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Filming for season 15 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey is underway.
Recently, a surprise 54th birthday party for Teresa Giudice, which was thrown by Melissa and Joe Gorga, was taped as part of the new season.
An insider spoke to Reality Blurb to dish on the details of the event, and it certainly doesn’t sound as upbeat as the social media posts that surfaced made it seem.
“First of all, Melissa and Joe did not pay for the party,” the insider stated. “Bravo did. So, sure, the storyline may be that they threw her a party, but it’s really Bravo that did if we’re getting technical.”
Although Teresa’s husband, Luis Ruelas, has been controversial in the past, he was in attendance at his wife’s big bash.
“However, he avoided the cameras for the most part,” they noted, adding that Teresa seemed sort of “miserable” during the celebration.
“A lot of her friends were saying she didn’t really seem into the party,” the source continued. “She feels like the show is a bit inauthentic and she’s just dialing it in.”
As for what she feels is inauthentic, the insider pointed out that the new women are much younger than the three OGs who are returning.
“They’re too young,” they said. “They’d be better suited being friends with Gia Giudice and having a spot on Next Gen NYC than this show. In what world would Teresa be friends with women in their 30’s/early 40’s? They’re too young and it just doesn’t make sense. These aren’t true friendships.”
They also shared that Teresa is used to “a certain lifestyle,” going to high-end spots with Luis and being on private jets, and this party “didn’t seem on par with that.”
“It also ran way too late, and a lot of people left before the cake even came out,” the source added.
“The event was more or less a dud and is aligning with what people feared the most about this season when a few cast members were axed, and these new, random women were brought in,” the insider continued. “Namely, that the show will be boring and flop, as the relationships the older women have with the newer ones are forced and not authentic.”
“Housewives shows do best when the women have history,” they added, pointing to old-school RHONJ as well as The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.
“The new women don’t have long-lasting, historical relationships with the older women, and why would they?” the insider asked. “They are from a different generation and the network is trying to make pieces from different puzzles somehow fit together which just doesn’t work.”
Aside from Teresa and Melissa, the women currently taping for RHONJ are Dolores Catania, Xiomara Laracuente, Juliette Collazo, Natia Rufolo, Vanessa Barrera, Deeba Patel, and Malvina Blloshmi.