Caroline Manzo doesn’t mind that her rival Teresa Giudice and her sister-in-law Jacqueline Laurita reconciled their friendship years after their falling out on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Caroline, 61, broke her silence regarding Teresa and Jacqueline’s unexpected reunion on the latest episode of HollywoodLife‘s Pay Attention Puh-Lease! podcast, while promoting the new season of her YouTube cooking show (premieres March 15) and her upcoming cookbook (out Fall 2024).
“I’m happy for them,” Caroline said about her former Bravo co-stars. “I think Jacqueline…when Jacqueline is hurt, she comes out guns blazing. But I know it comes from a place of hurt.”
Caroline, who also had a falling out with Teresa, 50, on RHONJ, recalled how Teresa and Jacqueline, 52, had a “true friendship” before they became enemies on the show. “In those years, it just went awry, because it was chaos,” Caroline said. “Season 3, season 4, was absolute chaos. That [their friendship] was collateral damage. So I’m truly very happy for them both.”
Caroline confirmed that she hasn’t spoken to Jacqueline about her reunion with Teresa, which happened last month in Las Vegas, where Jacqueline now lives with her husband Chris Laurita (who is Caroline’s brother). “I watch from afar,” Caroline cryptically said. “The same thing when Dolores [Catania] is in the middle of filming. Stay there. We’ll talk after.”
Speaking about her five-season run on RHONJ that ended in 2013, Caroline said, “I walked away from it so many years ago, and I’m happy with the decision that I made. I just don’t want to be involved in any of the mess.”
Jacqueline’s reunion with Teresa happened after she started bashing Melissa Gorga on social media, which fans thought was suspicious, since Teresa and Melissa aren’t speaking right now. But, Caroline told us that she doesn’t think the Giudice-Gorga family drama is why Jacqueline finally made up with Teresa.
“Jacqueline has her reasons. Again, haven’t talked to her about it. But I know that Jacqueline is very methodical about in how she thinks and why she does what she does,” the Food, Love and Chaos with Caroline Manzo host said. “I know a lot of people had a lot to say at BravoCon when I was talking to Joe [Gorga] and Melissa. You know, alright, cool, think what you wanna think. I’m a big girl with a mind of my own and I make my own decisions. I was very happy to see them. They have never given me cause to have any kind of issue or dislike them in any way. And they are a lot of fun. I have no issues with them.”
“I’m not gonna question Jacqueline,” Caroline added. “There’s a reason why she’s saying that. Don’t know what it is. Don’t care what it is. Don’t wanna hear what it is. But I disagree with her there. I have no issue with the Gorgas.
You can listen to Caroline’s full interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. She talks about Melissa’s alleged “too old” comment, Dina Manzo skipping Teresa’s wedding, and more!