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Caroline Manzo is sharing her thoughts on her sister-in-law Jacqueline Laurita‘s recent reunion with Teresa Giudice.
Weeks after the ladies reconciled in Jacqueline’s hometown of Las Vegas following a years-long feud, the Real Housewives of New Jersey alum reacted to the news, shut down the idea that she has an issue with Melissa and Joe Gorga, and spoke of the new season of her YouTube cooking series.
“I’m happy for them,” Caroline said on the March 10 episode of Hollywood Life‘s Pay Attention Puh-Lease! podcast. “I think Jacqueline…when Jacqueline is hurt, she comes out guns blazing. But I know it comes from a place of hurt.”
After acknowledging that Jacqueline and Teresa had a “true friendship” before their falling out, Caroline said things “went awry” between them due to the “chaos” of the show.
“Season 3, season 4, was absolute chaos. That [their friendship] was collateral damage. So I’m truly very happy for them both,” she explained, noting that she hasn’t spoken to Jacqueline about the reunion.
“I watch from afar,” Caroline said. “The same thing when Dolores [Catania] is in the middle of filming. Stay there. We’ll talk after … I walked away from [RHONJ] so many years ago, and I’m happy with the decision that I made. I just don’t want to be involved in any of the mess.”
As RHONJ fans will recall, Jacqueline’s reunion with Teresa came just after she slammed Melissa on social media, accusing her former castmate of being manipulative and trash-talking Caroline. And, while Caroline doesn’t think it was her claims against Melissa that led Jacqueline to make up with Teresa, she also disagrees with what Jacqueline said about her and the Gorgas.
“Jacqueline has her reasons. Again, haven’t talked to her about it. But I know that Jacqueline is very methodical about how she thinks and why she does what she does,” Caroline said. “I know a lot of people had a lot to say at BravoCon when I was talking to Joe [Gorga] and Melissa. You know, alright, cool, think what you wanna think. I’m a big girl with a mind of my own, and I make my own decisions. I was very happy to see them. They have never given me cause to have any kind of issues or dislike them in any way. And they are a lot of fun. I have no issues with them.”
“I’m not gonna question Jacqueline,” Caroline added. “There’s a reason why she’s saying that. Don’t know what it is. Don’t care what it is. Don’t wanna hear what it is. But I disagree with her there. I have no issue with the Gorgas.”
Moving on to her cooking series, Food, Love and Chaos with Caroline Manzo, which debuted last year and is based around the former reality star’s love of food and cooking, Caroline described the upcoming new episodes.
“Coming from a traditional Italian family, food, and cooking have always been such a big part of my life ever since I can remember,” she shared in a press release. “The show is meant to be entertaining and fun as well as help people expand their cooking abilities with some delicious and easy-to-make recipes.”
Each seven to 10-minute episode, which will be released every Wednesday, will feature cooking tutorials from Caroline’s home and a look inside New York’s hottest restaurants.
In addition to the new season of her show, Caroline is also looking forward to the upcoming release of her first cookbook, Food, and Other Things I Love, which is set to be released in the fall of 2024.
Food, Love, and Chaos with Caroline Manzo premieres on YouTube on March 15.