Waking up in the morning, thinking about so many things … like what the heck is happening with The Real Housewives of New Jersey?
Stars Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral, Rachel Fuda, Dolores Catania, Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler gathered at Rails Steakhouse for Sunday night’s (Aug. 11) alternate reunion, in which they watched the Season 14 finale together — albeit in two separate rooms. This marked the first time in the show’s history (and the second time in Bravo history) that a reunion had been canceled.
The decision came after a contentious finale, which proved that relationships among the castmates are irreparable. Not only did Giudice and Gorga trade blows for the first time this season, but Josephs also outed Goldschneider for meeting with Luis “Louie” Ruelas‘ ex-fiancé back when she and Giudice were not friends. If anything, the women left their luncheon, hosted by the well-intentioned Catania, more broken than when they arrived.
Of course, one half of the Bravo fandom is gunning for Josephs and Gorga to get the boot, while the other half blames Giudice and her husband for the ever-present toxicity. There are also a handful of fans who would like to see Bravo replace the entire cast like they did for The Real Housewives of New York City.
Here’s everything we know about The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 15:
While Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen has had a lot to say about The Real Housewives of New Jersey, he hasn’t officially confirmed anything about the future of the show. Here’s everything Cohen has said about the series in recent months:
Monday, June 3: Cohen called into SiriusXM’s Reality Unchecked show to explain why there wouldn’t be a Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14. “When all of us producers saw the last cut of the finale, we all came to the decision separately and then we talked,” he said. “We all had the same thought, which is the finale is kind of the finale and the reunion all in one.”
Monday, June 15: Cohen agreed with a fan who called into his Sirius XM radio show Andy Cohen Live that The Real Housewives of New Jersey is due for a much-needed “rebrand.” The Bravo icon told the caller that he and the network are going to “figure something out” moving forward, but didn’t elaborate further.
Monday, July 29: When a fan called into Andy Cohen Live to air her grievances with Gorga and Josephs, Cohen confirmed that Bravo is “rebooting” The Real Housewives of New Jersey. “We’re gonna see what we do. We’ll see. I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe just all fresh faces. We’ll see.”
Wednesday, July 31: After sparking rumors that The Real Housewives of New Jersey would be getting a completely new cast, Cohen clarified that “nothing has been decided” yet. “I was just riffing. We are going to reimagine the show in some way, and I was just like, ‘Yeah, we’re rebooting. … Who knows? Maybe it’ll be all fresh faces,'” he said. “I was … not definitively saying it’s going to be all fresh faces.”
Monday, Aug. 6: The morning after The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 finale aired, Cohen admitted that the episode “did kind of feel like a series finale.” He also dished on why it would be difficult to keep the cast as it stands now.
“The problem is there’s kind of no moving forward. They are all in their own box,” Cohen said. “There needs to be forward momentum for these shows to be able — you have to be able to regenerate.”
While appearing on the July 9 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Giudice insisted that she’s “not leaving” The Real Housewives of New Jersey, telling the co-hosts, “I started the show. And when Bravo wants me to leave, that’s when I’ll leave.”
Gorga, for her part, said it was “realistic” to think she might not be on the show moving forward.
“It’s a realistic view right now, right? I think you’ve said it multiple times also, that there’s time for a change,” Gorga said on the July 28 episode of Watch What Happens Live. “I do think the change kind of means that some people are gonna go — maybe everyone’s gonna go. I think we’re all just trying to do our best to figure out what’s gonna happen and realize that it is realistic that things might change.”
The Envy store owner also told Entertainment Tonight that “things have gotten really toxic” and there “needs to be changes” when it comes to the cast.
“There’s two of my cast members that have played really dirty behind the scenes and it’s coming out,” she said. “It’s all coming out, because it always rises to the top, it always comes out in the laundry. It’s been years, so it’s all coming forward.”
With the future of The Real Housewives of New Jersey in limbo, it’s no surprise that Bravo is reportedly putting the series on pause. A source recently told The Daily Mail that no final decisions will be made until early next year.
“Filming will likely not resume until 2025,” the insider said. “There is not going to be any more filming of RHONJ for the remainder of the year. There’s nothing planned. It’s on ice.”
The first 14 seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey are currently streaming on Peacock.