Credit: Jocelyn Prescod/Bravo
Ratings for The Real Housewives of New Jersey took a historical nosedive with the latest episode. Some fans are calling it “The Margaret Josephs effect,” and others blamed the divided cast.
Following last year’s feud with sister-in-law Melissa Gorga, OG castmate Teresa Giudice largely refused to film with her and Joe Gorga. For a decade, the show has focused on the three family members’ drama. Many viewers feel Margaret has created an us-versus-them dynamic, forcing stars to pick a team: Margaret’s or Teresa’s.
In the latest episode, Teresa didn’t attend the main event – her brother Joe’s birthday party. Much of the episode, however, focused on Margaret and Rachel Fuda’s displeasure that Teresa and Jen Fessler recently had a nice talk.
According to a report from The Reality TV Guru, the ratings for episode three – and the season in general – are the lowest in the history of the show so far.
The episode, which aired on Sunday, May 19, earned 0.699 million viewers, with 0.16 million in the 18-49 demographic.
Comparatively, episode three of last season took in a whopping .87 million.
And though the recent premiere earned .837 million viewers, the very next episode dropped to .740 million (last year, episode one was .85 while two earned .86), per Spoiler TV.
FYI this is #RHONJ lowest rated epsiode ever and season so far in the history of the show https://t.co/NYGGwZwumP
— The Reality TV Guru (@Realitytvguru13) May 21, 2024
On social media, fans shared their theories on the ratings dive.
“This comes after production decided to move forward with a divided cast with viewer feedback saying they are watching two different shows,” wrote @Allabouttrh on Instagram.
Another called it “The Margaret Josephs effect.”
“I’ve been fast forwarding whenever the Gorga’s or Margaret are on the screen,” echoed a different fan. “I can’t even stand to watch them lie anymore. It’s so much more evident that they’re always lying now because they’re talking about Teresa, but not to Teresa.”
“Recycled storylines, plotting a coup against the star of the show. It doesn’t work. Very toxic,” said another. “They need ladies (only) that have fun and connect and participate. Marge brought a lot of negativity on the show. There needs to be more authenticity.”
“Bravo knows the season is a dud. That’s why they only got 13 episodes and a glimpse here and there of the newbies. I suspect this cast is done after this season,” speculated a different user.
One viewer said the ratings nosedived because Teresa didn’t attend the main event.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 airs Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.