RHONJ is back! Melissa Gorga breaks down the explosive premiere and teases season 12 drama
Secure your ponytail and nail down your dining table, because The Real Housewives of New Jersey are back, and they don't waste any time getting the explosive drama started.
The 12th season of RHONJ premiered Tuesday night, and while the series' main cast remains unchanged from season 11, a new summer in Jersey brought a whole range of brand-new conflicts and crises for the ladies to handle.
The season filmed in the summer of 2021 — soon after RHONJ castmates and sisters-in-law Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice got back from Turks and Caicos, where they'd been shooting franchise mash-up Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip (the first season of which aired on Peacock this winter but will hit Bravo next week). That all-star jaunt was "definitely for the fans," Gorga tells EW. "Everyone went crazy for it. I've never seen so much positive [feedback]."
Back in Jersey, however, it wasn't all boat rides and pajama parties. Season 12 kicked off with the swift introduction of a string of controversies, and it promises not to slow down from there. "Everyone's gotta watch out for Nashville," Gorga warns EW of the episodes to come. "When we were in Nashville, there's definitely a dinner that — I was in shock that it went as far as it did, and it got as nasty as it did." Read on for the rest of what she had to say about the new season.
Eugene Gologursky/Bravo Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice in the season 12 premiere of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Coming right after Ultimate Girls Trip, how did you feel going back into a regular season of New Jersey?
MELISSA GORGA: I mean, listen, Jersey's my home, Jersey is my people, it's about my family, so I love when we're promoting our own show. I just can't believe we're on season 12. It's crazy to me how long we've been doing this. They've been running reruns all week, and I'm cringing watching the TV. I'm like, they shouldn't be allowed to play them if they were like, more than five years ago.
Did you feel like your relationship with Teresa evolved, or that you grew closer, over the course of Ultimate Girls Trip?
Yeah, I actually did. I felt like we were a team out there, and we were together, and probably more than I normally do when we're in Jersey. So that was good for us.
Last season, she was reluctant to bring her boyfriend [now-fiancé] Luis around the group, but this time, he's a bigger part of things — and in the premiere, everyone seems a little unsure about him. What were your feelings about their relationship playing on the show, with all the drama and scrutiny that that brings?
Well, listen, I feel like it comes with the territory. Nobody gets a free pass, including Luis. You know, unfortunately, all of our men, our husbands, whoever's dating who, they do get grilled — and Luis is no exception. And I think it's normal when a girlfriend or someone in your life finds a new guy. And she has a name, people know who she is, so we're just seeing, you know, 'where did you come from? How did you guys meet?' We're just asking the questions. I think once I hear how happy she is and I see how happy she is with him, I backed off. But I think some of the other cast members kept digging, and that's where the problems lie.
How do you think he handled that grilling, and being on camera?
I think he handles it well; I don't think Teresa handles it as well as Luis does. So that was the problem.
There's also the conflict between Joe [Gorga] and his nieces — who have always been so close, especially him and Gia. What can you tell me about how that tension plays out?
You know what, I have to be honest. That's the worst. That's the absolute worst. I feel bad. Gia's been through so much — even with her mom's friend group drama — but when it comes to her uncle, I think it's raw. I think it's real. I think that Joe has such a deep love for her and sometimes I feel for him because it gets misconstrued with just, he wants them to love them back the same way, you know? And it's hard for him, because they're always going to defend their father. He can't really win in that situation, but he loves them so much. So it's always hard to watch that.
I can't help but think of Gia's sad song — which has since gone viral, for totally unrelated reasons — and how it was about him!
It was about him! From when I first entered this family, Gia was obsessed with Joe. Like, obsessed with her uncle. So they've always been super close.
She's an adult now, and it seems like she has a bigger role in the action this season than she has in the past.
Yeah, I think she did. She definitely participated more, she was letting us know how she felt. There was some drama that goes on, too, with Margaret and Teresa, that she gets involved in. Which, I just think she's been through enough; she doesn't need to deal with her mom's friend group drama.
Speaking of that group… the premiere ends with this bombshell from Margaret that Bill had cheated on Jennifer — and Jennifer doesn't seem to dispute it.
No, she doesn't. I think she's honest about it, but I think a lot of her walls are falling down, and the way she acts up — this is definitely why. I think it's going to be hard for her. It's going to be a tough season for Jennifer, because she would pin other people against the wall for infidelity and rumors about their family when really a lot was going on in her own home. So I think people will start to see that Jennifer isn't exactly how she seemed.
Was that something everyone knew?
Yeah, I think we all knew. Everyone was quite respectful about it and we all really didn't say much about it. But she always kind of tormented Margaret about the fact that [Margaret] cheated on her husband, and so Margaret had to finally defend herself and say, 'Okay, so what's the difference between myself and Bill?'
Did you expect Margaret to bring it up like that
No, because — I have to be honest — I probably still wouldn't have brought it up. It's just something I stay away from. When it comes to the marriages and the children, it's just a territory that seems dangerous and it feels dirty. So I don't go down that road, but Margaret went down the road, and here we are.
In a happier update, your friend Traci [Johnson] appears as a friend of the Housewives! What does she bring to the group?
She's such a good addition. Traci's just an awesome girl, and she brings another level-headed view. She doesn't hold back what she feels, and I think she also brings a stability of, like, calmness. When everyone's acting irrational and crazy, she kind of sits back and she brings that level of, 'okay, let's discuss this for a minute.'
You guys need that sometimes.
Yes. We do!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
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