Finally — the Therapy Episode!!
Unfortunately, with Shelly being gone on vacation last week and the 4th of July, I’m late with last week’s RHONJ recap. So let’s get started!
The episode opened with Juicy Joe working on the much talked about garage/apartment. While Teresa tried to convince us that building it meant they were SAVING money, I was not fooled. It’s the same tactic I use on my husband when I buy expensive stuff on sale.
Teresa, who obviously has yet to learn that her husband doesn’t care about her, her friends, or her feelings, began complaining to Juicy Joe about Jaqueline, blaming her for the “rumor” that the garage was going to be an apartment for her parents. I have to say, I remember her brother Joe hearing that from one of his subcontractors a couple of episodes ago…so I don’t think the rumor came from Jaqueline.
Teresa, ever the passive aggressive “non grudge holder”, also threw out there that one of Jaqueline’s husband’s businesses went bankrupt recently.
Of course, the fact that she doesn’t question Jaqueline about this, just puts it out there on national television, makes her an exceptional friend.
Rosie then shows up at Teresa’s for a surprise visit, and immediately begins questioning her about stories in tabloids that call Kathy a traitor. Of course, Teresa denies any involvement, to which Rosie responds that if she wasn’t involved, she should have said something or tried to clear Kathy and make it known that she did not say those things. Teresa, obviously fearing for her safety (no doubt Rosie is the toughest of the bunch), decides to take a stroll down memory lane, reminding Rosie of all the good times they had together as children.
When Rosie says that she had a hard time feeling like she fit in, Teresa tells the camera that it’s Kathy’s fault Rosie felt that way, because Kathy hated Rosie being gay.
Did Teresa really say that she wanted to have a relationship with Kathy, then turn around behind Rosie’s back and call her sister a gay hater to all of America???
Back at Kathy and Rich’s house, Joe is having a drink and discussing his upcoming therapy session with Teresa. According to Joe, he is a Gift from God and doesn’t NEED therapy, he is just kindly stepping up to the plate for Teresa’s sake. Rosie then stops by, telling everyone that she visited with Teresa. And in a statement that proves not only is she the toughest, but also the SMARTEST, she questions if Teresa is just reaching out to her family because Jaqueline and the Manzo’s are done with her. Joe, realizing that even Gift’s from God sometimes need an outside perspective, agrees.
Back at Jaqueline’s house, the Manzo’s are joining them for dinner and discussing their future RV trip to Napa. Jaqueline finds it awkward that Teresa is still planning on coming, and says that it would be rude to uninvite her, so they will just deal with it.
Yeah…pretty sure that staying in a tiny RV with people you can’t even talk to is the worst idea of all time. Good luck with that.
Next up we meet Kathy and Rosie’s mom, who is having them over for Sunday Dinner. The subject of Rosie’s love life comes up, and Kathy vows to take her to a gay bar to help her meet someone. Kathy’s son then refers to a women’s gay bar as “utopia”, proving that you are never too old to need your mouth washed out with a bar of Irish Spring. You heard me, punk kid.
When the issues between Teresa and her brother comes up, Kathy’s mom tells the family a very moving story about basically being given away to her aunt by her parents when she was only 5 years old. Later on, she was brought to meet brothers and sisters she didn’t know, and parents she couldn’t remember, and through it all, she never held a grudge. It was a really sad moment, and made Teresa’s issues look pretty ridiculous and immature.
Back at Debt Mansion de Guidice, Teresa is prepping for her therapy session with her brother, which includes discussing it with her 11 year old daughter Gia. Sadly, even Gia is sick of the drama and being sucked into it like she is an adult. Shouldn’t she be watching the Disney Channel or gluing popsicle sticks together?
At his own house, Joe is getting moral support from his wife Melissa, who tells him to remember to keep calm and listen to what the therapist says. Joe says that he hopes Teresa learns to stop blaming other people for her problems, but I think he left out the part about pigs flying.
Finally Teresa and Joe meet at the much hyped therapy — Teresa in a red dress and Joe in a pink dress shirt, vest, and tie. You know, normal Working Through Emotional Issues Therapy Wear. Teresa comments on how good Joe smells, Joe comments on how she is wearing red, which is “sexy”…normal brother sister talk. Honestly, I don’t even get why they need therapy!!
The therapist decides to start by talking to them one on one. Obviously wanting to get the worst over with first, he pulls Teresa in his office to hear her side of the story.
True to form, Teresa explains that she has no idea what the issue is or why they are there. She says she has never done anything wrong to Joe, and doesn’t hold grudges. Her main issue is just that Joe stopped calling her all the time once he married Melissa, to which the therapist responded that it sounded like her issues were with Melissa and not her brother.
The he asked her if she had ever read Flowers in the Attic.
Okay, not really.
Teresa then tells the therapist that she thinks her brother might feel as though she wasn’t there for him when he had his first child. But in her defense, she was pregnant with her third!! Pregnant people can’t visit their brother’s very first child!! It’s super hard!! She then reiterates that she is NOT a grudge holder, and if it were all up to her, it would be water under the bridge.
Meanwhile, back in Kathy/Rosie land, Kathy has joined her sister at a gay bar as promised. Kathy sets off on a mission to find Rosie a girlfriend, and when they finally find a girl who is interested, Rosie can’t remember her name. Maybe that has something to do with why she can’t get a date? Just a guess.
Back in therapy, it’s Joe’s turn. According to Joe, the problems started when Melissa was pregnant with their first child and Teresa was not involved with her niece at all. He says that Teresa became competitive with his wife, calling her names and spreading gossip about her.
Obviously, he is talking about the same Teresa who does not hold grudges or have a problem. Of course.
The therapist then gets Teresa to join them, and suggests that they start their Sunday Dinner ritual again, encouraging them to think about the ways they contribute to the breakdown of their relationship and how to avoid it on the drive over.
Teresa, never one to listen to an expert, decides to take things one step further and invite Joe to share an RV with them on the trip to Napa. Joe is understandably wary, as is the therapist, which she takes as a cue to pursue it further. Joe finally agrees to share an RV, which we all know is a disaster in the making. Wine + Close Quarters + Teresa and Melissa = NO NO NO
They thank the therapist and leave, and Teresa wastes no time informing her brother that she already knew everything the therapist told them. She then asks Joe to tell her things that bother him so they can work on it, so he brings up a tabloid article that claims he has left his parents with no home, took their money, and Teresa is stepping up to the plate to take them in. Teresa denies any involvement, suggesting that Jaqueline planted that article, since she started the rumor about the garage AND she needs money since Chris’s business went bankrupt.
I have a feeling that any chance Teresa had of mending fences was gone for good the second this episode aired.
Teresa and Joe vowed to walk out the door and let it go, but the minute they are in the lobby of the building, Teresa starts in again about the tabloid. Joe informs her that he is still paying his parent’s rent until he finds them a house without stairs, and says that they don’t want to live in a shack above her garage. Teresa then tells Joe that he should just give them money because she would if she could afford it. Joe then reminds her that she is carrying an expensive purse…not exactly the mark of someone barely eeking out a living. The episode ended with the two of them arguing over their love for one another.
Am I the only one dying to see how this RV trip plays out?
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Sunday nights at 9/8 central on Bravo.
Flowers in the Attic!!!!!!
Maybe Joe should start sending Teresa powdered donuts for breakfast every day.
That might actually solve a lot of their problems!
Yeah, the whole “you smell good” “red is sexy” conversation=WEIRD! This RV trip is going to be a mess of the hot variety for sure.
If Melisa is right on her views of how to be a good wifey then I’m screwed. I pull out the vacuum when he walks in the door, laundry is always needing folding and I never “buy a fruit basket”. What……..is the fruit basket for?????