Caroline Manzo claimed she will “never, never, never” return to Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip or the Real Housewives franchise after she was allegedly inappropriately touched by Brandi Glanville while filming earlier this year. The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum, 61, made the statement while chatting with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge on their Two T’s in a Pod podcast on April 7. “It was something that I was done with and happy to be done with it. I walked away for a reason,” she added.
After the hosts pressed her about returning to Bravo screens, she said she would need a great deal of money to come back — and doesn’t have her hopes up. “I always said for me to go back, it would have to be a number that was financially irresponsible to walk away from,” Caroline explained. “And I’ve been offered a lot of money in the real world but it was never anything worth it to me to go back to that. So now, no.”
As fans may recall, both Caroline and Brandi, 50, left filming for the fourth season of Ultimate Girls Trip early in January due to Brandi’s alleged unwanted advancements toward Caroline, who was shooting her first Real Housewives show since she departed RHONJ in 2013. “This is very traumatic for me,” Caroline noted on the podcast. “This is a really large onion with a lot of layers and I guess it will play out.”
She also described Brandi’s denial of any wrongdoing as “disappointing.” On March 30, Brandi released several tweets about the situation and claimed she was simply doing what she was paid to do. “I can speak on anything I want to speak on-it was at the end of an 18 hour Wrk day at our belly dancing party & I’d like to see footage on it before hand as both myself & Caroline were very intoxicated,” she wrote after assuring fans she’s not suing Bravo over the matter.
“I’m f****** sick of this narrative.I was hired for a 2nd season of girls trip cuz they LOVED what I did on 1st season I was told to bring the party just like before & that’s exactly what I did & Iwas punished for it,” she added in another tweet. “It feels like a f****** set up. It’s BS & Caroline was fine”.
I'm fucking sick of this narrative.I was hired for a 2nd season of girls trip cuz they LOVED what I did on 1st season I was told to bring the party just like before & that's exactly what I did & Iwas punished for it. It feels like a fucking set up. It's BS & Caroline was fine
— Brandi Glanville (@BrandiGlanville) March 30, 2023
According to a production insider, Brandi had kissed Caroline several times throughout the night as they were filming in Marrakech, Morocco. “It was unwanted,” the source told PEOPLE of the alleged incident. “And Caroline’s distress over the matter did not seem to stop Brandi. Things escalated and physical boundaries allegedly were crossed that Caroline felt were serious and uncomfortable.”
Following both Caroline and Brandi’s early departure from the hit show, Bravo released a statement about the importance of the “safety and security of cast and crew while shooting” and said all reports regarding the incident are being taken “seriously”. The statement continued, “In this situation, production immediately launched a comprehensive review and is taking appropriate action.”
Caroline broke her silence on the matter while appearing on New York Live in March. “I can’t say much, only because it’s not good for my headspace, but it took a lot for me to go back [on a Housewives show],” she noted while promoting her cooking show, Food, Love, and Chaos. “[I was] going back with the best of intentions, with the highest of hopes, to do something fun. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me that way. ”
“I came home early,” she confirmed. “And at this point, I just truly don’t have the space in my head to talk about it. So, I’d rather not but I would imagine it would unfold on the series when it airs and there’ll be a lot said then.”
Caroline confirmed that the resulting investigation had concluded by the time she appeared on Two T’s in a Pod. She also stated she has not spoken to Brandi since the incident.