It was Christmas in July on The Real Housewives of New Jersey this week.
Literally.
Sort of.
The latest installment of this beloved Bravo franchise took fans way back to December, having filmed the ladies in full holiday spirit, preparing to ring in a new year.
Teresa had only been home for a short period of time, with things still a bit unsettled between her and Jacqueline Laurita.
But the latter found herself surprisingly filled with emotion while witnessing Giuidce’s attorney make a statement upon his client’s much-publicized return to her family.
As the lawyer noted that Teresa was “looking forward to a nice, quiet, low-key holiday with her family,” Laurita started to cry.
For real!
But does Giudice really want to be friends? This is what Jacqueline wondered to Dolores Catania.
“The door was slammed in my face,” she recalled with a sigh, seeming receptive to reopening it, however, if Teresa felt remotely the same way.
Then there was Melissa Gorga’s reaction to her sister-in-law no longer being behind bars.
And it led to another confrontation between these relatives and rivals.
Upon Teresa arriving for a Christmas Eve gathering at Melissa’s house, Gorga was unsure how things would transpire.
Much to Teresa’s brother’s fear, she followed Melissa into the kitchen to have a little discussing.
At first, our least favorite reality TV ex-con explained she simply wanted to get back to how they were when Melissa and Joe Gorga initially got hitched.
“I know how my brother is. He would love for us to be close,” Teresa said. “I want you to be like my sister.”
As those who watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey online regularly could have guessed, however, the niceties pretty much ended there.
Gorga was receptive to this offer, yet noted that she didn’t want Teresa to reach out only for her sibling’s sake.
“Sometimes I feel like it’s surface,” Melissa said of their awkward relationship. “Like we can’t really get there all the way.”
This clearly set something off in Teresa.
“Believe me, if you are genuine, I can feel it,” she snapped, prompting Gorga to reply that she loved Teresa like a sister.
“Then show it to me,” Teresa insisted.
“I do,” Melissa shot back.
And this is where the back-and-forth took an ugly turn, as Giudice brought up the christening, where things all started to go wrong… five years ago.
The quasi sisters continued to bring up past times that the other let them down, before eventually shaking and ending their argument on an amicable note.
Until next Sunday, we’re sure, at least.
Elsewhere this week:
Joe told Melissa that he doesn’t want her to work.
“I want you home. I didn’t want a part-time wife,” he said, just in case anything thought he was a feminist.
Melissa later told the camera that her husband was embarrassing her, while Joe didn’t see a need to stop.
I’m like a single parent,” he whined, commenting that his breasts were leaking. (Editor’s Note: EWWWWW!)
Joe Giudice was angry at his 14-year old daughter for wanting to spend time with her friends instead of her family members.
“She’s such a little pain in the ass with her and her friends,” Joe snapped about his child at one point.
Teresa thought her husband needed to “cool it” a bit, but did try to smooth things over with Gia by telling her to be home by midnight.
Gia, though, wasn’t having it. Which set her dad off even more.
“She’s got a lot of f-cking balls,” Joe said as Gia Giudice slammed the door.
Once again, however, this feud fizzled out before it reached a dangerous level, almost as if the entire thing was scripted.
Gia did make it home shortly after midnight and the gave her dad a huge hug.
“I love you,” she said through tears.
“You got to do the right thing while I’m not here,” Joe said, referencing his impending imprisonment.