Teresa Giudice And Jacqueline Laurita Reconnect Over Family Ties (& Not Just Melissa Gorga Drama)
One of the many friends-turned-enemy arcs of the Bravo franchise "Real Housewives of New Jersey" is that of Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita, who have had a rollercoaster (a.k.a. great for TV) relationship before viewers' eyes. The final straw for the ex-besties came during Giudice and ex-husband Joe Giudice's 2014 tax evasion scandal. Pleading guilty to 41 counts of fraud, Teresa and Joe were sentenced to 15 months and 41 months in prison, respectively. Additionally, Joe was deported back to his native Italy following his release from prison in 2019. In a Season 9 episode, Teresa revealed that she had no plans for her and their four daughters to join Joe overseas. With the past as prologue, Teresa and Joe separated that year, finalizing the divorce in 2020. Laurita had plenty to say about Teresa's decision, telling Us Weekly in March 2019 that she didn't understand the latter's choice "to not stand by her man and keep her family intact," calling the decision "selfish."
Recently, Laurita also pinpointed her and Teresa's rift on another "RHONJ" star, Melissa Gorga — who is also Teresa's sister-in-law. Speaking to AllAboutTRH in February, Laurita blamed Gorga for making her feel "paranoid" about her friendship with Teresa. "I believe Melissa was jealous that Teresa and I were getting along and she knew that producers were pushing for us to be friends again," Laurita claimed, calling Gorga "manipulative."
Estranged since Joe's deportation drama, it seems the two ex-besties have come full circle. Recently, Teresa addressed her reconciliation with Laurita earlier this week.
Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita re-bonded over their sons' autism
Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita seemed to deceive fans' eyes when the former posted an Instagram shot of the two reunited in Las Vegas on February 11. With the Internet rumbling with speculation of how and why this came to be, Giudice revealed it was for the sweetest reason of all. On February 14's episode of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Giudice shared that Laurita has "been on [her] mind a lot" because her stepson with husband Luis Ruelas, Nicholas, has autism — much like Laurita's own son, also named Nicholas. "I was going to Vegas to see Bruno Mars, so I reached out to her," Giudice told Cohen.
A day later, on her "Namaste B$tches" podcast, Giudice went into further detail about the emotional reunion. "It's kind of like we didn't miss a beat," Giudice described. "We hugged each other so hard. It was like love at first sight again. We had a five-hour lunch." Although the "Dancing with the Stars" alum shared that Laurita had no intention of returning to "Real Housewives of New Jersey," she was just "happy she's doing well."
As for the stick of dynamite in the room named Melissa Gorga, Giudice insisted to Cohen their reunion wasn't based around their mutual feud with her sis-in-law. "That didn't have to do with it... but also that," Giudice said, laughing. Hey, as Giudice said on Cohen's show – "time heals all wounds."