For the first time in its 15-year run, the Real Housewives of New Jersey won’t have a reunion. RHONJ Season 14 will be a season unlike any other, but perhaps not for the better.
via: People
Word on the street is that for the first time in the history of the East Coast-based reality series, there will not be a traditional reunion.
"A reunion is meant to have resolution and it's clear in the season final that there is no path forward in that type of setting," an insider familiar with the situation tells PEOPLE. "So the network is figuring out a different concept to wrap up the season."
It's been a fractured season for RHONJ that saw longstanding rifts only continue to drive costars Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral, Rachel Fuda, Jackie Goldschneider and Jenn Fessler further apart.
That's the same divide that caused RHONJ to have split panels at BravoCon over the past two years.
At the center of the conflict is the feud between longstanding Housewives and sisters-in-law Teresa and Melissa. All season long, the two reportedly did not interact until the explosive finale that was teased in the premiere episode.
Margaret is on the outs with Teresa, too, after alleging at the season 13 reunion that the mother of four's husband, Luis Ruelas, called and threatened her son at his place of business.
Both Teresa and Luis have denied Margaret's claim, but the Soireé founder has remained insistent in her desire not to associate with them — even moving away from Friends of the franchise Jackie and Jenn as they've gotten closer to Teresa.
Teresa and Luis, meanwhile, have claimed that Margaret's been speaking with Luis' ex to float negative stories about him on the show, which Margaret has denied.
Rachel has had her own issues with Teresa and Luis, also stemming from the reunion where her husband, John Fuda, claimed the couple had been investigating them through their friend Bo Dietel — and even contacted John's ex-wife in prison.
Teresa and Luis denied those claims, but in the season 14 premiere episode, Teresa repeated accusations about John on the internet from his ex that he was "the biggest drug dealer in Bergen County" and that he was into "kinky s---" involving sex toys.
John laughed off the claims, telling PEOPLE: “The damaging lies repeated about me are not rooted in reality."
Still, the rumors upset Rachel so much that she had a falling out with Jenn because she continued to associate with Teresa.
Previews this season show that the Fudas come face to face with Teresa and Luis during a future episode, in a sit-down that ends with John calling Teresa "the poster child for mortgage fraud." He says, "When I need my money laundered, I'll call ya!"
As for Jennifer and Danielle, PEOPLE reported in September that both were suspended from filming for several days after getting into an "altercation" that a source said started verbally and allegedly became physical.
At the season 14 finale, they fought again, this time with a glass pitcher thrown during their exchange of insults.
Perhaps the only one who has remained on good terms with everyone has been Dolores. In footage from the season 14 finale shown during the premiere, she's seen sitting at a table alone, pondering how things got so bad between everyone.
The drama between the Jersey Housewives hasn't just been existing in front of the cameras.
Over the past few months, a scandal has been erupting on social media in which a woman behind a former troll account named MelissasOldNose claimed that Teresa and Jennifer asked her and other notable accounts to dig up dirt exposing Melissa, Rachel, John and Margaret's secrets, which the two would later bring up on the show in order to manufacture drama.
The account has even shared screenshots of alleged direct messages with Teresa and Jennifer that show the Housewives shared screeners to episodes before they aired (and, allegedly, gave gifts and financial compensation to the woman so she would continue her attacks).
Jennifer has not addressed the claims, but in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Teresa denied any involvement. "I don’t do that," she said. "Everyone who knows me, I am so real. Like, what you see is what you get and I don’t go digging up people’s pasts."
Real Housewives fans know that cast divides do not lead to a pleasant viewing experience. In fact, both The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Potomac recently underwent major cast reboots due to discord that couldn't be resolved.
The only other time when a reunion was canceled in the Real Housewives franchise was in season 13 of The Real Housewives of New York City. For Season 14, the network rebooted the series with a whole new cast, firing all the season 13 ladies in the process.
'The Real Housewives of New York City' Returning to Bravo with Rebooted Cast on July 16 — See a Teaser
Bravo famously does not comment on casting, but a second source tells PEOPLE that the network has not made any permanent decision about RHONJ.
"Everything and anything is on the table," the insider tells PEOPLE, noting that "all options are being discussed and "nothing official about the show has been decided."
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo. Previous seasons can be streamed on Peacock.
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