Well, that’s that.
When The Real Housewives of New Jersey announced that it was foregoing the traditional reunion special and instead would be closing out season 14 with a finale watch special, viewers of the longtime Bravo reality series were wondering how that would play out.
On Sunday night, they got their answer, as the divided cast returned to Rails Steakhouse in Towaco, New Jersey — the scene of the crime from the explosive finale that aired one week prior. This time, however, the cast was divided into two rooms as Bravo cameras rolled. The special was filmed last month — months after the finale had been filmed.
As The Hollywood Reporter previously reported, the cast screened the season finale while split into rooms based on their alliances. In one room sat Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Rachel Fuda, Danielle Cabral and Jenn Fessler. In the other room were Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, Jackie Goldschneider and Dolores Catania — with the latter being the only one to visit the opposing room for a brief hello.
Bravo’s cameras were rolling — and the Sirens Media-produced show’s editors were hard at work — as the cast reacted in real time while the episode played out, almost in full. Less than 10 minutes remained of Sunday night’s special by the time the episode ended, and the women were asked to reflect on their regrets and share their final thoughts.
Both in the room and in their one-on-one confessionals, each of the women drew the line deeper in the sand, as they described this moment as being the end for the larger friend group. Gorga flatly said her relationship with Giudice — her estranged sister-in-law — and her family is over, while Cabral said she regretted letting Aydin into her life. Josephs described the finale as being “good vs. evil,” and Goldschneider said things have to change with the show. When Catania signed off, she said, nervously, that she hoped it wasn’t for the last time.
If viewers were hoping that this special would bring about any resolution to a cast that is firmly split, they were disappointed. The division was only made stronger, with Fessler choosing her side and Catania, perhaps, a bit less neutral than she has been all season. The only thing all of the women agreed on was that Giudice’s husband Luis “Louie” Ruelas needed to apologize for the comment he made about wishing suffering upon Josephs’ child (he has since apologized on social media, like Giudice said he would).
Leading up to this ending, Bravo and Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen had announced that, for the first time ever, RHONJ would not be having a reunion. When viewers see the finale, they would understand why, Cohen explained.
The unusual ending to this 14th season has sparked weeks of speculation around whether the RHONJ cast will be getting a reboot or shake-up. Sister series The Real Housewives of New York City went through its own recent cast reboot, and Vanderpump Rules is currently on a hiatus following its post-Scandoval season and divisive reunion. But Bravo has not commented on how they plan to handle season 15 — and they likely won’t be commenting soon. Casting discussions don’t typically begin until the current airing season has wrapped.
Cohen also recently said on his SiriusXM radio show that nothing has been decided about the hit Real Housewives city’s future. “We are going to reimagine the show in some way,” he said. But he did describe this special as being like a series finale, adding, “It’s kind of a soft landing for the show. … It did kind of feel like a series finale, didn’t it?”
