For the first time in Bravo history, The Real Housewives Of New Jersey season 14 will not be having a reunion, presumably due to unresolved tension between Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga. Melissa and Teresa have been fighting since they were first seen together in season 2, but their most recent fight in season 13 delayed the filming of season 14 and is now rumored to be the reason the reunion was canceled. The show has historically offered incredibly dramatic and memorable reunions to hold its place as one of the best Bravo reality shows.
Teresa has been part of the cast of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey since season 1, whereas Melissa officially joined the cast during season 2. Melissa is married to Teresa’s brother, Joe Gorga, which makes Melissa a sister-in-law to Teresa, despite neither of the two ever harmoniously coexisting with each other for longer than a few seasons of the reality show. Although many of the cast members do not get along, the conflict between Melissa and Teresa has escalated to the point where neither can sit in the same room.
Sister-in-law’s Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga have a long history of feuding throughout their time on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Melissa And Teresa Do Not Interact At All In Season 14
Things Reached A Breaking Point After Season 13
Custom image by César García
At the end of The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13, Melissa and Joe decided not to attend Teresa and Louie Ruelas’ wedding, which caused their most recent blow-up. Teresa was previously married to Joe Giudice, the father of her four children, who was forced to be deported back to Italy after serving his prison sentence of 41 counts for mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud. After coping with the dissolution of what appeared to be a tumultuous marriage on the outside, Teresa was looking for support in this new chapter from her brother and sister-in-law.
Melissa and Teresa’s feud delayed filming for RHONJ season 14 and also kept the two from interacting throughout the current season. This made it difficult for the cast to film on a logistical level, so it can be gathered that the challenge of getting Melissa and Teresa into the same room was part of the reason why the reunion was canceled. Unfortunately, the reunion might have been one of the most memorable of all time if it were the first time Melissa and Teresa were seen on screen together since season 13.
The Entire Cast Is Divided And Taking Sides
It’s Team Teresa vs. Team Melissa
The cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 has been forced to take sides in the feud between Teresa and Melissa, meaning that several voices impacted the ability to have a respectful and cordial conversation (something reunions aren’t typically known for anyway). Most notably, Margaret Josephs and Rachel Fuda stand with Melissa and have their problems with Teresa, whereas Dolores Catania, Jennifer Aydin, and Jackie Goldscheider stand with Teresa. It’s almost an even split down the middle, counting friends.
Teresa has been in a public feud with John Fuda, Rachel’s husband, after Teresa’s husband, Louie, was accused of hiring a private investigator to dig into the Fudas’ personal lives. Margaret’s feud with Teresa was unpacked following the season 13 reunion when she said Teresa was dead to her after Louie supposedly called and threatened her son. So, the opposition against Teresa is not only in support of Melissa but more in support of each party’s family and the issues they’ve had concerning their relationships with Teresa and Louie.
The Show Is Not Sustainable With This Dynamic
Shunning Your Cast Mates Does Not Make For Good TV
On an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Teresa played a game in which she voted for activities she would rather do than spend time with Melissa, and to no one’s surprise, Teresa voted against Melissa every time. The options were not easy for Teresa to choose as they included things such as marrying her ex-husband, Joe, and making amends with Margaret. Although her refusal to stand down might be admirable to some, it does not make for entertaining television, as Joel Kim Booster pointed out.
All episodes of Watch What Happens Live are available for listening on Apple Podcasts.
Andy Cohen spoke about the canceled reunion during the June 3 broadcast of Radio Andy, where he suggested that when he met with the producers after the season wrapped, they all agreed, “The finale is kind of the finale and the reunion all in one.” So the RHONJ season 14 finale will be one for the books, and Andy also hinted that Bravo was cooking something up in place of the reunion that has yet to be announced. It would be interesting to see if Andy believes the show can move forward with current dynamics as they are.
Ratings Have Hit An All-Time Low
The Show Is Suffering From This Feud
FYI this is #RHONJ lowest rated epsiode ever and season so far in the history of the show https://t.co/NYGGwZwumP
— The Reality TV Guru (@Realitytvguru13) May 21, 2024
According to a report from The Reality TV Guru, ratings for The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 are the lowest they’ve ever been in the history of the show. For example, episode 3 of season 14 earned 0.69 million viewers, whereas episode three of season 13 earned 0.87 million viewers. Ratings always matter when considering a reality show’s longevity because if there is no audience, there is no profit, and the cancelation of the series as a whole would mean that many of the cast members would lose their jobs.
Though loyalty to the show and its cast will always play into the reason an audience tunes in, something will have to change between Teresa and Melissa for the show to move forward. Although Teresa’s feuds with Margaret and Rachel might be significant, Teresa has made it clear that her line in the sand is drawn with Melissa before anyone else. So if there’s any single conflict to blame for the season 14 reunion being canceled, it’s reasonable to go with the one that’s been happening for the past ten years.