Petty Drama Nearly Spoils Gay Wedding on "Housewives"

This week’s episode of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” continued the storyline of Caroline Manzo’s brother Jaime’s wedding to his partner Rich, while simultaneously bringing the audience back to the petty drama between Teresa Giudice and the rest of the Housewives.

In Chicago, as Jacqueline and Chris Laurita get ready for the wedding, they discover a copy of “In Touch,” which has Teresa on its cover yet again. Simultaneously, Greg, the Manzo brothers’ roommate, brings the magazine home with him from the store. The cover says Giudice is “Terrified of Being Poor” and accuses her friends of “bullying” her for her financial issues. The sidebar to the article features Manzo, fellow housewives Kathy Wakile and Melissa Gorga, and former cast regular Kim G with quotes about Giudice’s financial situation.

Laurita frets that Caroline will be insulted by the twisting of her words, which she clearly is.

“What’s even more insulting than being called ‘a bully’ by a bully is saying we’re bullying her for her financial situation,” Manzo says. “We were the ones that were here when no one else was.”

“How she gets her money really is her business,” Laurita says. “But Teresa has told me she gets paid for these articles, so I worry about what’s real and what isn’t.”

Despite her hurt, Manzo says she will not give Giudice “what she wants” by attempting to talk to her, which she says will prompt a fight.

“I want to ask her but I feel like if you ask her she’s offended,” Laurita says. “I will ask her about the dog because that’s just; I can’t figure that one out,” she adds, referencing Giudice’s fear of dogs.

When Giudice comes to pick her up for the wedding, Laurita does just that. Teresa says “In Touch” provided the dog, which leads to a discussion about the many magazine articles she has done lately. Giudice claims she has no control over what they write in them, because she just answers the questions.

Given that the quotes attributed to her cast mates are from Season 3 episodes and that “In Touch” has been known to take quotes even from Patch articles (ironically, in an article referenced by Giudice as her upcoming one to put cheating rumors “to bed,”) there may be some merit to her claims. But her catty attitude does not help her case.

“I don’t think Jacqueline and the other girls know how this works because they don’t get asked to be on magazine covers,” Giudice says. “For me, this is business.”

Kathy brings the magazine to Melissa’s newly renovated shore house (“Now she has a redone house too!” Laurita quips.) Their reaction is similar.

“Teresa has every right to put out whatever stories he wants, but when it comes telling things that aren’t true about me, I don’t like that,” Wakile said.

Joe Gorga again expresses his disbelief that his sister would put these things in the public when she “builds a wall” with people she loves.

“Which Teresa do I believe?” Wakile says. “The one in the magazines or the girl in front of me…?”

On the way to the wedding, Chris Laurita announces that the company that he has with nephews Chris and Albert Manzo has picked up a new client, Levedi Wines. As a result, they have to go to Napa Valley. He invites everyone, including the Giudices, to come along.

“Oh my God. I’m kind of confused,” Jacqueline says. “I don’t know why Chris wants to invite everyone. There’s been so much tension. I’m just really confused right now.”

The wedding brings a brief respite from it all with a revival of the truly beautiful feelings that were brought out last week. The two grooms ride in in a horse and buggy, exchange beautiful vows, and release butterflies at the end. The whole ceremony has a feeling of triumph. Caroline puts the feeling into words eloquently when she tells the men that their “personal journeys” have been about mountains made up of minds, both broad and narrow.

“Through your courage and commitment to each other, your friends and family are all here to see a mountain move,” she says.

This moment is immediately cut with the pool party going on at Melissa and Joe’s shore house.

“I have to say, Joe and I have always been the party people,” Melissa says. “We’ve always kept it classy but sexy and the same time.”

This is followed by a whipped cream fight.

Joe Gorga and Rich Wakile talk about Gorga’s attempts to get Giudice into therapy with him. With Wakile as “witness,” Gorga sends her another text.

“Thank God that Teresa and Joe were in Chicago, because I don’t want any bullsh** at this party,” Wakile says. “Their so-called new family is finding out the hard way.”

Indeed, back at the wedding Manzo is annoyed that Giudice announces she has just made the “New York Times” bestseller list, and Laurita seems to be growing more frustrated with Giudice’s decision to refuse therapy.

“I’m trying my best to understand where she is and her point of view; I really am,” Laurita says, “but sometimes she does things that are really hard to respect. It’s like she’s so far gone I can’t even help her.”

Soon, however, the focus returns to the wedding, as the happy couple sets off “wish lanterns” into the air, awing even the usually stoic and sometimes homophobic Joe Giduice.

“This is one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to,” he says.

The show airs Sundays at 10 on Bravo.

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Joseph M. Gerace at Joseph.Gerace@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox every morning, sign up for our daily newsletter.