This episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey is brought to you by divine intervention. The girls’ trip gets canceled due to a freak fire, and everyone realizes that this is for the best. After all, Teresa is coming in hot now that she is able to share her story about Margaret.
But it’s not just the ladies who are choosing sides — the husbands also divide, showing allegiances. Is it possible for these Jersey ladies to find a way to drop all of their issues to find peace?
It’s always nice to start out with a positive segment on a show that is full of feuding. Rachel’s daughter, Giuliana, has been making strides since her lip and tongue-tie procedure. Her gross motor skills have improved greatly — she is standing up by herself for the first time, and Rachel is nearly brought to tears as she watches her daughter achieve these milestones.
Jennifer is momming until she sits down with Bill to chat. She catches him up about her time at Rachel’s and explains that she just ignored Danielle. She brings up the sex talk the ladies were having, and she admits that she talked about “milking the prostate.” Bill looks like he wants to crawl under a rock, and he switches gears to talk about Joe Gorga’s guys’ night. Here is where the great divide begins: half the guys are heading to Joe Gorga’s, and Bill and the others will be going to Louie’s. And Jen calls Nate a “b*tch boy.”
Jen then talks about Dolores and Fessler’s retreat, and she wonders if this getaway will help Danielle show some kindness so they can move on… but Jen is doubtful.
Dolores FaceTimes with Fessler (who is saved in her phone as Siggy’s friend, btw), and they begin to plan the girls’ retreat in the Berkshires. The seven-bedroom place also boasts a guesthouse, which Dolores believes should be reserved for Teresa and Jen… to keep them separated if things go south. Dolores wants this group to respect the friendships they once had… cough cough, Jackie and Margaret. Sure, not everyone is meant to be friends, but it’s best to have a peaceful setting to try and “gumbaya,” as Dolores says.
The Marge meets Fessler for some diner eats. Margaret fills Fessler in on the irregularity of Joe’s tests, but he has yet to get a biopsy. Fessler then discusses how she got an invite from Teresa. Her lawyer is showing court findings pertaining to Margaret, but I am more excited to be reunited with Teresa’s attorney, who will be “holding court to discredit” Marge. Fessler goes on to say that Dolores, Jen, Jackie, and Danielle have also been invited.
Upon hearing this, Margaret calls Dolores immediately since she does not appreciate Dolo attending the event to talk about her. Margaret is livid and states that anyone “engaging in negative” is not in the right. She goes on to call Danielle and say the same thing. She is annoyed that Teresa is holding a bashing, and Fessler decides to back out from the event. Kinda makes you wonder why Margaret is being so defensive over this whole thing, though… Wonder if the rumors about Margaret being in contact with Louie’s ex are true?
Joe’s prepping for his guys’ night, and we are really getting to see a line drawn in the sand with the dudes now, too. John Fuda rolls up in some pajamas, and I died when Joe Benigno wonders out loud if Fuda is wearing Joe Gorga’s father’s pajamas, a dig at Louie. Margaret interrupts guys’ night when she calls Joe to tell him about Teresa holding a meeting with her attorney and some of the ladies. The guys do their best to calm Marge down, reminding her she has no involvement.
Frank and Fessler’s husband arrive, and Fuda jokingly asks if they were “switching sides” since they came so late to Joe’s. Frank explains that he did get invited to Louie’s house, and when Joe refers to Louie as a scumbag, Frank dodges the topic. Joe calls the guys’ at Louie’s house a cult, and he reminds the group that Louie screwed them again and again, repeating his mantra that “scumbags hang out with f*cking scumbags.”
Over at Louie’s, Teresa shares that Fessler backed out of the attorney meeting. Teresa is tired of Marge hurting her family for the past three years, and she is hopeful that since the court ruled in Louie’s favor, the dirt will “rise to the top,” and Marge will be outted for what she did.
Bill and Paul arrive to Louie’s version of guys’ night. They chow down until they get ready to compose devotional messages for their wives in Louie’s recording studio. WTF. This is sooo cringe. Louie claims he did not rehearse the message, and it’s even worse when Bill sits down to talk about “my Jenny.” How are they all keeping straight faces?! Bet they wish they were eating juicy steaks at the Gorgas right now.
Because there’s not much else these guys do besides drink at Joe’s, when Fuda starts looking like he’s having an allergic reaction, it’s quite a shakeup. Joe B. insists that Fuda head right to the hospital, yet Fuda refuses, partly because none of those people know what anaphylactic means. As Fuda is having an allergic reaction, Gorga is peeing in the bathroom. #classy. Joe Benigno is the only one who is serious about this whole ordeal, and I applaud him for keeping Fuda focused until the EMTs finish their job.
Later, Dolores breaks some bad news to Paulie: the house they planned to go to for the girls’ trip in the Berkshires burned to the ground. She is a.) happy they were not in there when the fire occurred, and b.) unsure what she is gonna do about this. How bout she just asks Dorinda to stay at Blue Stone Manor?!
Dolores wonders if this is an omen, especially since the Teresa attorney meeting is about to go down. Dolores explains that she wants to hear both her friends out, and that even though Margaret called her screaming, she is still going. In other news, Paulie talks about the devotional videos they created, and Dolores momentarily looks at him like he’s insane.
The day has come, and James Leonard, Teresa’s attorney, arrives. Has he found Ozempic too?! He is looking forward to helping others understand what Teresa’s been going through. One by one the gang trickles in: Dolores, Danielle, Jen, and Jackie, and they all wish that Teresa has some closure with all of this stress.
Gia sits in on the meeting (ofc). Teresa’s attorney says that he has been involved with her family for nine years, and this is the most stressed she has been. They are all speaking in riddles, but it is obvious they are referring to Louie’s ex, Vanessa Reiser, who he claims has been entangled in legal issues with Luis long before Teresa came around.
In 2021, information was leaked that the ex was talking to Margaret, and the ex used Margaret to get info exposed about Louie. Margaret apparently told the ex she was “planning to expose Louie and Teresa” based on the information provided.
Teresa goes on to say, “This [part] will make your f*cking head spin.” The ladies wait for some groundbreaking dirt, but when Teresa explains Louie’s ex has been allegedly getting information out through Marge, no one is surprised. Sure, Marge was the messenger, but it’s not much different than what Jen and Teresa were doing with Laura, Margaret’s ex-best friend. Or how it was alleged that Louie hired a private investigator to dig up dirt about the group. It’s what these Housewives do!
The moment is interrupted by a doorbell. Teresa runs to get the delivery: funeral flowers from Marge with a note saying, “Sorry for the loss of your dignity.” OMG. Danielle calls this “the most gangsta move” she has ever seen in her whole life. As the ladies look on, shocked, Danielle wonders out loud how they would be able to go away together, and that leads Dolores to break the news about the five-alarm house fire.
They all believe it’s divine intervention (or an “OHM,” according to Tre), but Dolores is still trying to plan a dinner so they can talk it out. It’s not just Teresa and Marge who need to move on — peace needs to happen for the entire group. And that, my friends, will bring us to the season finale… THE scene we all remember from the premiere with Dolores sitting alone…