The Real Housewives Of New Jersey Season 13 cast trip to Ireland was a masterclass in balancing light-hearted fun and real drama. One minute, Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga were fighting over their kids. The next, they literally jumped into a pit of mud together hand-in-hand. The short jaunt across the pond, hosted by Dolores Catania, was filled with revelations. The best part was that most of them unfolded over shots of Irish whiskey, which led to a wonderfully tipsy Jennifer Aydin.
The latest RHONJ episode, titled “Sláinte!,” wrapped up the ladies’ trip with just as much chaos as it started out with. The dynamics between Tre and her sister-in-law couldn’t have been more tense. Yet, newbie Danielle Cabral was the one leaving Europe in tears after a triggering trip. Here are five of the main takeaways from RHONJ Season 13 Episode 12.
Teresa Finally Said The “J” Word
It’s sometimes hard to remember that Dolo organized the Ireland trip as a low-key bachelorette party for Tre prior to her wedding to Luis Ruelas. Mainly, Dolores was gushing about her relationship with Paul Connell while in his home country. The ladies were already planning Dolo’s next wedding, especially after they met Paulie’s mom and family members. When the focus was on Tre during the vacation, she got a bit raw about her past.
The ladies participated in a group painting event where they were tasked to visualize Tre’s life as a group. Upon hearing the prompt, Tre began sobbing. “Do you know what it just made me think about? Jail,” Teresa said. “Don’t put any bars.” The moment was heartbreaking, but I had to get over my shock of actually hearing Tre say the “J” word out loud. Usually, she opts for “away” or “camp.” Her co-stars were empathetic and kept Tre’s life painting all positive (aside from Jennifer Aydin’s spot-on rendition of the infamous table flip). The moment even brought Tre and MelGo together, briefly, in remembrance of Tre’s late parents. It was a moment of namaste before what’s sure to be a tumultuous wedding in upcoming episodes. It probably helped that hothead Luis and Joe Gorga were an entire ocean away. If only the same could’ve been said for the upcoming RHONJ reunion.
Melissa Totally Entered An Irish Whiskey Haze
Melissa started the episode in a drunken haze after a bit too many “Sláinte!” drinks the night before. She woke up the next day hungover, voiceless, and hazy about her horny behavior the night before. MelGo’s hangover also made her raw whenever anything family was brought up. It got even weirder when Tre commended Melissa for her relationship with the Gorga parents when they were alive. MelGo literally couldn’t remember the last time Tre gave her a compliment. Honestly, she thought she was just still drunk from the night before and imagining things.
Melissa tried to keep things sentimental, even in a brief moment when Tre tried to provoke her. MelGo was just upset to see how much the Gorga family has drifted apart. For her, it was like rubbing salt in the wound for Tre to ask at the last minute for her family to be involved in the wedding. To be clear, Tre answered Jennifer Aydin’s question with a resounding “no” when asked if she was formally asking Melissa’s entire family to be at the wedding.
If you’re confused, so were all of us, especially Melissa and Co. We can’t blame Melissa for not taking this bait from Tre, but it is funny that all of this went down while she was nursing a hangover. It had to get weirder for her later one when she and Tre jumped into a mud pit while holding hands. The two sisters-in-law were kiki-ing like besties and Tre even grabbed MelGo by the crotch to try to lift her up. For a moment, it made me sad to see how destructive this relationship has gotten in real-time.
Jennifer Aydin Took Mud Slinging Literally
If you’re wondering why the ladies were jumping in mud and chasing chickens across our TV screens, we can thank Jennifer Aydin. Jen hosted an unconventional outing to the farm for “silly activities” in an attempt to bring the ladies together. Instead of human cocks at a bachelorette, Jennifer, for some reason, thought Tre would prefer animal cocks. It wasn’t Tre’s ideal bachelorette party, but it ended up being a good bonding moment for the group.
The farm trip ended with the ladies experiencing the “Irish spa” AKA the mud pit. Jennifer Aydin was hilariously army-crawling in the mess like a champ. Dolores and Rachel Fuda also weren’t afraid to dive right in. Other members of the group, like the Gorga princesses, hesitated a bit. “It feels like muddy, loose diarrhea,” Danielle Cabral proclaimed so eloquently. There’s truly nothing like the unusual charm of Real Housewives of New Jersey.
The Husbands Swapped Shots For Sativa
Out of all the tea spilled by Margaret Josephs’s ex-friend Laura Marasca Jensen, she has so far got one thing right — a weed party. Joe Benigno hosted a guys’ night that was basically an excuse for Frank Catania to advertise his marijuana business. If it sounds hypocritical, it’s because it was just mere weeks after Marge called Jennifer Aydin a disheveled drug addict. The men gathered to eat, drink, and get high. Joe Gorga tried to avoid partaking in any weed. “I don’t smoke weed. I see snaked,” Joe proclaimed. However, Frank couldn’t avoid a good mouth kiss with Tarzan and gave him a second-hand high.
The RHONJ men were so stoned that they couldn’t even argue about the issues amongst themselves. Joe Gorga tried to be mad when he learned that Bill Aydin was added as a last-minute groomsman to Luis‘ wedding party. It probably helped that Luis skipped out on the dinner due to “after COVID sickness,” but it was still unusual behavior for Tarzan. Even John Fuda and Nate Cabral couldn’t get mad about Danielle calling Rachel a rat because their munchies kept them so distracted by a food truck. Honestly, maybe Real Housewives would be calmer with less drinking and more smoking.
Danielle Cracked With A Cryangle
Shockingly, Danielle was the one who struggled the most on the Irish vacation. When she wasn’t arguing with Rachel or Marge, she was being triggered by the Gorga family drama. Danielle has had a rough ride with the issues involving her own brother. When she saw the emotion between Tre and MelGo, it literally brought her to tears. The situation was too “eerily similar” for her not to get emotional, especially because she was estranged from her brother. “You may think it sucks but you’re talking,” Danielle told the Gorga girls in between sobs. Truly, it was sad to watch her beg them to make up knowing the current state of Tre and her brother’s relationship.
Danielle broke down on the last night of the trip as a result of the mounting stress. She and Rachel had one last round of the same old fight about Marge’s arsenal during the farewell dinner. Danielle even almost dropped Laura‘s alleged bomb about the Melissa cheating rumor. Jennifer Aydin drunkenly prayed that her new friend would keep the tea to herself, which she momentarily did. Marge threw one low blow at Danielle bringing up her “forgive but never forget” mentality and equated it to Danielle never making amends with her brother. It got nasty and Danielle pulled out several cryangle tissues during her various arguments. Candiace Dillard Basset should be proud that her brand is so worldwide. It should be a silver lining for Danielle considering she went to bed on the last night sobbing. Another Real Housewives of New Jersey trip is in the books, folks.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE LATEST EPISODE OF REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY? HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT DANIELLE CABRAL THIS SEASON?
[Photo by: Patrick Redmond/Bravo]
