’re going to see everybody actually enjoying each other and laughing. In terms of what I can tease, it’s a sloppy mess. If you like that kind of thing, if you like to see women make fools of themselves, you’ll enjoy those episodes. But again, not just me, we all just had a blast. [And] there was also drama … plenty of it.”
Jennifer’s interview on the Pay Attention Puh-Lease! podcast drops on Apple Podcasts or Spotify this Friday, Feb. 24. New episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey air Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo.