The May 6 episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey started with the introduction of Jen Fessler‘s mom Marilyn and aunt Carolyn, who are identical twins in their 80s. They went over to Margaret Josephs‘ house for a lunch date, during which Jen revealed the twins were born in Brooklyn and best friends with Barbra Streisand while growing up. Apparently, the iconic singer would sing at their house as Jen’s grandmother played music on a piano. It was a great scene that allowed viewers to get to know Jen on a deeper level, but as always, the conversation eventually turned to Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga‘s family issues. Margaret and Jen also talked about how “immature” Danielle Cabral was during the cast’s trip to Ireland, but Jen’s mom and aunt were more interested in Teresa and Melissa’s drama. Marilyn and Carolyn asked the ladies if they thought Melissa would be going to Teresa’s wedding, and they said they hoped she would, but only time would tell.
#RHONJ Season 13, Episode 14 SNEAK PEEK. All new, Tonight 8/7c on @Bravotv. (Source @Bravotv @NBCUniversal) pic.twitter.com/eiTuxlH3Tn
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Later, the Catanias went out for a celebratory family dinner, Paul and Brittany included. Frank Catania continued to poke at Paul, but as Frank got to know Paul better through conversation, he became more and more “impressed” by him. Obviously, that made Dolores Catania happy, but she was taken aback when Paul hinted he may be proposing soon. Frank had asked if they looked at rings yet, and Paul said he already bought one.
Over at Teresa and Luis Ruelas‘ house, the newlyweds-to-be were busy putting the finishing touches on seating arrangements for their wedding. Then when Luis asked Teresa how her bridal shower went, Teresa started bashing Melissa, saying her actions don’t match up with what’s really going on behind closed doors. Apparently, Teresa felt she had to chase Melissa down to find out whether she and Joe Gorga would be attending the rehearsal dinner and the brunch for the morning after the wedding. Teresa showed Luis some text messages that she and Melissa sent each other, and it seemed as though Melissa only found out about the separate events days before the wedding. Melissa said they blocked off the wedding day so they could be there, but since they were just finding out about the other events, and already made plans for those days, they’d have to miss out. But Teresa got snippy in her text reply, telling Melissa that if she had looked at the RSVP to begin with, she’d see the other events. Irregardless, “You know there’s going to be a rehearsal dinner the night before a wedding,” Teresa told Luis.
Luis said Melissa and Joe make him “sick”, but Teresa put most of the blame on Melissa. She said Joe’s actions are a result of Melissa “being in his ears all these years”, however, Luis said no one is trying to make things right. He said everyone just likes to blame each other. He then went on to reveal that Teresa’s ex Joe Giudice recently called him after hearing about the family drama from Gia Giudice, and said, “Do not let Joe Gorga interfere in your life because he’s going to try to do that. He’s going to feel intimidated. He’s insecure.”
Teresa then made a wild claim, saying she and Joe Giudice only ever fought because of her brother. She must have pretend amnesia, though, because we can think of many times when they fought on camera and the argument had nothing to do with Joe and Melissa Gorga.
Either way, Luis called Joe Gorga “trash” and said after they get married, he’s not going to allow anyone to create drama in Teresa’s life like that anymore.
Louie goes on a rant about Joe Gorga. #RHONJ 👀 pic.twitter.com/f8BkkYQmL8
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In a few filler scenes, Rachel and John Fuda shared big news with son Jaiden about her wanting to adopt him, Danielle and her mom attempted to move on from the pain Danielle’s brother had caused the family, and Jennifer Aydin helped her brother and his wife move into a new apartment in New Jersey.
But after that, we saw the cast starting to get ready for Dolores and Paul’s Prohibition-themed party, which won’t actually be shown until next week’s season finale. And while everyone was getting ready for the party, Jennifer and Danielle hinted that they’d finally reveal the rumor about Melissa allegedly cheating on Joe later that night. Danielle said she wants to “clear the air” — she just hopes Melissa doesn’t “shoot the messenger”. And according to Jennifer, Teresa believes the rumor about Melissa because if the information came from Margaret, it would explain why Melissa blindly defended Margaret last season amidst Margaret’s attacks against Luis.
Back at Teresa’s house, Luis let her know how he really feels about Joe. Luis said he was “insulted” when Joe told Teresa she seemed “miserable”. He told Teresa she’s living her “best life”, and all Joe has ever done is “manipulate” and “gaslight” her. Luis said Joe is always “calculating” and planning ways to hurt her and it’s “disgusting”. Teresa calmly said she just wants peace and she’s not looking to cause anymore drama, but that wasn’t good enough for Luis. He basically wanted her to say she’d cut Joe out of her life for good. He made it a point to tell her how “peaceful” their life has been since they stopped interacting with Joe and Melissa 2-3 weeks prior, and he’s done dealing with them. He told Teresa that he’s “ready to react”, and if they end up “going down that road” with Joe and Melissa at Dolores’ party, Teresa “isn’t going to recognize” him. “It’s scary what could happen tonight,” Luis told Teresa. “I don’t even want your brother coming to our wedding.”
Want more drama? The season finale of The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs next week, May 16, at 8pm on Bravo.