The current season of Real Housewives of New Jersey is full of surprises. Within the first episode, Margaret Josephs exposed Bill Aydin‘s past affair.
Margaret wanted to show that his wife Jennifer Aydin was a ‘hypocrite’ for judging Margaret’s affair (which she had with now-husband Joe).
In a video chat with ET, Jennifer explained that she “wasn’t mad that [Margaret] was a cheater… I was just annoyed or irritated at the way that she boasted about it, because [Joe’s] got an ex-wife somewhere — and she has an ex-husband and she has stepchildren — and doesn’t she know how hurtful this is to constantly repeat it over and over? … I would be very hurt if my husband bragged about this infidelity.”
She went on to say, “I just kept wondering what was her purpose on just almost making it a headline, like it was funny… We were at a party last year and she was saying how Joe used to wash the stench of her off before he went home to his wife, or something to that effect… It’s TMI. We don’t need to know.”
Jennifer believes Margaret “premeditated” the disclosure of Bill’s affair.
“I’m sure she was planning it,” said the star, who also thinks Margaret did it to get revenge. “Like, what, are you trying to embarrass me in the public? Trying to gang up on me? I’m not going to take that. So that’s one of the reasons why it ignited me to call Margaret a snake.”
Jennifer doesn’t buy Margaret’s claim that she knew about the affair for years. “Why wouldn’t she blurt it out [before]?” she asked. “I feel that if she did have that information for real, that she would’ve used it.”
“I do believe that she knew when we were filming our [season 11] reunion in New York,” said Jennifer. “And again, it looks like she told Melissa [Gorga] and Jackie [Goldschneider] — so all those times she got mad at me for like, let’s say, telling Teresa [Giudice] what Bill said at boys’ night. ‘Why did you tell Teresa?!’ I don’t know. We tell our friends s**t. You told Melissa and Jackie about my husband’s affair when you obviously are preaching, ‘Don’t gossip…’ but yet you gossip? So, I think that’s hypocritical in itself actually.”
Several years ago, on the season eight reunion, Margaret stated: “When [a castmember says] something like, ‘Joe is cheating on Teresa, Teresa is cheating on Joe…’ that just doesn’t hurt Teresa, that hurts Teresa’s entire family.”
Jennifer addressed this past comment: “She took the words right out of my mouth!” She then expressed, “It was interesting, when I saw that clip… I was like, this is like poetic justice speaking to me, because it just came off the heat of her constantly calling me a hypocrite.”
“When I found out about the affair, as an angered, emotional wife, I did email the office manager and said like, ‘Hey, you’re letting home wreckers into your practice,'” Jennifer revealed, explaining why Margaret wrongly believed Bill was unfaithful with his office manager (it was actually a pharmaceutical sales rep).
When she first began RHONJ, Jennifer “was scared. I was like, what if somebody from that practice ever tells anybody?” But then the years passed, and she thought, “I’m in the clear.”
Now, the couple is having the painful conversations they once pushed away. “You know what? I had them all on camera,” she said. “I didn’t hold back. And you guys are going to see it.”
She confessed, “There were times where I didn’t feel my husband was as supportive as I needed him to be… And I felt like the perception was coming off as, he didn’t care. And he was really just embarrassed about the situation and almost wanted to hide in a sense, which I get. I get. But I’m drowning, I’m fighting with these women and I need all of the support I can get. And when I wasn’t receiving it from him, I was like, well, I’m fighting with all these women for you, and if you’re not going to sit here and back me up, then what am I doing all of this for? Am I the one that’s naive and maybe not seeing a bigger picture? So I was struggling to figure that out.”
Although Jennifer and Margaret worked out their issues during the season, it was difficult for Jennifer to watch it all back. “The rational side of me is saying, ‘We’ve moved on, we’re in a good place…’ but the emotional side of me feels very betrayed,” said the star. “As a woman, as a fellow female empowerment person, it’s hurtful. So I’m struggling with that. I’m still figuring it out though.”
She then revealed, “There are skeletons that I know about these girls, and unless somebody brings it out onto social media first, or they it up on their own accord, I’m not touching it.”
In spite of everything, Jennifer was able to bond with Jackie throughout season 12. “Listen, I know Jackie to be a sweet person,” she explained. “I think maybe she’s sometimes manipulated by Margaret, which Margaret has that effect on people… But I was very pleasantly surprised, and if anybody could relate — and I know she doesn’t like me saying relate — but she did go through something where her kids were potentially going to be hurt, so I was glad that at least I had her as an ally.”
During episode three, Jackie and Dolores almost had a physical altercation (after Jackie accused Dolores of being a fake friend to Jennifer).
“If you’re friends with somebody, you should be able to have a conversation,” said Jennifer. “This wasn’t the first time that someone had told me that they didn’t think Dolores was my friend. Over the years, I’ve had multiple people come up to me and say like, ‘Do you think she’s your friend? She’s not so nice to you on her interviews.’”
She continued, “And I’m always like defending her… I have questions now. What are you saying behind my back that are giving these people the impression that you are not my friend?”
“It turned into some big thing,” Jennifer added. “And it’s like, that wasn’t my intention. I wanted to have a conversation, not a confrontation.”
Right now, Jennifer is uncertain where she stands with co-star Dolores: “I’m still trying to figure that out… I don’t know. I’m saddened by some of the things that I’ve seen obviously, but at this point, we’ll just take it up at reunion.”
She also addressed the physical altercation between herself and Melissa, which was shown in the trailer. “At the end of the day, all I could say is that I will defend myself,” she expressed. “I’m not going to sit there and be a doormat for anybody. It’s not who I am. And I have super quick reflexes. So sometimes I react before I think — and she charged at me.”
Another fight occurs between Margaret and Teresa when the bestselling author shakes (another) table. In the interview with ET, the host asked Jennifer if Teresa’s reaction was warranted.
Jennifer answered simply, “Yes.”
“I was very long-winded with every other answer,” she joked. “I think you got a keeper with this one.”
Photos Credit: Nancy Rivera/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA, Shutterstock/RonAdar