Things have been tense between Jackie Goldschneider and Teresa Giudice ever since their blowout during the first episode of this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Teresa went around at Evan Goldschneider’s birthday party and told everyone about a rumor she heard that he had been cheating on Jackie with someone when he went to the gym.
Teresa’s actions didn’t sit well with Jackie, and she planned to confront her at Margaret Josephs’ house. When the women sat down to hash things out, Jackie pleaded with Teresa to tell her who her source was or to admit that the rumor was a lie.
Teresa refused to say who exactly she heard the rumor from.
To make Teresa understand why she was so upset, Jackie used an analogy that she heard Teresa’s oldest daughter, Gia Giudice, was snorting cocaine at parties.
Teresa flipped out at the mention of her daughter, and the feud erupted. Since that conversation, neither woman has been willing to apologize to the other.
There have been mixed opinions amongst fans and other housewives on whether Jackie’s analogy was out of line or not, and there seems to be no end in sight to the drama.
Former RHONJ star Caroline Manzo recently spoke to US Weekly to share her thoughts on the entire situation.
Caroline Manzo defends Gia Giudice
Many fans have spoken out and felt that it was unfair of Jackie to bring anyone else’s kids into the argument. They felt that while her words may have only been an analogy, they had the potential to tarnish Gia’s reputation.
Caroline, who was always a voice of reason during her tenure on RHONJ, seems to agree that Jackie was out of line.
While she noted that Teresa should know “what’s right and what’s wrong” and shouldn’t have spread the rumor that she did, she still thought Jackie was wrong for her part in the confrontation.
She said, “Guess what? Two wrongs don’t make a right. There are plenty of analogies you could have chosen without bringing Gia into it. Gia – from what I’ve seen and what I have known from that kid, historically – is a great kid. She is wise beyond her years.”
She continued, “Why would you come back with something like that to someone that’s not there to defend herself, to someone who’s not involved in anything, and to someone who’s only 20 years old.”
Caroline noted that Jackie’s analogy had potential to impact Gia at such a critical time in her life.
She said, “This is a kid that’s in college, that’s going out into the workforce, and that lives forever. You’ll Google ‘Gia Giudice’ and that comment will come up. Whether she’s guilty or not of it, she becomes suspect of it.”
Caroline thinks Teresa and Jackie both need to take accountability
Regardless of which woman was the first to strike, Caroline believes they both owe the other an apology.
Caroline felt that even though both women were considerably upset, they should have maintained their “dignity” and “integrity” when they spoke to one another.
She said, “They both have to be responsible for what they said and did. Shame on both of them!”
Fans can tune in to new episodes of the RHONJ to find out whether Teresa and Jackie will squash their beef with each other.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.