The Garden State Housewives continue to take on Ireland at the beginning of tonight’s all-new episode of RHONJ Recap!
As the ladies leave their dinner from last week’s episode, they are tipsy and in good spirits. This is a far cry from how the dinner started during last week’s episode, which included a showdown between Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda, as well as some drama between Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin. However, it seems that have swept all of that under the rug for the sake of the trip – or at least Dolores Catania, who has grown frustrated with all the drama.
On the sprinter van back to their castle, Melissa Gorga shocks the ladies by taking a roadie (aka wine from the restaurant) with her for the drive. Suddenly, Melissa gets all frisky and horny, which keeps the ladies entertained. Yet, Melissa takes her antics a little too far when she declares:
“I’m about to drunk dial my ex.”
Naturally, this comment surprises Teresa Giudice, who notes that Melissa is definitely “sauced.”
The next day, Dolores has her boyfriend Paulie Connell‘s family over to meet the ladies.
Paulie’s family chats with the ladies, leading them all on a trip down memory lane. Teresa admits that Melissa was always great with her and Joe Gorga’s parents, even when they would say crazy or do crazy things.
This compliment shocks Melissa, who wonders if she’s still drunk or is imagining things.
The group eventually heads out for Teresa’s hen party (aka bachelorette party) at a chicken farm for their last day in Ireland. I think they took the term “hen party” a little too literally, but okay. At the chicken farm, they engage in a game called ‘Catch the Cock,’ where they literally have to try to catch a male rooster. Apparently, it’s good luck. Teresa goes first and picks Melissa to be her partner. Surprisingly, Teresa is a pro and catches the “cock” quickly. Some of the other ladies give the game a try and aren’t quite as successful or fearless as the RHONJ OG.
Next up is a group activity that involves drawing. The host instructs the group to paint pictures of different times in Teresa’s life. Afterward, they will explain their painting to the bride-to-be.
The activity triggers Teresa, who gets emotional and teary-eyed thinking about her time in prison. She asks the ladies not to paint any bars.
Teresa opens up about going to jail, admitting it was so difficult to leave her daughters and miss milestone moments in their lives.
“I started with Sala Consilina ’cause that was where your parents were from,” Melissa tells Teresa as she begins to cry.
“And I’m showing your family coming from Italy. Your dad, your mom, you, and your brother,” she continues before getting so emotional that she had to stop. This tugs at Teresa’s heartstrings as she and several of the women get teary-eyed.
In her confessional, Melissa adds:
“It’s just sad to me that this was a family, and to draw them from the beginning struck me like, ‘Wow, look where we are right now.'”
Teresa then walks over to Melissa, telling her, “I swear, I knew that was yours,” to which Melissa replies, “I’m sorry. This is your family. I love them so much.” The sisters-in-law embrace in a tearful hug.
“It’s, like, the way we started,” an emotional Teresa explains in her confessional. “We were so happy. We were a happy, beautiful family. And they always instilled in us: love each other.”
As any longtime RHONJ fan will know, Teresa and Joe‘s mother, Antonia Gorga, died in 2017 at the age of 66, while their father, Giacinto Gorga, passed away in April 2020.
Yet, Teresa and Melissa’s bonding goes up in smoke thanks to Melissa, who once again refuses to take the olive branch Teresa is extending to Melissa, Joe, and their kids.
Teresa explains that she loved seeing Paulie’s mom and sister with Dolores, noting that it reminded her of the early days when Melissa first joined their family. Teresa says she knows there were moments of tension at the beginning; however, Melissa makes it clear she is not interested in going down memory lane.
Melissa says she got upset on the sprinter van the other day because Teresa brought up Milania’s Sweet 16 from a year ago. Teresa insists she wasn’t trying to say anything bad about Antonia, saying that she loves her nieces and nephews. She then admits that she’d love to have Joe, Melissa, and their kids involved in the wedding, saying it would “complete” the day. However, Melissa says she has no interest in her family being props for Teresa’s wedding.
At lunch, Teresa reveals that Louie asked Bill Aydin to participate in the wedding, which surprises Melissa. Teresa explains that the Aydins have been so supportive, which is great since she doesn’t have a family. Melissa is pissed at this point.
Meanwhile, Danielle gets emotional over the drama between Teresa and Melissa, and Joe; she urges the family to “get over” the drama and be a family.
The ladies then head to the “Irish spa,” which isn’t exactly luxurious. It’s basically a mud pit with this special type of mud that they use at the spas. The ladies dive in, and oddly enough, Melissa and Teresa dive in together, holding hands.
At the castle, Danielle calls her husband. During their talk, she admits that she is having a hard time on the trip, noting that the merry-go-round of drama is too much for her to take.
Back in Jersey, Joe Beningna hosts a guys’ night where the men plan to partake in some of the products from Frank Catania’s new pot and edibles business.
Joe Gorga and Bill arrive at Joe B’s house first, which is when Gorga learns that Bill was just asked to be a part of Louie and Teresa’s wedding. He’s shocked and calls the wedding a joke. Gorga tells Bill that he and Jen are an “afterthought” to Teresa and Louie.
The rest of the men arrive, and they celebrate Frank’s new business. Oddly enough, Joe B partakes in the pot smoking. Hmm…wonder if Margaret will label him a “disheveled little drug addict” like she did Jennifer for doing the same.
Gorga then tells the guys that Teresa brought up his daughter in Ireland. Obviously, he leaves all the details and context out of the story but says he doesn’t want his daughter to be “angry” and have “hate” in her heart like Teresa’s daughters. Once again, Gorga is bashing his nieces on national television.
Across the Atlantic, the ladies attend a whiskey-tasting event at the castle. Naturally, the ladies get a little too tipsy, especially Jen A. While Margaret thinks the trip was “great,” Danielle doesn’t agree. She asks Margaret and Rachel where they stand, and Rachel says they aren’t in a good place. Rachel quickly flies off the hand, which pisses off Danielle.
Melissa stands up for Danielle, saying that she only repeated what she was told about Margaret. Danielle almost slips but holds back, saying that Margaret’s friend reveals so much tea about her. She then points out that Margaret unfeathered Bill’s nearly decade-old affair; she notes that someone can forgive but not forget.
Margaret then goes in on Danielle, telling her that she will NEVER have a relationship with her brother because she can’t stop bringing up old stuff. Everyone thinks Margaret crossed the line, including Jen Fessler, who tries to put the drama to bed so they can enjoy their last night in Ireland.
This moment pushed Danielle over the edge, ending the night crying in her room as everyone prepares to head back to NJ in the morning.
RHONJ airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm on Bravo.
Thoughts on this week’s episode of RHONJ Recap? Sound off below!
The dinner in last week’s episode of RHONJ started with a showdown between Danielle Cabral and Rachel Fuda, as well as drama between Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin.
Melissa Gorga shocked the ladies by taking a roadie (wine from the restaurant) with her for the drive and became frisky and horny, entertaining the ladies.
The ladies participated in a game called ‘Catch the Cock’ at a chicken farm, where they had to try to catch a male rooster for good luck.
