The cast members of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” have finally wrapped up season 14.
Heavy/NBCUniversal Rails Steakhouse in Towaco, New Jersey.
Weeks after it was revealed that there would not be a traditional reunion at the end of the Bravo reality show’s volatile 14th season, the group gathered at Rails Steakhouse in Towaco, New Jersey, to film a wrap-up special. Rails was also the location for the explosive season finale.
While there were not the usual reunion-style fireworks during the special taping, a source told People magazine that the RHONJ cast members filmed in two separate rooms and there was “at least one major revelation that sent shockwaves through both rooms.”
The RHONJ taping took place on July 15, 2024, and will air on August 11, according to Variety.
Andy Cohen Was Not Present For the RHONJ Taping
BravoTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY — Season:13 — Pictured: (l-r) Rachel Fuda, Margaret Josephs, Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral
Andy Cohen previously said there was no need to have a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion given the events that took place in the season finale. Speaking on Sirius XM’s “Reality Checked” with Kiki Monique in June, Cohen said, “The finale is kind of the finale and the reunion all in one.” He promised that fans would feel “complete” after seeing the finale, but he added, “Right now, we’re just kind of focusing on, ‘OK, well if we’re not doing a conventional reunion, what are we doing and what is something different that we could do?’”
What they did was have the cast watch the season 14 finale episode together at Rails, albeit in two separate rooms that marked their distinctive “camps.”
According to Us Weekly, the Team Melissa watch party room included Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Rachel Fuda, Danielle Cabral, and Jenn Fessler. Teresa Giudice sat in a separate room with Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, and Jackie Goldschneider. None of the cast members’ husbands were in attendance, but Catania did move to Gorga’s room for part of the taping, People reported.
The outlet also noted that the women skipped the usual reunion gowns and taped separate confessional-style commentaries after screening the finale episode.
Teresa Giudice & Melissa Gorga Did Not See Each Other At All
NBCUniversalDolores Catania.
The 14th season of RHONJ was dominated by the ongoing tension between Giudice and Gorga. Guidice’s feuds with Josephs and Fuda, and a physical altercation between Aydin and Cabral were also ongoing storylines. It’s no surprise that the feuding cast members did not film together at all during the watch party event.
“Teresa and Melissa didn’t talk to each other or cross paths,” an insider told Us Weekly. “There was no drama. It was just the ladies commenting on the episode on camera. It was only about the finale.”
The finale episode set at a dinner at Rails did not end well. A source told Page Six that the women argued and some threw glassware. In a teaser clip posted by the Rails Instagram account, Catania is the only RHONJ cast member sitting at a table in the aftermath of a violent blowout at the upscale steakhouse. Restaurant staff can be seen sweeping up broken glass as Catania describe the group gathering as “horrible.”
The alternate ending to season 14 could be the last time this particular group of ladies film together.
During a June 2024 appearance on the “Jeff Lewis Has Issues” podcast, Cohen admitted that the show can’t continue to have two rival camps. “When the stars don’t want to be in the same galaxy, that’s not sustainable,” he said, noting that a full RHONJ reboot is “an option.”
