Part 1 Real Housewives of New Jersey Reunion

Courtesy of: Pattidolls

Last night Part 1 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey Reunion aired on my favorite network, Bravo. I was ready to watch with my favorite snacks beside me. I just knew it was going to be good! And, let me tell you, these ladies did not disappoint!
The reunion took place at The Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa in New Jersey. On either side of the evening's MC, Andy Cohen, sat Teresa Guidice, Melissa Gorga, and Kathy Wakile. On the other side, to the right of Mr. Cohen, sat Caroline Manzo and Jacqueline Laurita. Each women was dressed beautifully, as is custom for these reunions. But, in my humble opinion, most of their attire was forgettable with one exception, Teresa Guidice! Teresa wore a beautiful green gown, that was to die for. It was quite low cut and form fitting ala J-lo and, let me tell you, Teresa wore it well!

As the show begins, the tension was high even before the first word was uttered. It was evident that every woman was ready to let off some steam, and begin voicing her concerns and displeasure about many topics on the show this season.

Courtesy of: Jennifer Marie Puglia

 The first few sets of questions had to do with,of course, the infamous Posche fashion show and the speculations of Teresa's possible involvement in trying to "out" her sister-in-law Melissa Gorga as once being a stripper. Teresa, as we all knew, vehemently denied the allegation. But, as was also expected, none of the other women believed that Teresa had no involvement in the events that happened during the fashion show. This was especially true of Teresa's ex-best friend Jacqueline Laurita. Jacqueline undeniably believes that Teresa was involved in the "set up."

It was nice to see Mrs. Laurita back at the reunion show, as last season Jacqueline had decided not to take part in the reunion. It was eluded that she had been so distraught by the break up of her friendship with Teresa Guidice , that she was having a nervous breakdown during the previous season's reunion, so she could not take part, due to her emotional instability at the time. Well, it appears that Jacqueline is now over it and appeared emotionally together and ready to take part in the evening's events.

Of course, Mrs. Caroline Manzo was there, sitting next to her sister-in-law. And, daughter Lauren Manzo also made a brief appearance. Miss. Lauren walked out onto the stage  appearing much thinner and looking spectacular, although in my opinion, she could've worn a dress that was more elegant for her figure. Nonetheless, It was announced that Lauren's new figure was due to her having gotten a lap band, a surgery that is performed as a weight loss procedure. Lauren briefly spoke about her decision for getting the lap band and her continued struggle with weight.

After her explanation, Andy Cohen quickly turned to Teresa and asked her about her opinion concerning Lauren's decision to get the lap band. Teresa answered graciously, but did state that she felt that Lauren was a bit young to get such a drastic procedure. Needless to say, her opinion was not taken well.

Lauren immediately began fighting back at her mother's nemesis, and confronted Teresa about having a professional ghost writer for her blog.  (not really sure why that came about) Suddenly, and out of nowhere, Lauren blasted Teresa and asked her if she knew the meaning of the word napalm!? And, further more if she even knew how to spell the word! Oh, the humanity!!!
 Teresa sat in confusion. Apparently, Lauren's allegation was that the word napalm had been in Teresa's blog, but since Teresa didn't write it, she obviously had no idea what it meant. I, for one, wasn't sure what they were getting at. So, okay, Teresa hired someone to write her blog...and?

While there were many moments during the reunion that were surprising, one point that really took me by surprise, was Caroline Manzo's attempt to speak with Teresa, in a kind and respectful manner regarding Teresa's family's problems. Unfortunately, Teresa did not hear a word, as she was arguing with her cousin Kathy, which, in turn, spurred the most violent outcry in Housewives Reunion history!

Teresa and her cousin Kathy began talking about Teresa's New York Times best selling cookbook, and the allegations that Kathy had taken credit for some of the recipes in the book, while Kathy was at Teresa's book signing.  Kathy denied such an allegation and stated that her family had always swapped and shared recipes and she was, in no way, trying to take the spotlight off of Teresa.

As the conversation escalated, Kathy and Teresa's parents began to be mentioned in a negative light, during the heated debate. Teresa,perhaps making one of the biggest mistakes of her career, mentioned Kathy's deceased father. Suddenly, you begin to hear a belligerent person screaming from off screen. I initially thought it was Kathy's husband Richie. This upset me very much, because I did not feel it was right for a man to talk so violently to any woman. Soon I found that, in fact, it was Kathy's sister Rosie who began violently threatening and screaming at Teresa that she would cut her tongue out, because she was talking about her deceased father! Yikes!!! What a travesty!!!

This reunion was off the charts! It was spectacular and icky all at once.The only piece of the evening that made this reunion redeemable and sweet in any way, was the piece they did on Nicholas Laurita, Jacqueline's son, who suffers from Autism. It was a beautiful piece and quite the tear jerker for anybody with a pulse, especially if you are a mom! Jacqueline was quite distraught during the piece and you could not help but feel a kinship with her at that moment. It was a rare moment of real humanity between the women.

I believe, the whole episode was only a prelude to the other two parts of the reunion, yet to be aired. Nothing was really resolved during this episode, at all. In fact, besides a few small comments, Melissa Gorga had very little to say.

In the end, This show was a fascinating debacle and left me feeling like I was covered in a film of filth. It was just yucky, but yet fantastic! So much anger and hateful feelings among families. But, you can rest assured that I am just jaded and addicted enough to the show, that I will be watching Part II! Happy watching y'all!
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