Real Housewives of New Jersey star Margaret Josephs spoke about the shame she felt after being sexually harassed during an interview segment with Bravo. She virtually sat alongside pal and fellow housewife Dolores Catania in the video.
Margaret revealed that very deep in her personal history was a story about being sexually harassed when she was first employed. She spoke about it in her new book, Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget.
“I was pressured to sleep with my boss, literally my first day of work,” she shared.
“That was very emotional for me. It was part of the history of my life. Things were very different then, it was 1989 and there was no ‘Me Too’ movement,” Margaret continued.
She admitted she felt both ashamed and embarrassed and also believed she did something to warrant her superior’s actions. Margaret has since realized it is very common for women to feel that way when they are involved in that particular kind of situation.
“What did I do? Did I give them a sign?” she questioned.
Margaret felt conflicted and confused after the incident
The RHONJ star felt conflicted and confused after the incident occurred. She wondered aloud if she behaved in a certain way which made it okay for someone to do that.
Margaret said she was disgusted and didn’t want to talk about the incident at the time.
Dolores Catania, who also spoke in the interview, said that when she first learned of the harrowing experience from Margaret’s past she saw her not as a 54-year-old woman, but a vulnerable 20-year-old girl
“I wish I was there so she could have spoken to me”
Dolores expressed her hurt for Margaret and wished she were there to help her at that time. She touched on the differences in the way she and Margaret grew up. She said her friend was “out in the world,” and in comparison, Dolores admitted she did not leave her block until she was married.
Margaret did clarify that she was not raped. The person who took advantage of her was in a position of power. She admitted she needed her job and was afraid of being fired.
Margaret only recently told her mother about what she had experienced.
“I felt shame telling her, and that’s what a lot of women feel, and men. It could happen to anybody,” she said.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.