Wednesday’s episode of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” aired days after it was revealed Teresa Giudice and Joe Giudice were separating after 20 years of marriage. Though the news was not terribly shocking to most who know the couple’s history, it’s still sad to see the demise of their relationship play out on TV.
As we learned on last week’s “RHONJ,” Joe’s first appeal in his deportation case was denied. This week, Joe Gorga told wife Melissa Gorga he didn’t think Teresa should keep blowing through money to keep fighting, but Melissa completely disagreed. She said she knew what it was like to grow up without a dad.
As Teresa was preparing to host Easter at her house, she told her brother and daughter Gia that if Joe had made himself a U.S. citizen, he would’ve already been home to celebrate the holiday with them. “He blamed me yesterday,” she said. “He said why didn’t I make him an American citizen.” Footage of the cringe-worthy phone call soon took over the screen. “Listen, alls you had to do was pick up a phone and call a lawyer,” Joe angrily said to Teresa, who replied, “Right, so why didn’t you do it? Why’s it on me now?”
“He called me five times yesterday, and he said it’s coming to a point now where every single one of his hopes are getting denied, and he can’t live with it,” Gia told her mom. “He’s just speaking out of his ass now. He’s going crazy. That place is a shithole! My dad is stuck in a two-by-two with five people. I don’t know what the hell to do.”
Joe sat Gia down and reminded her that she and her family have done everything they possibly could do to bring him home. “He’s deteriorating in there … and you need to think about him now,” he said, urging Gia to let her dad know that she was okay with him “letting go.” Both Giudice women had tears in their eyes. “I don’t wanna be selfish, but I don’t know if I’m ready to let him go,” Gia confessed. Joe begged, “Give him the option, ’cause at this, point he’s suffering.”
Once everyone arrived to partake in the feast, Joe called from the ICE facility. He was in relatively good spirits as he joked with his daughters and nephews, but when Joe Gorga took the phone, there was not a dry eye in the room.
“Listen, I f–king love you, bro. And I miss you,” Gorga said. “That’s why I don’t like to talk to you, bro, because you really break my f–king heart. And I miss you, bro, and you gotta stay strong, alright?” Both Joes were crying, as was everyone else. After a brief pause, Giudice said, “I’m doing everything I could, man. Enough is enough of this shit, man.”
Audriana, the youngest, told her dad she missed his lamb chops and that her Nonno’s weren’t as good. After hanging up, she started to sob, so Gia accompanied her to the bathroom. Teresa followed. Audriana said she wanted to see her dad, but Teresa was worried about having her see him in the condition he was in. She thought it could be “traumatic.”
Their entire Easter celebration was absolutely heartbreaking.
Dolores Catania and her ex-husband, Frank, also spoke about the Giudice’s sad news. Frank told Dolores he was not optimistic that Joe would be coming home. However, we would be remiss not to mention their below exchange, for reasons you will soon understand. While the two were driving with their dogs in the backseat, Frank asked why it smelled so bad.
Dolores: “Frankie didn’t take the garbage out, the fish went bad and the dogs ate it.”
Frank: “That’s awesome.”
Dolores: “Do I smell like fish?”
Frank: “It’s nothing I haven’t smelled on you before.”
Dolores: “Shut up, Frank. I’m the cleanest girl you know.”
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We love them.
Prior to celebrating Easter with her family, Teresa met up with Danielle Staub. They spoke briefly about Joe’s situation before switching gears. Tre asked Danielle if she was “together” with her ex-husband, Marty Caffrey, after the ladies got word last week that the two had allegedly had sex. Danielle said she wouldn’t necessarily classify it as “together.” Teresa wondered how they could live in the same house after everything that went down (she accused him of abusing her and her daughters) and asked if there were any sparks. Danielle said things were cordial.
Teresa then asked, “Wait, whats going on with Olivier?” A week after finalizing her divorce from Marty, Danielle announced she was engaged to a New York businessman named Olivier Maier, who was allegedly dating their mutual friend (and Margaret Josephs’ good friend) at the time. Olivier was Danielle’s 21st fiancé.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I have to say, getting along with Marty is not terrible,” Danielle confessed. “I mean, I don’t know where we’re going from here, but I needed to apologize to Marty. I hurt him and I humiliated him, and for that I will forever regret. But I want the house, and I want it to be the start of a legacy for my children. And to get a house of that caliber at this price… I have a co-signer. It’s Olivier.”
“But if you and Marty get back together then you don’t need Olivier,” Teresa noted.
“It’s not that I need Olivier,” Danielle explained. “I could’ve gotten a loan, and I was in the process of getting one, but the interest rate was astronomical. Yeah, we’re almost there. We’re in the process of getting the mortgage interest rate approved. I see a future. I see a future.”
Meanwhile, Marty went over to Margaret’s house to talk, and Margaret asked him point-blank if he had slept with Danielle. Marty said he wished that hadn’t been discussed among the women but said he and Danielle were in a good, peaceful place.
“Marty, I think she’s at peace for you for one reason,” Margaret said. “She doesn’t wanna be out of that house. She only will be nice when she wants something. I am being honest with you, she will only be around people that she can get something from.” She added, “I mean, Teresa was also trying to make it out like you two could be getting back together.”
In her confessional, Margaret explained that the terms of their divorce stated Danielle had 30 days to either come up with $2 million to buy Marty out of the house, or move out so he could sell it.
“Well, I can’t say what’s gonna happen five years from now, but here’s what’s gonna happen…” Marty began, but Margaret cut him off. “Marty! No way in f–king hell,” she said sternly. “Five years from now, I plan on you being with someone who deserves you. She disparaged you. No way.”
“I’m not saying that she didn’t do anything bad to me. She’s working on getting her shit together,” he maintained. “And I think we’re past that.” Again, Margaret said there was “no way you two are sleeping together,” but Marty said he didn’t want to discuss the topic.
“He f–ked her!” she exclaimed in a later confessional. “Wow, men really are f–king stupid.”
Elsewhere, Jennifer Aydin’s brother, who’s a music teacher, came over for her youngest daughter’s piano lesson. Before they got started, Jennifer and Steven spoke in the kitchen about how he went against their Turkish culture by not inheriting their father’s jewelry business. Instead, he opted to follow his dreams and pursue musical theater because that’s where he thrived and felt accepted as a gay man. Jennifer said her parents “know he’s gay, but they never speak of it.” She told her brother she worried for the day he wanted to bring home a boyfriend, but he said they’d cross that bridge when they got there.
Jennifer’s oldest daughter, Gabriella, was in the kitchen, listening to her mom and uncle’s conversation. Afterward, she called her mom over and asked if “Dayi” was gay.
Taken off guard, Jennifer replied, “Um, yes he is, baby. Does that matter, though? He’s still the same person.” Gaby said she didn’t care and that he was still the same uncle she’s known all her life. “I never told you guys because I didn’t think it was anything to draw attention to. You like who you like, and that’s it,” Jennifer explained, later adding in her confessional, “I was raised in a family where you didn’t talk about things. I don’t want my kids to feel like they have to keep secrets from me, ever, especially with all the bullying that Gaby has gone through. I want her to know that there’s nothing that we as a family cannot tackle together.”
Later, Jackie Goldschneider went over to her dad’s house. He whipped out a home video from her junior prom in 1993. She said she was over 200 lbs. “Who’s that big girl?” he asked as Jackie and two of her kids watched the footage.
“Right after this, I started dieting,” she explained. “By senior year, I already lost 20 lbs.” Her dad responded, “But I got news for ya: You were a good inspiration to kids who are heavy!” Jackie reminded her dad she “battled a very terrible, terrible eating disorder for 20 years.”
“You know something? It’s almost worth it,” he said. Jackie was appalled. “Are you insane? Are you insane?” she asked. “Don’t even say that. You don’t know what I went through. I almost died!” Her dad denied her claim, but she maintained, “I didn’t eat anything for 20 years!”
See what she told TooFab about her dad’s comments here.
“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” will resume Wednesday, January 8 at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
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