• We start right back at Dolores’ house with the fight over the Evan rumors. Jen Aydin has dropped the bomb that Joe B. said he heard the rumors, Marge is mad, Jackie has used the word “jail” to Teresa, Melissa is fired up, and Frank just wants to eat. This poor guy never gets to finish a meal with these people.

    Teresa storms away from the table and is pissed that the Gorgas would even let Jackie stay at their shore house. She is demanding loyalty.

    Melissa is over it. She has been called a stripper and a whore, and she is not about to give loyalty where she doesn’t get it. Joe Gorga goes after Teresa, and she tells him to go fuck himself. I really do love Jersey. There’s nothing else like it.

    Joe says Teresa never sticks up for him, especially against Joe Giudice, but that Teresa expects him to kick Jackie out for the jail comment. They all decide they are going to leave and start cleaning up, and Jackie whispers to Marge, “Your husband’s an asshole.”

    Marge agrees and flips on Joe B. Jackie is whining and crying. She wants nothing to do with Joe B., and now Marge is yelling at her. Jackie wants to know why everyone is yelling, which is a fair question considering everyone is, in fact, yelling.

    Frank finally admits that Joe B. said he heard the rumor, but that all the guys said they don’t believe it. Jackie wants to go home. She should. She is hysterical and messy.

    Marge and Jackie make up and blame Teresa for the whole thing. And cue Teresa coming back.

    She goes to Joe and asks why he doesn’t stick up for her against Jackie. Joe Gorga tells Teresa she is wrong, and Melissa wants Teresa to talk to Jackie. Teresa refuses and says no one had her back with the jail comment.

    Suddenly, Melissa is throwing cheese and saying Teresa has never stuck up for the Gorgas, particularly against Joe Giudice. Joe Gorga takes it all in, his face getting redder and redder.

    He is taking it all in and processing, and then finally yells, “I am mad at the son of a bitch! He put you in jail! He put my mother in the fucking grave!” and slams his fists on the table.

    It’s bad. It’s raw, and it’s real. This is what he believes. Everyone looks stunned that it has finally been said.

    Teresa looks like she is going to throw up.

    There is cheese everywhere. 

    Melissa tries to calm Joe down. He wants to forget about Jackie and focus on Joe Giudice. Dolores comes out and tries to restore order, reminding Joe Gorga that his parents would want he and his sister together.

    Joe Gorga tells us that he can’t stand what Joe Giudice did to the family. Teresa says Joe Giudice isn’t in her life anymore, Joe Gorga hugs her, and all is well.

    I don’t know how they do it. I would have jumped in the ocean by now.

    Jackie just keeps crying, and it is clear she is not cut out for this shit. Joe Gorga needs to ice his hand from slamming his fists. I wonder how often that happens?

    Jackie calls Evan and cries some more. Everyone finally goes to bed.

    The next morning, everyone rehashes the night. Dolores is worried because Evan arrives today, and he is angry at Teresa, especially after hearing Jackie so upset.

    At the Gorgas, they have breakfast, and Joe says he called Teresa that morning and they made peace. Again. Teresa has also agreed to behave herself for the rest of the trip.

    Everyone wants Teresa to apologize to Evan, but Teresa feels weird about talking to a man. Dolores wants her to just end it.

    Bill Aydin arrives and gets a debrief on the night before. Their bagels look amazing. I want a Jersey Shore bagel. They hit different.

    Everyone meets up at the Gorgas’ for the afternoon. Teresa apologizes to Jackie, and they agree to drop things, at least for the day. The drinks are flowing at Missy G.’s bar, thank you, Jeezus.

    Evan arrives after a lot of build-up, and everything is cool. He greets everyone, including Teresa. Teresa apologizes, and they move on.

    They all hit the jet skis, and it looks like good, clean, drunken fun. I would break my face.

    At lunch, Jennifer brings up Marge being so mad at Joe B. the night before. Marge blames Jen for bringing the matter up at all. The guys get up and walk away for a shot. They see the drama coming and are just grateful they got to eat for a change.

    Jen says the way Marge treated Joe B. was embarrassing. Marge is offended and tells Jen to mind her business and worry about her own sloppy, drunken behavior.

    Jen says Marge is also sloppy for sleeping with her boss when she was in her twenties.

    Marge is super offended and tells Jen that Bill is her meal ticket for her whole family. Evan says meals bring out the worst in the women, and he is right. They need structured activities.

    They go right from lunch to getting ready for dinner, and I am exhausted trying to keep up. What happened to lying in the sun and taking a nap?

    Marge is fuming about Jen. Jen is fuming about Marge, and I am just waiting to see what happens at this dinner.

  • We start at Jen Aydin’s house, where she is mopping the floors because she threw up everywhere after getting drunk at Teresa’s pool party. And I mean really drunk. She puked all over Bill’s Ferrari, which feels like an especially expensive place to lose your lunch. Jen says she was just blowing off steam because she is overwhelmed dealing with her family problems.

    Over at Dolores’s house, she is looking good, as always, and Frank is apparently thinking about bending her over the kitchen counters, but he doesn’t. Frankie comes in, and he is such a nice boy. Her daughter Gabby also comes over, bringing eight dogs with her. She is a vet and loves animals, so she always seems to have a few strays hanging around.

    Dolores is also receiving an award for the work she does with breast cancer, so Gabby is home to be there for that. And watching this, I am once again reminded that I really need to get my mammogram. It’s been years.

    At Teresa’s, her daughters are popping each other’s zits in the kitchen and I gag. My mother would have killed me for doing that. They call Joe in Italy and he is selling “massagers” and sex toys for a living. Teresa is going in on it with him, since it is doing so well. Teresa is putting the house up for sale now that her divorce with Joe is final. They talk about missing Nono and planning a memorial for him at the Jersey shore. His funeral was small because of COVID. This makes me cry. I also lost my mom during COVID, and I can’t even bear to think of the funeral. 

    Teresa feels like an orphan now that both of her parents are gone, and I could cry for her. I am so lucky to have my dad. He’s literally in the next room and refinished my counters for me this morning. I think I will make him a sandwich.

    Dolores is at David’s house preparing for a luncheon to celebrate her award. David pops by for about two minutes. He is a jerk, and he looks like Squidward. All of the women arrive, and he stays just long enough to say hello and tell Jennifer she is too skinny before taking off back to work.

    Jennifer doesn’t understand David and Dolores’s relationship. Jackie arrives and is relieved that Teresa won’t be there. They are still on the outs because Teresa is spreading rumors that Jackie’s husband, Evan, is cheating.

    Marge makes a snide comment about Jennifer’s drinking and how she fell on her face at Teresa’s pool party. Marge says it brought back memories of Marge Sr. drinking during her childhood. I say she just doesn’t like Jen. You don’t need to dust off a childhood trauma every time someone gets drunk at a pool party.

    Melissa questions Dolores about why she won’t move in with David and whether or not she wants to get engaged.

    Melissa really won’t lay off the personal questions with Dolores. She even asks about her sex life with David. Melissa better tread lightly. Dolores looks annoyed.

    They discuss the upcoming shore trip and who is staying at whose house. Jackie doesn’t want any trouble with Teresa. Let’s hope Teresa feels the same way.

    We see shots of the women packing. Everyone is wondering how the Jackie/Teresa situation will play out. Teresa is repeating rumors that Evan is cheating. Bill Aydin tells Jennifer that Joe B. said he has also heard the rumors. It’s true—he said it at guys’ night, and he is going to get in big trouble for it.

    Jennifer eats this information up and tucks it away for later. Stay tuned.

    They all head to the shore, and I am so jealous. I haven’t been to the beach or seen the ocean once this summer. It’s a travesty. I want to go to Point Pleasant and eat calamari with Frank Catania. I hope he sees this.

    During the drive, Dolores, Frank, Jen Aydin, and Teresa discuss Teresa’s divorce. Dolores tells Teresa she hopes she meets a guy who sweeps her off her feet and takes care of everything for her. I hope Dolores drops David and finds the same thing.

    They also discuss the Jackie situation. Teresa just hates Jackie. Jennifer drops the Joe B. bomb and says Joe B. and Marge have also heard the Evan rumors. Frank looks really uncomfortable. He wants no part of it.

    They all arrive at their respective shore houses and I want one. 

    Joe Gorga uses a fly swatter to look up Melissa’s dress. He is a smooth operator, that one.

    Everyone is going to Dolores’ for dinner. Teresa gets a call that someone already wants to come see her house, which she has just put up for sale. It’s emotional, but exciting for her. She thinks she and the girls are ready for a fresh start.

    Everyone arrives for dinner, and things are off to a good start until Teresa hands out sex-toy gifts to all the women. These things are huge. She tells Jackie to stick hers up her ass. This is such a Jersey-style insult. They are always telling each other to go scratch or stick it up their ass.

    Jackie and Teresa argue about what is, or is not, an olive branch and agree not to be friends. Melissa warns Jackie that Teresa is not done with her yet.

    They set the food up outside, and it is a full Italian feast at the shore. They all discuss Teresa’s divorce again, and she tells Melissa, Joe, and Dolores that they should eat their words about Joe Giudice. They all thought he would try to screw her over, and he was a class act throughout the divorce.

    Joe Gorga immediately goes on the defense, saying Joe Giudice was not good to Teresa and that he has been spreading rumors about the Gorgas. Melissa tries to stop the conversation, and Teresa tells her to shut up. Teresa wants Joe Gorga to promise to stop talking negatively about Joe Giudice.

    Jackie tries to be strong and just looks weepy and skinny. Teresa brings up what Joe B. said at boys’ night, and he looks terrified and denies it. Marge is furious and tells Jen Aydin to shut the fuck up. Marge is screaming and berating Joe B. He said it. We all heard him.

    Jackie says Teresa treats everyone like shit, and we get flashbacks of this over the years. Jackie looks like she is about to start crying, but denies it. Teresa tells Jackie she isn’t confident, and Teresa likes being around confident people. Jackie fires back, “Did you get that confidence in jail?” and it is on like Donkey Kong.

  • It’s July 2015, five months before Teresa comes home and eight months before Joe has to leave for prison. Joe is doing Milania’s hair and tells us he feels closer to the girls now that Teresa is gone. Nothing says “bonding with your children” quite like a prison sentence forcing you to learn how to do a ponytail.

    Melissa picks up the little girls for pedicures with Antonia. She tells us she wants to visit Teresa and e-mail her, but Teresa hasn’t put her on the list. So much for that family reconciliation. Apparently even prison has a guest list.

    Joe Gorga and Joe Giudice get together to work out, and, miraculously, they don’t fight for a change. Anything for a paycheck, right?

    Milania and Antonia are adorable together, and Melissa tells us it’s important to her that they have time together. The Joes hit the gym, and we get that interspersed with Melissa and the Giudice girls at the salon.

    Gabriella has taken on a lot of chores since Teresa left. She is the quiet one of the four girls, but she is a dark horse, that one. I feel like she is quietly taking notes on everyone and will eventually have a very long list of grievances.

    Joe Gorga says he doesn’t think he could care for his kids on his own the way Joe Giudice is, and Melissa is worried that Gia has taken on too much for a girl her age. It’s actually pretty sad to see how much responsibility the older girls have had to absorb while Teresa is away.

    Then Joe Gorga starts asking Joe Giudice gross questions about phone sex and masturbation. This is his sister’s husband, and it is gross. I like it better when they fight.

    Joe Giudice, who isn’t allowed to drive because of his DMV charge, shows us his bike. And his helmet. I die. It’s amazing. Nothing says “Joe Giudice has been forced to stop driving” quite like Joe Giudice proudly presenting his bicycle and helmet like he just bought a Ferrari.

    And then James Leonard is there again! He somehow has Teresa’s diary, and even Joe Giudice questions why the hell he has it. James explains how bad things are in Teresa’s prison, and Joe looks genuinely pained listening to him. He also seems to be in complete denial about the gravity of the situation, repeatedly insisting that prison is basically like “camp.”

    Sure, Joe. Camp. With bars.

    Joe cries some more, and it’s hard to watch. James Leonard seems almost determined to make him cry by talking about Teresa. I don’t trust this guy. There is something about a lawyer sitting around drinking wine while making a grieving husband cry that just does not sit right with me.

    Teresa and Joe are also in complete denial about the little girls not really understanding where Teresa is. Joe just wants to make every day count with them and spend time together making memories, which is actually very sweet.

    James helps himself to some wine, because apparently this is just another Tuesday at the Giudice house, and we cut to Joe making dinner with the girls. The Gorgas are coming over to celebrate the end of the school year.

    They immediately get into a fight over which plates to use, because of course they do. Gia makes sure they use the plates Teresa prefers. Even with Teresa in prison, nobody is risking getting yelled at over the dishes.

    Everyone arrives just as Teresa calls. Melissa puts on her best performance, fake crying through her fake lashes and saying, “Hello.” She tells us she is moved by hearing Teresa, but I am not buying it. These two hate each other. You cannot convince me otherwise.

    It’s taken six months for Joe Gorga to be approved to visit Teresa, and he admits that it hurts. Six months! Whatever their issues are, that has to sting.

    They all sit down to eat some amazing-looking food, and Nono gives a toast. They make plans to head down the shore for the Fourth of July. Joe is limited because he doesn’t have a license, so Melissa offers to help with the driving.

    Nono can’t even bring himself to go visit Teresa in jail and see her there. That one really gets me. I can’t imagine how much Teresa must have missed him during this time.

    It’s another day, and lawyer James Leonard is back at the Giudice house. At this point, I assume James just has a room there. And naturally, it must be time to eat.

    Joe is trying to sell their shore house, and they discuss some of the other issues he is facing, including the threat of deportation. James asks if Joe thinks Teresa would go with him to Italy in the event that he is deported, and Joe says, of course she will.

    Oh, Joe.

    Teresa is going to change A LOT while you are away. Brace yourself.

    We get some scenes of the girls talking to Teresa on the phone. She tells them she has had to lay low in jail because there are actually helicopters trying to get pictures of her. Imagine being in prison and still having to worry about paparazzi.

    They head to the shore, and on the way they pass Fort Dix, where Joe will be in jail in just a few months. He is going away for three years, and that’s no joke. Joe actually calls Gia over to point it out, and I think that is weird. Why would you want your kid to notice that? “Hey, Gia, look! That’s where Dad is going to spend the next three years!”

    Gia admits that all of the girls except Audriana pretty much know the truth about what is going on with their parents. So much for keeping the kids in the dark.

    They arrive at the shore, and we get some scenes of them having fun there in the past, including some really cute shots of the kids. It’s nice to see them looking happy and carefree for a minute.

    Joe Gorga gets choked up talking to the camera, and you can tell the whole situation is really getting to him.

    Teresa calls again while they are barbecuing. Her minutes run out while she is talking to Gabriella, and it is genuinely sad. Melissa cries some more, because apparently we are doing this again.

    Joe tries to explain to the kids that next year he won’t be there for the Fourth of July. Audriana immediately pipes up with, “Daddy, don’t go,” and it is the saddest thing ever.

    He is going to be gone for three years and miss a huge chunk of this little girl’s life. I am a daddy’s girl myself, so this one really gets to me. I feel terrible for her.

    Back in North Jersey, Teresa calls and asks to talk to Joe without the girls around. Milania is drinking coffee. Lol. Anyway, Teresa explains that she asked Gia to tweet something for her, and when the prison staff saw it, they thought Teresa had a phone in jail. The whole place got searched. Teresa doesn’t want Gia to blame herself for any of it.

    These are things that kids shouldn’t have to worry about.

    Joe rides his bike, and I love this for him. He skips the helmet this time and goes to meet up with a friend who has done some time. They have an old-school sit-down at Angelo’s in Little Italy.

    True story: I went into this place once at a quarter after twelve. They opened at twelve. I walked in, and five guys were sitting at the bar. One turned around and said, “We’re closed.” I asked no questions and never went back.

    Anyway, Joe is super positive about doing time. He thinks he’ll be fine and insists he never tried to break the law on purpose. He is mostly worried about how he is going to keep himself busy in jail. And, of course, James Leonard is at the dinner. This guy never misses a meal.

    Joe’s biggest concern is missing his family while he is in prison. He just wants to get his time over with and move on with his life.

    We get a caption telling us that two months after this episode was filmed, the Giudice shore house was repossessed by the bank. So much for that.

  • We are coming off a few seasons without Bethenny, and it has been a mess of new girls, contrived fights, and tossed legs. I remember her return and what a big deal it was. People were ready for it. A reader recently e-mailed me to tackle this episode, and I am excited to do so. It has a nice mixture of old and new bullshit to excavate and unravel, so let’s do it.

    We start with Bethenny pulling up to the Essex House Hotel with her dog, Cookie, and one of her assistants. She has been living in hotels while her seemingly endless divorce drags on. Her ex has her old apartment in Tribeca, so she has been in transition for two years. She calls herself a homeless person, which takes some nerve when you are arriving at the Essex House with an assistant and a dog.

    She also tells us she is relieved her talk show was canceled. Her hotel suite looks great, so I’m a little confused about why she keeps bouncing from hotel to hotel. Can’t she just stay in one place while her new apartment is being renovated? She’s rich. She should make it happen.

    She tells us about her brand and how scattered she feels, which seems to be the general theme of Bethenny’s life right now.

    We see some shots of Kristen at home with her husband and kids. Her husband, Josh, is being a more hands-on dad. Meanwhile, their son is starting their two-year-old’s bath. Um, no.

    Kristen, Carole, Heather, and Luann meet for dinner. They are getting ready to visit Luann’s new house in the Hamptons that weekend. Ramona and Sonja will also be there, although Luann isn’t on great terms with either of them, especially Sonja. Heather also has beef with Sonja.

    All of the women are concerned about Sonja’s drinking and say they are done enabling her. 

    We cut back to Bethenny, who is still talking about how busy she is. She reminds us she is a working mom. She is so busy she forgot to have her very expensive pants hemmed. Her outfit is still super cute, though.

    Luann comes to visit. I don’t recall these two being friends. We see some flashbacks of them fighting over the years, but all seems well during the current scene. They catch up a bit and wax poetic about loves lost, and I remind myself that just a few years later, Bethenny will be screaming “Slut!” in Luann’s face. See the Bezerkshires recaps.

    Bethenny and Luann discuss Sonja and Luann’s relationship with her, as well as Ramona, who is going through the Mario breakup shit. Bethenny hasn’t really had contact with any of the women the last few years since leaving the show after Season 3.

    We get Ramona next, and she is meeting Sonja for lunch. Ramona tries to open up about her divorce, but Sonja really doesn’t allow her to do so. She makes it all about herself and goes on a very Sonja-style tangent about her own divorce a hundred years ago.

    I tune Sonja out here. Ramona’s hair looks good. Actually, so does Sonja’s.

    They switch to discussing the upcoming Hamptons trip. Sonja is nervous because of her strained relationships with the women.

    Carole meets with her editor, who reminds her she is late with several of her deadlines. Carole is super blasé about this, and she annoys me here. Plenty of writers would kill to get the kind of contract she is probably getting, and she totally blows it off. There’s nothing like independent, generational wealth to kill motivation.

    Her editor reminds her that this is a legal contract, and the bestselling author seems genuinely shocked by this information.

    Next up, we have Ramona visiting Dorinda. They are old friends and spend some time discussing Ramona’s divorce. Dorinda is much more empathetic than Sonja and actually listens to her. Ramona’s hair looks really good again. There is nothing like a divorce to get you a glow-up. I looked great after mine.

    Back with Bethenny, she is again surrounded by assistants, talking about how busy she is and how many fabulous events she attends. She says she is immune to the press and anything they say about her, and I guess she would have to be at this point.

    Dorinda hangs out with her daughter, Hannah, and shows her some shoes she bought. They play-fight over Hannah’s spending and Dorinda’s boyfriend, John. It isn’t terribly interesting.

    At Sonja’s townhouse, she has interns scattered all over the place. Oh, her tooth keeps falling out, but she has an intern for that. She has been very busy, she tells us. Too busy to keep track of her teeth.

    She tells us she is finally out of her lawsuit and sold a house in France. She is doing great, but the details of the lawsuit are all over the news, and she doesn’t feel supported by the other women.

    She has a gold facial to relax and gossips with the facialist about how mean the girls are to her. They don’t take her businesses seriously.

    Nobody does, Sonja.

    Dorinda visits her boyfriend at his high-end dry-cleaning business. We get some shots of fabulous and expensive-looking clothes, and Dorinda is in heaven just looking at them.

    Bethenny meets up with her friend and realtor, Frederik, from Million Dollar Listing: New York. She whines on and on about being homeless and calls him a “spoiled queen.” It’s nasty. They check out some rentals, and she is rude to Frederik and the other broker. Somehow, they end up discussing butts and penises. I’m pretty sure Bethenny brings them up.

    Then she cries some more. Like, in a car, on a street, where she is probably driving by actual homeless people, she calls herself homeless again. She wants a real home for her daughter, and I get that she craves stability, but she is far from homeless.

    Then she cries that she wants another baby and is running out of time. She is really going through it. One thing at a time, girl. You just came back on the show. Slow down.