The three-part Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 reunion aired its "intense conclusion" on Tuesday, June 13, and it was short on resolution for several of its season-long storylines, it did offer up plenty of drama.
"We are paying tribute to the beautiful castle in Ireland because it's safe to say that after the way this season ended, we need all the luck of the Irish we can get right now," reunion host Andy Cohen announced at the top of the show, referencing the set's ornate digs and slightly terrifying old-timey portraits of the cast.
And, thankfully, there was some Irish-style luck in the form of Dolores Catania's happy relationship updates with Paul Connell and a long-delayed breakthrough in the Danielle Cabral brother drama. But there was still loads of feuding, especially between sister-in-laws Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga, including those allegations that Teresa’s new husband Luis “Louie” Ruelas hired private investigators to do probing background checks on the Gorgas and the rest of the cast.
Here are the major reveals and allegations from the RHONJ season 13 reunion. .
Louie reveals the meaning behind "creepy" PJs comment
When Andy Cohen asked Louie about that weird PJ reveal he made to Joe Gorga during the season — "I live with your four nieces, I wear your father's pajamas at night to make them feel safe and loving, do you know that?" he told his brother-in-law — Louie explains what he actually meant by the comment.
"I don't sleep in her father's pajamas, that came out wrong," he explained to Joe. "Teresa, when she was emptying out her house, there were bags of clothes that never got to your father. I took one of the sweats and wore it one night in an endearing, good way for your sister and the girls. When I made that comment to you, it sounded creepy, that I'm wearing your dead father's pajamas, excuse me for saying that, but that's not what happened and I'm sorry it came off that way."
"Ever since I met you and got close to your sister, I tried to connect with you in so many different ways and I wanted to be your brother-in-law and have a relationship with you because I went home with your sister every night and knew what she wanted. She didn't want this, we didn't want this to happen," Louie continued.
"I want to believe you… but every time I believe you, you screw me. And I gave you the benefit of the doubt. And I didn't want anything from you, I wanted a brother-in-law, I wanted my sister," Joe responded. "When she came home from prison, she was the best, she was humble, we talked every day, I called her, I loved that. Didn't I call you every day?" he asked his sister, who remained unmoved, saying: "Only because we were filming."
Dolores shuts down rumored business drama between Louie and her son
Andy asks Frank Catania to comment on the rumors of bad business blood between his son and Louie, which the father had touched upon in flashbacks during the second reunion installment. In the previous flashbacks, Frank Catania told Joe Gorga that Louie had allegedly "closed down" the company and "didn't tell Frankie."
"Frankie was reaching out and called me and said, 'Dad, what do I do? I've been calling Louie and he won't respond,'" he explained.
"Frankie's no longer with Louie," Frank told Andy, with a quick interjection from his ex-wife: "He got a new job and that's it."
"That's not what I heard," Joe Gorga quipped.
"Right now, I'm gonna tell you what happened — Louie gave my son a job, he was very happy working for him and I'm very thankful for Louie. I don't know what the rumor is and I don't want to talk about Frankie at all in this cesspit of anything," Dolores told the group. When Joe Gorga began to bring up what Frankie had allegedly told him about the job, Dolores cut him short: "Joe Gorga, this ends right here about Louie and Frankie's relationship, because they're very good. You and I have never had a problem and I don't want one.”
"Why are you upset?" Andy asked her? "Because I don't want to talk anything about my son."
John Fuda alleges Louie hired Bo Dietl to investigate his ex-wife
Bo Dietl has haunted the reunion ever since Louie mentioned the private investigator during Dolores and Paulie's unsanctioned The Great Gatsby-themed party, so naturally, the Jersey crew got into the allegations that Ruelas had hired the retired detective to spy on their lives.
"I have a question," John Fuda began. "How come Louie and Teresa decided to bring my kid's mother into this? Why did you guys have me investigated?"
When the newlyweds denied his claims, Fuda doubled down: "Bo Dietl's friends are subcontractors I happen to know, you had me investigated… I happen to know that a private investigator reached out, you can't just contact a person in prison," he added, referencing Brittany Malsch, his ex-wife and mother of his son Jaiden, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Patterson, N.J. "Those people have to use a number to look up people in the system, that number got traced back to Bo Dietl," John explained.
When Andy asked about Louie's earlier threat that Dielt had intel on everyone in the cast, Ruelas backtracked from his statement: "That was actually misstated that night out of anger." However, Andy pointed out, "You said it the next day as well."
Rachel Fuda also revealed when she and Melissa went out to dinner one night, Dietl was seated next to them. "What are the odds of that happening?" she asked, adding she believes the women were being tailed.
A few moments later, Andy interrupted the conversation to ask Louie a question. "Production just got a call from a man downstairs who's a security person who you hired to come here?"
"Yes, Bo Dietl sent him to me," Louie replied, saying he and Teresa had been on the receiving end of death threats and were being harassed by someone allegedly being fed false information by Margaret Josephs; a claim she denied.
Throughout it all, Louie denied any such behavior, including that he hired Dietl to do a smear campaign against Frank Catania and Joe Gorga. Later, when the men were dismissed from filming, Louie tried to go over and make amends with the Fudas. "If you want to be my friend, you will admit to it, because I know you did" John stopped him, referencing the investigation and telling him to "apologize like a man." Louie replied: "There's nothing to apologize for."
Joe Gorga does not regret skipping out on his sister's wedding
Whether or not Joe and Melissa Gorga would attend Teresa and Louie's wedding wasn't confirmed until right up to the last minute of the season, but Joe revealed he didn't regret choosing not to attend his sibling’s nuptials.
"Before the wedding, they did the Pizzagate thing, which again, not for money, it was just the principle. You talk to me and try to tell me my wife cheated on me and the way you guys did it..." Joe began before talk inevitably evolved into yelling.
Andy tried to get intel about what exactly Louie and Teresa had said to Joe during their sitdown about Melissa’s rumored infidelity. "Did you tell Joe Gorga that she could do better than Melissa?" Andy asked Teresa, but it was revealed by Joe it was actually his niece Gia who said that to him.
They call the eldest Giudice daughter, who was busy having fun at Coachella, to confirm: "I never told him that he could do better than my aunt Melissa and it's sad, Zio Joe, that you're trying to call me a liar."
"This is disgraceful,” Teresa yelled, before storming off set to calm down. However, Melissa Gorga believed she coached her daughter to say that. "What monster would make that up?" Though Andy was finally able to convince Teresa to return to filming, Melissa added of her sister-in-law's influence on the show and the people in it: "We have never suffered like this — we have never had private investigators, smear campaigns…"
Andy Cohen gives final words of the reunion to Gorga siblings
Where can Teresa, Louie, Joe and Melissa go from here? Andy allowed the feuding siblings to close out the reunion special.
"I will never say never," Joe Gorga said of continuing his relationship with his sister. "Teresa, you're my only sister. I am not happy with you. I am upset with you. I will always love you. If you got in a car accident tomorrow, I'm running by your side in that hospital..." But his sister shut him down: "No, like Daddy said, you honor me when I'm alive, not when I'm dead."
"The best thing to do is forget about me, I will forget about you. That's it… do your thing, leave me alone, leave everyone alone," Joe told her.
His wife concurred. "I definitely feel the hate, you feel it, I could never please her, I never could from day one," Melissa said, telling her sister-in-law, "I do love you, I worry about you, and I'll go with the flow, whatever the family decides to do."
Teresa claims Joe and Melissa hung out with the people 'responsible' for her going to jail
The fighting between the sisters-in-law unsurprisingly didn't cool down in the second part of the RHONJ reunion special, with Giudice even going so far as to claim that Melissa and Joe Gorga had privately conversed with the people "responsible" for sending Teresa to jail. (Giudice served 11 months of a 15-month sentence in prison after her 2014 conviction for fraud.)
"You don't really think that your brother and sister-in-law are responsible for you going to jail?" Andy Cohen asked Teresa during part two. "They hung out with people responsible for that happening to me," Teresa claimed, which Melissa repeatedly shut down. Andy brutally added: "Well, you were married to the person responsible for you going to jail." (Teresa's ex-husband Joe Giudice was sentenced to 41 months in prison for fraud and was deported to his native Italy following his March 2019 release.)
"I spoke to the FBI, I know proof. Chris Laurita admitted it to me, too," Teresa said, referring to ex-Housewife Jacqueline Laurita's husband. "It's hard to believe... do I think that a brother could do that to a sister? No!" Dolores said of the accusations.
"Teresa, we didn't commit mortgage fraud. You did, doll face," Melissa told her sister-in-law before pulling out disparaging texts about Teresa sent from Jaqueline Laurita to Jackie Goldschneider.
Jennifer Aydin used Rachel Fuda's plastic surgeon after making fun of her nose job
One of the most ironic moments of season 13 was when Jennifer Aydin, who herself had previously experienced a botched rhinoplasty, openly made fun of Rachel Fuda's nose job. When Andy asked Aydin about the hypocritical slight, she replied: "I mean, I was just bonding with her Andy." ("You called it a f***ed up nose job," the host reminded her.)
Adding to the hypocrisy, Rachel revealed that Jennifer allegedly went to her nose doctor to get her nose fixed, even after making fun of the doc's work. However, Jennifer shut down those claims: "Andy, she's totally twisting it, you're really good at doing this, by the way," she directed to Fuda. "He did not fix my nose, I have it on video. He did my chin, he did not fix my nose. I've only had one nose job."
It wasn't the only plastic surgery reveal made during part two. We also found out that Rachel's husband John Fuda had received liposuction and "Friend Of" Jennifer Fessler had a variety of procedures following her debut season, including a face list and her own nose job. "I don't even recognize myself," she joked. "I look in the mirror and have no idea who I am!"
Jen Fessler was surprised how 'offended' people were by her James Gandolfini sex story
Speaking of Jennifer Fessler, one of the most surprising reveals during this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey was that the reality star had previously been intimate with The Sopranos' leading man James Gandolfini. According to Jenn F., not everybody took the story well.
"I didn't know it was so horrible to think that I slept with James Gandolfini. I wasn't always this whole hag!" she joked. "I was in my twenties, I was hot."
"What was the offense you were getting?" Andy asked her about the fan reactions. "That he had passed away and he couldn't defend himself from having slept with this 'old hag,'" Fessler explained. ("I think he was punching up to be with you, you're a beautiful woman!" Dolores defended her friend.)
Fessler also revealed: "Having said that, my exit on the parkway is exit 172. The rest stop is the 'James Gandolfini Rest Stop.' I cry a little bit every time I get off my exit."
Jackie revealed that it was 'hard' getting demoted to a 'Friend Of'
"How did you feel about coming back as a Friend?" Andy asked Jackie Goldschneider, who, along with Jennifer Fessler, joined the main cast to discuss the season during the second part of the reunion special.
"For me, it was a little bit hard," Jackie revealed. "I was only a few months into recovery when we were talking about casting. I was not in a very good place. I gained a lot of weight in a very short period of time and I just didn't feel good and I didn't want to move backward so it was the best thing for me. And I also had a chance to write my book, which was really important to me and important for my recovery." (Goldschneider has been open about her struggles with disordered eating throughout the past few seasons of the series.)
Andy also asked her about her opinions on castmate Dolores Catania utilizing Ozempic, an antidiabetic medication, for weight loss. "I don't think it's a bad thing to want to lose weight. I know more than anyone how addictive it is to want to lose weight," Jackie said, adding: "I think the problem is going to be one day people have to go off of it and the studies show that you gain all the weight back pretty quickly and you're going to have to have all of these people addicted to being thin... and that's where dangerous habits come in and that's what scares me."
Danielle found out that Melissa had already known about the cheating rumors against her
"There was a lot of talk about your ex-friend Laura this season," Andy told Marge, before joking: "What did you do to piss her off?
"I was trying to be kind to her, trying to get her on the show. I realized that our friendship was more about the show," Margaret explained. "She was told by someone else that the way to get on the show was to cause drama so she contacted Jennifer and Teresa," which prompted the reveal of the cheating allegations against Melissa.
"Why did you meet with Laura?" Andy asked Jen Aydin, who responded: "At the time, the new season of [her husband Bill Aydin's] affair is airing. I'm reliving everything, so mad, and I thought, 'Let me hear what she has to say."
However, Margaret claimed, "This whole Laura thing, we already knew. They had discussed it," referring to Jennifer Aydin and Melissa.
"So then why did you bring it up on camera to Danielle? And then when Danielle said, 'I'm going to bring it up to Melissa,' you said, 'Don't do that? like it was a big secret when you already told her" Andy questioned Jen.
"Because that was the narrative that was playing out," Jen said, shrugging. "I didn't want to tell her. I knew that she knew, but I didn't want to tell her."
When Andy asked Danielle whether or not she felt set up by Jennifer Aydin to deliver the scandalous news, she revealed that she didn't know that Melissa already knew about the infidelity rumors. "Did you guys set me up?" she pointedly asked Aydin, who apologized: "Listen, I'm sorry if it came across that way. I didn't realize."
"It was still put in my lap so it was up to me to do with it what I felt I needed to do with it," Danielle said. "I didn't feel set up...I choose not to feel like anybody's pawn."
Margaret claimed that Louie called and threatened her son
In the season finale of RHONJ season 13, Teresa Giudice's new husband Louie Ruelas proclaimed that he had sought out the help of a private investigator to delve into the backgrounds of the show's cast members.
It's a declaration that came up again during the reunion when Andy questioned Margaret about the current status of her friendship with Teresa.
"When I saw that things came out, that [retired detective] Bo Dietl was screamed in my face, the private investigators, 'he's got sh*t on all of you... things have transpired since," Margaret said. "My family, my child was called and threatened at work, by Louie, and we have the phone records."
Pulling out a manila envelope of the call history, she added: "He was called by name, threatened, 'I'm the guy you have to worry about'... It happened last week, April 13, and that is his phone number," she said, referring to Louie.
"There is a hack going on with the Housewives where we've all gotten calls from each other," Andy said. "What is different about this hack is when I pick it up, nobody ever says anything."
Teresa shot down the claims, but Margaret said she has contacted the police and that she called up Dolores for support the day it happened. "I want nothing to do with this, at all," the latter said.
The accusations got heated, with Margaret and Teresa throwing insults back and forth. "You're both acting like a*****es," Andy told them, frustrated by the fight.
Teresa said this is why Dina Manzo didn't attend her wedding
Former RHONJ star Dina Manzo, who appeared as a main cast member on the show in 2009-2010 and 2014, was formerly a close friend of Teresa and was even invited to be a bridesmaid at Giudice's big televised nuptials to fiancé Luis Ruelas. However, fans will remember that Dina not only didn't serve as a bridesmaid but didn't even attend the wedding itself, a shocking absence that Andy asked Teresa about at the reunion.
"She didn't want to be on camera. She didn't want people knowing she was coming here. And I'm not gonna get upset with her. When she told me, I was like, okay. I mean, I wish she would've told me a little sooner, but it's okay." Teresa claimed, to which Andy suggested that she could have attended and simply chosen not to sign a release to be seen onscreen.
"It seems like you and Louie and Dina and her man were very tight and going on trips... but that seems like it stopped. Are you guys okay?" the host followed up. (A little refresher: during the regular season, Joe Gorga alleged that a business-related beef between Louie and Dina's husband David was the cause of the estrangement.)
"We are okay. And Louie and Dave never had any business dealings at all," Teresa shut down the rumored rift.
Melissa also commented on Joe bringing up Louie and David's tiff on camera. "He had a private conversation with Dave," Melissa said. "[But Dave] doesn't want to be part of the show, so that was wrong. Joe stepped out of line by saying that on the show."
Paulie and Dolores are building a life together — but he's still legally married
Dolores revealed how her current romance with Paulie is different from her previous ones with ex-husband Frank Catania and ex-boyfriend Principe. "Meeting Paulie helped me break down those walls that I always, always had up," she told Andy. "We're building a life together, everything is together."
However, when Andy broached the topic of marriage, Dolores dropped a shocking reveal: Paulie is not legally divorced. "He's been separated for 14 years," she explained. When pressed about the hold-up, she added: "I think there was never a call for it. I think he never thought about getting married again."
When Andy brought the men out and asked Paulie if divorce plans were underway, he said: "That's in the works, but that's not causing a problem." When Dolores reminded him that he would need to finalize his divorce before they could get married, he joked, "We could change religion!"
Frank Catania still lives with Dolores' ex-boyfriend David
Speaking of Dolores' exes, she also revealed that her ex-husband Frank still lives with David, whom Dolores broke up with in 2021 after five years of dating.
"You respond to that as if it's normal," Andy joked. "Like, [Frank's girlfriend] Brittany sleeps over at David's house?"
"Frank did build the house," Dolores reasoned, to which Andy responded: "Somebody built my house too, but that doesn't mean they're staying with me!"
During the third installment of the reunion, however, Frank Catania revealed that the unorthodox living arrangement was coming to an end. "Brittany and I have closed on our own house," he revealed, joking, "I'm going to have to break it to David before this reunion airs because I haven't told him yet!"
Melissa claimed Louie pursued another Housewife before Teresa
Of course, much of the reunion special's drama revolved around the ongoing drama between Teresa, Louie, Melissa and Joe, and it was during one such bout between the sisters-in-law that Margaret Josephs dropped a bomb regarding Teresa's new husband.
"My brother's the one that brought [Louie] on the show... because 'it's all about the show'!" Teresa criticized her estranged brother, claiming her husband didn't want to be part of the reality program.
"He did want to be on TV," Melissa snapped back. "Just like he knew who you were when he met you... he knows Alexia, too."
The Alexia mentioned is Alexia Nepola, a cast member of The Real Housewives of Miami, with Gorga suggesting Louie tried to date the Floridian before getting with Guidice. "He wanted to go out with Alexia from Miami?" Andy questioned, to which Margaret Josephs confirmed: "Yes."
"It was before he met you," Melissa said, but Teresa shut the story down, telling her: "You're a liar!"
Danielle and her brother finally saw each other after three years
"It's been how long since you two spoke?" Andy asked RHONJ rookie Danielle Cabral about the length of her estrangement from her brother, a rift that allegedly stemmed from Cabral unfollowing her sibling on Instagram. (That reasoning had been dubbed unlikely by the rest of the cast throughout season 13.)
"In August, it will be three years, but I'm actually going to see him tomorrow for the first time," Danielle revealed. "My grandmother passed away so today's actually the wake, so I would've seen them today but I'll see them tomorrow for the funeral."
Danielle also told Andy she had previously tried to contact her brother, but her reach-out was rebuffed. "We sent a gift for the baby but they sent the gift back... a pretty little sweater that I bought her," Danielle said, referring to her newborn niece.
When Andy asked whether or not she thought her brother watched her debut season of the series, Danielle shared: "This was his favorite show... it's ironic. So, I'm thinking he watched."
Danielle and Rachel finally called a truce
Luckily for Danielle, one of her longstanding feuds of the season did finally see some closure.
"Danielle, you came off to me pretty tough so I was surprised by how emotional you are and that you left situations a few times that you seemed like you were gonna get in there," said Andy.
"I think I was shocked," Danielle responded. "You didn't let it go," she directed at fellow RHONJ newcomer Rachel Fuda. "You kept bringing it up again and again," Melissa defended Rach.
"You're sitting here, 'I don't know what I did.' Where's your accountability?" Rachel questioned before the discussion devolved into name-calling.
"I didn't think this fight was a big deal," Andy broke them up. "This is the dumbest fight, I'm sorry. It's crazy," to which Dolores concurred: "They just need to drop this. This is so minute and stupid and the more the insults start coming, the worse it's gonna get... this is not worth it, at all."
"I will say this, I happen to like Danielle," Rachel admitted, before speaking directly to Cabral. "That being said, I was hurt by a lot of the things you said about me in your confessionals. I do not think the punishment fits the crime, I don't. You continued to double down and never apologized for your part in it."
"I genuinely thought we had a little friendship and I was hurt by it and sometimes hurt becomes anger," Danielle said.
"Make a pact: what's happened this season stays there," Dolores offered, to which the newbies agreed: "Truce."
Joe Giudice made a surprise cameo — but he isn't a RHONJ fan
Yes, Teresa's ex-husband Joe Giudice — who has been living in the Bahamas following his US deportation for fraud charges — made a surprise appearance during the RHONJ season 13 reunion. Well, sort of.
"Look who's calling me? Joe Giudice," Teresa announced as her phone accidentally went off approximately two seconds into the reunion taping. "You can answer it if you want!" Andy told her.
The reason for the call? "Tre, ask Jennifer's husband Bill if he does bags under your eyes?" he asked, referencing The Real Housewives of New Jersey husband Bill Aydin, who is a plastic surgeon. He clarified that the procedure would be for his uncle. When Andy inquired whether he watched season 13 of the show, Joe admitted he hadn't, to which Andy quipped that Giudice didn't even watch it when he was starring in the series. "You only watched it when you were in jail!" Teresa joked.
Teresa believes Melissa is going to be fired after this season
The sister-in-laws started off on a calm foot. "I want to close a chapter and move forward. I wish her well, peace, and that's what I want, to close that chapter," Teresa said of her goal for the reunion episode, which Melissa matched: "There's a lot of truth that needs to come out today and I agree with closing it in peace."
However, that didn't last long, with the women falling yet again into a she-said, she-said showdown. ("This story is so old," Dolores whispered to Danielle, who quipped in reply: "I'm thinking of Shake Shack.")
"It's gonna be over after tonight, I can't wait!" Teresa said of their decades-long feud. "Why, where are you going?" Melissa asked. "You're leaving," Teresa told her. "I don't know how we're gonna coexist, the two of us."
"If she left [the show], does that mean she would be out of your life?" Andy asked Giudice.
"Definitely, she's gonna be out of my life after tonight," Teresa responded.
When Gorga claimed Teresa's "whole storyline" on the show revolved around her estrangement from her brother, Teresa rattled off her reality-show cred: "I had a baby on the show, I went to jail on the show, I got married... we're bringing this all out. Because this is over after today, I'm never gonna look at your face ever again."
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 reunion continues with part three on Wednesday, June 14, and is available to stream next-day on Peacock.
