This week on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, the title of the episode is “All Bats Are Off!” Let us practice our swings and play ball, shall we?
Teresa is visiting Louie’s therapist, who she has been seeing for six months, to discuss what is happening in her life. She talks about Louie, who has encouraged her to get some counseling and to utilize his flashcards with pictures. Louie is into therapy, and the therapist has clearly drunk his cherry Kool-Aid. Production shows us footage where Teresa has lost her sh*t, and now, she plans on being a better communicator. Teresa claims to be hurt by Joe not coming to the housewarming party. This therapist is so pro-Louie that I feel like he is going to crawl out from under her desk!
Teresa shares how her dad and cousin stopped talking over $200. Papa Gorga did not tell them he loved them until Tre told Gia to show grandpa love. Teresa is peeved that her family went to Antonia’s birthday party and Antonia was a no-show at Milania’s Sweet 16 party because she had a cheer competition. Teresa is scared of Joe’s temper, and she recalls being afraid of her dad, and she is sick of the toxicity. The therapist says moving on is her only option if things do not change.
Margaret had her surgery and shares that they had to re-break the arm. She still needs poor Joe B. to clean out her plumbing, but she finds him capable since he is a plumber after all. Jennifer F. visits Marge, who proudly shows off her beautiful hairless arms. Margaret shares she is going to the baseball game, but she will just be a cheerleader. Jennifer F. reveals that Jennifer apologized for her behavior. She is also shaming Marge for her reaction and lets her know that she was not nice.
Jennifer has her kids cleaning up the house. She does not want Bill to make nice with Marge at the game. Jennifer shares with Bill what Marge said about being a disheveled drug addict. She claims to use marijuana when the kids are in bed and cannot seem to be able to accept either label. Jennifer thinks Marge is an evil puppeteer and everyone is afraid of her. She needs to watch old seasons of RHOM to see how Lenny and Lisa interacted. Bill looks as checked out as Lenny does, and we all know how that turned out!
Dolores has Paul admiring her waddle when she walks. She fell in the shower, and Paul thinks her cushioned a*s saved her fall. Dolores’ dad Lawrence comes over, and Dolores shares how difficult it is to get her dad’s approval since he likes to clean his guns when he meets Dolores’s suitors. Paul needs to have a procedure done on his heart since it is not in rhythm. He will not be at the game since he needs to take care of his health issue.
Dolores goes for a walk with Lawrence, and they chat about her relationship with Frank. Lawrence says she drove the bus alone throughout her relationship. Dolores needs to give herself credit since she did it all alone while Frank was getting strange (sorry, I do not like that vulgar reference, but for some reason, it applies to what Frank would look for at the Shore) while pretending to be working. Dolores acknowledges that she does not talk to Frank as much as she used to.
Joe, Frank, and John are doing some batting practice with the ladies. Melissa does not want to ruin her face after her 17 nose jobs. She is not used to big balls flying at her face — just itty bitty ones. Frank whines that his family dynamic is different, and he is sad that Paul has moved in. Frank and his girlfriend Brittany think that Paul may be insecure around Frank. Melissa shares that Jennifer is taking Marge’s comment about Melissa scoring a ball player and running with it. She believes that Jennifer is on a revenge-on-Marge tour.
Rachel mentions how Teresa told her to keep Marge close. Melissa thinks that Teresa is fake as h*ll to have made up with Marge. She thinks Louie told Teresa to stop Marge from sharing the truth about him by befriending her again. Melissa thinks Louie is charming and manipulative. Rachel is going to make her own decisions and not be swayed by this nonsense.
We have arrived at Dolores’ charity softball game, and it is impressive that they raised $180k the previous year. Dolores is selling the husbands’ calendar at the event. Evan and Jackie show up to film, and she gets so excited when she sees Evan’s picture in the calendar. Frank and Brittany arrive, which makes me wonder if she is getting a check for her appearances this season since we know that the husbands get paid to be on this franchise.
Danielle shares how Teresa told her to keep an eye on Marge. Production pulls out the raging Tre-Kong archive to show that she has been no innocent rampaging through Jersey. Jennifer and Bill come in when Marge is letting Danielle know that Jennifer is a mess and a loose cannon.
Teresa, Gia, Milania, and Louie arrive, and Joe is avoiding his sister and Louie. Marge gets greeted by Bill, to Jennifer’s annoyance. Jennifer reflects on when they had Tiki last year, and she wonders if little Joey can catch the ball. Jennifer and Rachel talk about Olivia wanting to be a therapist. She gets upset that Olivia has a belief that she needs to be a therapist since she was troubled by Bill’s cheating.
Danielle brags about her skills after she can catch a ball. Teresa shrieks when the ball is tossed at her face and cannot get past first base. She should be used to sweaty balls in her face … Dolores shares that Paul could not come since he needs a heart procedure. Frank blathers on about missing his relationship with Dolores. He does not like change — except when it comes to the ladies, then change it up.
The RHONJ kids must save the day and play since the adults are losing to the doctors. Teresa, Gia, and Milania interact warmly with little Joey. Gia, who is being treated like a housewife with her ITMs, thinks that Melissa and Joe are putting a wedge between her and the cousins. She is not even seeing at this point that Louie has been the one to divide and conquer. The RHONJ crew win the game and raised $200k for this very worthy cause.
Jennifer and Bill are meeting with a therapist named Judy, who looks like she was just pulled out of a senior center to film. She shares how Bill believes that the key to a healthy relationship is to not talk and brush things under the rug. Jennifer tells the therapist the story of Bill’s infidelity from 11 years ago. She was pregnant at the time with their fourth child.
Jennifer chose to forgive Bill and pretend as if it never happened. She thought she was dealing with this issue in a healthy way until Marge outed Bill. Jennifer resents that this was brought to light, and she had to tell two of her older children what happened. Olivia saw it on a TikTok and wanted to know if all men cheat.
Bill resents being the only one to push their children to excel. He thinks the kids believe Mom is the perfect person since she doesn’t push them too much. Bill believes that some kids need micromanagement to achieve the most. Jennifer hears this comment and takes offense since Bill is criticizing her parenting. She feels like she is the one participating parent and just an employee of the Aydin family.
Bill mentions that his job is high stress and he comes home from work exhausted. According to Jennifer, Bill heads straight to the pool house for three hours before coming in for dinner. Side note: I remember from previous seasons that Marge suggested something was going on in that pool house…
Judy recognizes that Jennifer needs to feel like she is not his subordinate but an equal partner. She also senses that Jennifer is lonely. Jennifer admits that she is going to check out if he does not be there to support her. Judy wants to see them again so she can get another day pass with a stop at Walmart on the way back for more therapy…
Next week, they head to the Shore. Jackie calls Danielle a “clearance aisle Snooky,” which continues their feud focused on clothing pulled from a hamper. Have a Happy Wednesday, and see you tomorrow for RHOM!
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