For several years now, the husbands on The Real Housewives of New Jersey have received much more screentime than the husbands in the other cities, and it’s dragging the reality staple down.
It’s all thanks to the fraught dynamic between Teresa Giudice and her brother, Joe Gorga, that we’re in this situation to begin with.
The cameras have been capturing their messy family dynamics for almost 15 years. As the cast remains divided, the men have to pick sides, and producers think it’s necessary to include them in the narrative.
RHONJ returned after an extended hiatus on Sunday. While the episode was far more interesting than anticipated, John Fuda’s argument with Teresa Giudice and Paul “Paulie” Connell was a step in the wrong direction for the series’ longevity.
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, Fuda shared a press release immediately after the episode aired, which is pretty surprising considering he barely had a presence on the show last season and seems intent on acting up for the cameras whenever they’re filming this season so far.
In the past, we’ve followed the husbands filming scenes independently of the housewives, which has made it drastically different than the other shows in the long-in-the-tooth franchise.
It looks like the men will take the wheel of RHONJ
Given the focus on Fuda, Connell, and Gorga in the season premiere, there’s a high chance we’re in for another season of the men taking the wheel more than they should.
RHONJ has been growing stale for years thanks to the lack of new storylines and the never-ending beef between Giudice and her brother and sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, and a surefire way to put the final nail in its coffin is by continuing to feature the husbands as though they’re full-time cast members.
The series has taken on a more toxic tone in the last few seasons, and throwing the men into that mix isn’t going to do RHONJ any favors in the long run because if the husbands are straight-up making enemies of some of the female cast members, it creates an uncomfortable dynamic.
The Real Housewives format works better when it focuses on a group of friends going about their lives, but with the cast being so fractured, it seems producers believe the only way to have arguments is to include the husbands.
Without the men, the women would be forced to interact
Wouldn’t it be far more interesting to get a season where the women were forced to communicate and, you know, work on their issues? Right now, everyone is spreading rumors about each other, and most of the husbands seem happy to take sides.
The MVP of the season premiere has got to be Nate Cabral for refusing to get involved in any of the arguing by walking away from Giudice.
Given that RHONJ filming was halted early and spanned just three months, the fact that the show is trying to make the men full-time cast members is a signal that there wasn’t any footage of substance because the cast is too divided.
The good news is that the season finale is poised to be husband-free if the epic Rails Steakhouse fight teaser is to be believed.
Another Jersey Shore cast trip could destroy RHONJ
However, knowing that the men and women typically take a group cast trip down to the Jersey Shore each season, it won’t be long before the drama between the men and the women is back at the forefront.
Hopefully, the rumors are true, and producers plan to do a soft reboot of the show for RHONJ Season 15 because it can’t continue in its current form for much longer.
The tension between Giudice and Rachel Fuda would be far more watchable without Luis Ruelas and John Fuda’s involvement.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo. Stream Seasons 1-14 on Peacock.