Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Recap: Paris Hilton Taught Me That…

by Reality Tea on June 29th, 2010

More drama this week on the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

The episode starts off with Caroline Manzo auditioning two of her sisters to be Dina’s replacement. No, just kidding! But oddly enough, the two sisters look more like Dina than Caroline. Albie’s law school dilemma is brought up and Caroline shares she is at a crossroads in her life, as her kids are now getting older and getting ready to move out of the house. It seems Caroline, who has devoted her entire life to her kids and family, is now starting to realize it’s time to start stepping back on the mama bear role.

Teresa and Jacqueline meet up for lunch with Kim D. who does her best Kelly Bensimon impression when she utters a “Hiiiiii” as she walks in late. And did you know Kim D. and Kim G. are sister in laws? Yep I just found that out today. Definitely puts things into perspective. Teresa brings up a good point when she asks Kim D. if she can be trusted since she talks about Danielle behind her back, only to turn around and hang out with her. Kim D. invites the ladies to her fashion show and informs them Danielle will be in attendance. Jacqueline is hesitant to be in the same room with Dirty D (excellent nickname given to Danielle via our awesome commenters), while Teresa seems on-board.

Next up is New Jersey’s equivalent of Kelly Bensimon, except Danielle, even at her worst, still seems very sane in comparison to Kelly. Danielle shares she’s received text messages from 16 ex-cons people informing her that Kim D. has invited her enemies to the fashion show. Dirty D then storms into the Posche boutique and demands to see Kim D. Danielle immediately decides the front desk lady, Donna, isn’t bowing down to her, thus causing her to storm out of the store. Danielle proceeds to once again involve her young daughter in her adult issues via a phone call. Danielle then decides to head back into the store and commands Donna to have Kim D. give her a call. Donna has the best reply as Danielle storms out again: “Didn’t catch your name.” The only thing missing from this scene was Danielle screaming out a ‘Don’t you know who I am!’

Kim D. returns to the store and calls Danielle, who accuses Donna of being rude to her and putting up her finger at her. I went back to watch the footage and at no point did I see Donna raise a finger at Danielle. Dirty D then proceeds to return to the store to stir up some more drama. When Kim D. doesn’t bow down to her, she threatens to stop shopping at Kim D’s store because it would “ruin” their friendship. Perhaps someone should inform Danielle the only reason Kim considers her a friend is because of her wallet. Kim D. realizes she no longer has to pretend to be Danielle’s friend, you know since Danielle is no longer a paying customer, and politely kicks her out of the store.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECAP! -

Real Housewives of New Jersey

Preview Real Housewives of New Jersey, Plus Housewives Critique Danielle’s Singing

by Reality Tea on June 28th, 2010

Tonight marks the 9th episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey’s season two.

Even with Dina gone, Danielle still manages to cause a scene and even more drama for the remaining housewives. The ladies of the Garden State spend an evening at Kim’s Posche fashion show. While Caroline warns Teresa and Jacqueline that it’s a bad idea to attend the show if Danielle will be there, the ladies attend, choosing to ignore her advice.

Things eventually erupt thus leading to the ultimate confrontation. Watch tonight at 10/9c on BRAVO.

The New Jersey ladies also had some interesting critique regarding Danielle’s Staub new porn singing career. Danielle debuted her single “Real Close” on Monday’s Watch What Happens Live — singing alongside singer-songwriter Lori Michaels.

“I mean, whatever,” Caroline Manzo told UsWeekly. “Clearly she can carry a tune. Is she a singer? I’m not quite sure.”

“It wasn’t horrible,” Jacqueline Laurita added. “It was very breathy. It wasn’t a wide range. She was just singing really breathy in the microphone, so it’s hard to hear the range of her voice.”

“She skated past it,” Caroline sniped. “She did what she had to do, and fine. But can she really sing? Let’s belt one out.” Added Teresa Giudice: “It’s not like she was really singing….Ask Simon from American Idol.”

A preview clip of tonight’s episode is below –

TELL US: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PREVIEW AND TONIGHT’S EPISODE?

Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Financial Woes Revealed

by Reality Tea on June 27th, 2010

If there’s one thing we have all grown accustomed to when it comes to Bravo housewives, it is their penchant fondness for the good life and excessive, borderline obnoxious, bragging of their “lavish lifestyles.”

Not exempt are the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and thanks to the good folks at Jezebel.com, the financial history of each of the ladies has now been uncovered.

For example, did you know three civil suits were filed against Danielle Staub and her ex-husband Thomas Staub, including federal and state tax liens? Yeah, neither did we. This might explain why a 47-year-old mother of two would make a sex tape and sell it to the highest bidder. All allegedly of course.

Below is more information about each housewife’s financial history -

Caroline Manzo – Caroline’s husband Albert Manzo has been involved in over 30 judgments and liens (one brought on by a family member) since the early ’90s up until two years ago . Throughout the ’90s and into 2000, there were several judgments against Caroline for nonpayment of hospital and doctors’ bills, as well another judgment involving “Church Chronicle Publishing.”

A state tax lien for $10,546.17 was filed against Albert Manzo in 2000.
A judgment in favor of the Federal Mortgage Association for $148,000 also against Al.
A few judgments in favor of the First Bank of USA and North Jersey Federal Credit for a combined total of over $10,000.

Dina Manzo – Jezebel reports out of all the housewives, Dina is the only one who has a clean slate when it comes to her financial history. Her husband, Tommy Manzo, is however a different story. Dina married Tommy (the brother of Caroline’s husband) in 2006 in a lavish wedding that reportedly cost $1.5 million. The wedding was featured on VH1′s My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding. You can watch that here.

Tommy was sued by American Express for $12,599 in 2007
He was also sued by the Bank of America for an undisclosed amount.

Jacqueline Laurita - Similar to Dina, Jacqueline also seems to have a clean financial slate. However as we reported this week, the company of Jacqueline’s husband, Chris Laurita, filed for bankrupty last year. The company, Signature Apparel Group LLC, was behind the Rocawear and Eve’s Fetish clothing brands. The financial issues found on the Lauritas were for the years 1988 and 1990.

United Jersey bank successfully won a judgment against Chris for over $18,000 in 1988.
American Express also successfully won a judgment against Chris for almost $3000 in 1990.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE LADIES’ FINANCIAL HISTORIES!

Real Housewives of New Jersey

NJ Housewife Caroline Manzo Reveals How She Lost 20 Lbs!

by Reality Tea on June 25th, 2010

Real Housewives of New Jersey star Caroline Manzo is now opening up about her slimmer new figure!

The 48-year-old shared with PEOPLE magazine that she has lost an impressive 20 lbs on her 5’1″ frame. And what’s her secret? “Just portion control. I eat what I want. I just eat the bad things earlier on in the day,” said Caroline. For example, “If I want pasta, I have it for lunch instead of for dinner. That’s all. If I want a piece of cheesecake, I have half instead of a whole.”

Along with a healthy diet, Caroline also credits her weight loss to regular exercise, by doing “a lot of treadmill” and drinking “a lot of water.

Caroline spends about 45 minutes to an hour working out at least three times a week. “I try to do it every day. And as the day progresses, I eat lighter and lighter,” she says of her routine. “And I stopped drinking soda and juice … [I drink] just one coffee a day and buckets and buckets and buckets of water.”

Caroline shares she began her new regimen back in March, and says the weight came off slowly. “I think that’s healthy,” she says. “That’s the way to do it, so it’s not like yo-yo dieting.”

When it comes to how she feels today, the mother of three reveals she feels “so much better” since losing the weight. “I love it … I always felt uncomfortable in my clothes. But now I’m good.”

Real Housewives of New Jersey

NJ Housewives’ Danielle Staub Claims She Is “Not Ready” To Come Out, Plus New NJ Star Owes Money

by Reality Tea on June 24th, 2010

Former prostitution whore and current sex tape queen Danielle Staub has now decided her next ploy to garner attention is to exploit the gay community.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star gave an interview to FOX news during which she proclaimed she is a part of the gay community. “I haven’t even begun my work in the gay community yet,” said Danielle. “I want to go to senate, I want to pass a bill and get gay marriage legalized. I go to events, I march in rallies. I’ve been a part of the gay community for 30 years.”

Oh but she doesn’t end there. When asked about her relationship with openly lesbian songwriter Lori Michaels, Danielle made sure to play coy and not give a straight answer, pun intended.

“I’m not ready to say that one way or the other,” she told Fox News. “Right now my focus is on my kids, but there is room for one more person in my world. Hopefully soon the world will see that.”

Danielle also took her attentionwhoredom to twitter when she referred to Lori as her girlfriend in a recent tweet. “Thank you everyone for supporting me with love and kindness in my song “Real Close” bless my gf Lori Michaels,” she wrote.

And it’s not over folks. Danielle also made sure she tweeted a photo of herself sitting on Lori’s lap. That photo is below.

One person who isn’t buying Danielle’s faux lesbian story? Her co-star Jacqueline Laurita, who tweeted the following on Monday night: “She just asked my friend at her new condo to introduce her to all her single MALE friends so I am as confused as she is apparently. ;0)”

And for all the folks who would like a peek at Danielle’s sex tape, The first 15 minutes of the explicit tape has been posted online for free by Perez Hilton. You can watch that by clicking here. Good luck, you will need it.

Speaking of attention whores, party planner Elvira Grau, who released a press release last week to falsely declare herself Dina Manzo’s replacement, seems to be basking in her 15 minutes of limelight.

Perhaps someone should have told Elvira with fame comes the price of negative press, but something tells us she is more than happy to pay this price.

The NYPost is reporting Elvira and her hubby James Grau owe over $300,000 to the IRS. Elvira, who boasted about having a luxurious lifestyle replete with nannies, maids, cooks and drivers, was slapped with massive state tax liens between January and March on various properties, including her $3 million mansion.

And despite bragging to Teresa Giudice about having a beach house, property records show Elvira and her husband don’t own any thing near a beach.

Despite the bad press, Elvira seems to be loving all the attention, bragging to RadarOnline, “I’m the ‘Crazy Bitch!’ I’m a hustler.” And though Bravo has denied Elvira is a new housewife, they do confirm she will be appearing in a few more episodes of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. No word yet on what Elvira will be doing in the upcoming episodes. Perhaps she will be helping Teresa plan a ‘We’re bankrupt but fabulous party.’ We kid, we kid.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF DANIELLE AND LORI, AND EVLIRA AND HER HUSBAND –

Real Housewives of New Jersey

NJ Housewife Jacqueline Laurita In Financial Trouble? Plus Caroline Manzo New Interview

by Reality Tea on June 23rd, 2010

On the heels of her Real Housewives of New Jersey co-star Teresa Giudice filing for bankruptcy, could Jacqueline Laurita be next?

While the net worth of Jacqueline and her husband Chris Laurita is unknown, it has been uncovered that Chris’s company, Signature Apparel Group, LLC, had a bankruptcy filing last year in September 2009. Chris is listed as being the company’s CEO, Owner and President.

The bankruptcy is described as “an involuntary petition for liquidation under Chapter 7″ that was filed against Signature Apparel Group, LLC in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

There’s no word on the current status of the company or how this affects the finances of Chris and Jacqueline, but with Chris being the Owner, CEO and President, it’s safe to assume the demise of the company will put a dent in the couple’s finances. One can only hope the Lauritas have been responsible with their money, so they don’t end up like the Giudices.

UPDATE: Wanted to add that this isn’t a personal bankruptcy filing but one for a company which seemed to be having problems. We have zero knowledge of the Lauritas’ personal spending or finances. This is simply a report on what happened with Chris’s company Signature Apparel.

In other New Jersey news, mama bear Caroline Manzo gave a new interview to Zap2it, during which she touched on the Brownstone and Kim G. Excerpts are below -

And, your kids, have they received preferential treatment [at the Brownstone], because dad’s the owner?
Each of them did everything. Somebody vomited on the floor? We’d say, ‘Albie, go clean up the vomit.’ And he’d say, ‘OK.’ What’s great about it is all the employees at The Brownstone, from the dishwashers to the valets to the bartenders, they all worked in every aspect in every department. So they all know these kids and they know that they put in the hours and they know that they worked and they know that they are good kids. It is a wonderful thing when you are going there and you see them interacting with everybody. We have almost 300 employees and they interact with everybody and they know everybody’s name and everything. That to me is tremendous.

Danielle Staub is one thing, but what is Kim G.’s deal?
Kim and I only know each other because I know that she’s [my son, Christopher's friend] John’s mom and she knows that I am Christopher’s mom. There was never so much as an invitation for a cup of coffee on her part to me in the past ten years. And to be fair I never reached out to her either. So I just thought that the timing was a little…bizarre. I thought the invitation was a little strange, and this is why I stepped away from that. As far as her friendship goes, I don’t know the woman well enough to say she is not clear about things, or she is being fooled, or is Danielle her type of person or is Danielle not her type of person? I don’t know the answer to those questions. Because I don’t know her.

You seem pretty forgiving – even after she twisted Chris’ words when he said that they were “in for a surprise” and added fuel to Danielle’s fire.
I was able to let go. Certainly it was disappointing. No doubt. It was uncomfortable for me to watch without question. But again, it is not like we had a relationship and she turned on me. It is not like we had a relationship and she was like two-faced. We didn’t have a relationship. So is that’s what she wants to do, than great. However, I’m not going to let her actions impact me enough to affect the boys’ friendship.

Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Recap: Deformed Bubbies

by Reality Tea on June 22nd, 2010

With the departure of Dina Manzo, life goes on for the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

We start off this episode with an awkward dinner or lunch or something between Caroline, Teresa and Jacqueline. The ladies discuss Dina’s exit from the show and of course Danielle’s name is brought up in the conversation. The only part that stands out in this scene is when Caroline says, “I feel so bad for Dina. She’s going through so much.” Come again Caroline? Dina’s going through so much? Like what exactly? As we the viewers haven’t been privy to any of Dina’s problems, infact we have been led to believe Dina’s life was all unicorns, lollipops and rainbows with the exception of the Danielle drama.

I thought Caroline’s comment was interesting to say the least. Reason #192 by the NJ cast sucks? Well thanks to the ladies focusing on the Danielle drama so much, we don’t get to hear about or see their own personal issues and drama. The ladies decide they need to watch out for Danielle because “she’s capable of anything,” and the dinner/lunch/brunch or something scene ends.

Next up is Danielle‘s visit with a plastic surgeon. Was I the only one who noticed some lights were out on the sign for the plastic surgery office? Not sure that I would be putting my life on the line in what looks like a motel reject but Danielle is more than ready to fix her wonky tits, so she will take the chance! And thanks to the now infamous sex tape she made before this revision surgery, we can all affirm her boobs were indeed deformed.

Danielle then once again breaks out her her boo hoo story about feeling so undesirable due to her wonky tits, and I can imagine a good percentage of viewers are rolling their eyes at this point.

We then get to see Lauren Manzo doing makeup at her makeup school, and overbearing mama Caroline of course pays her daughter a visit. Don’t get me wrong, Caroline seems like a great mother, but she just appears to be way too involved in the lives of her children. It appears she has nothing else going on in her life other than her children and family. At this stage in her kids’ lives, it might be time for Caroline to began pulling back, and perhaps work on finding a hobby that doesn’t involve her children. Someone commented a while back, saying they already feel bad for Caroline’s future daughter-in-laws, and can’t say I disagree.

Ashley decides to pay her parents a visit and apologizes for her bratty behavior at the poker game. Ashley informs her parents she wants to come back home, which I think is great, because she had no business living on her own to begin with. She simply lacks the maturity needed to make it on her own at this point in her life.

Next up is Teresa and she informs us she is having a housewarming party for her new home. We finally get to meet nutty party planner Elvira Grau, who immediately scolds Teresa for not having help or a pool for that matter. Something about Teresa was off this episode. She just seemed a bit more laid back and more quiet. I’m guessing this was filmed at the peak of her financial problems. When you think about it, Danielle made her sex tape in September 2009, before her visit with the plastic surgeon in this episode. Teresa filed for bankruptcy in October 2009, meaning this episode was definitely filmed right before or right after the bankruptcy filing.

Back to the show, Teresa and Elvira have an interesting exchange.

Elvira- Why don’t you have a pool?

Teresa - (Awkward pause) Because I have a beach house. (Quick thinking there Teresa!)

Elvira - I have a beach house, I have a pool.

Elvira once again scolds Teresa for not having help, and at this point it’s pretty obvious Kim D. and Kim G. are not the only ones auditioning for Bravo. It however seems Elvira has her sights set on something bigger than just the Housewives’ franchise. The annoying, rude and overbearing party planner is aiming for her own Bravo spin off!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECAP! -

Real Housewives of New Jersey

Preview Real Housewives of New Jersey, Plus Dina’s Getting Replaced?

by Reality Tea on June 21st, 2010

There’s a lot to report on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, plus the preview of tonight’s new episode, so we will get right to it.

While Bravo housewives are notorious for being indulgent, this week’s episode goes to show just how much they love to pose entertain. As Teresa Giudice, who’s $11 million bankruptcy filing was recently unveiled, decides to break in her new home by hiring a party planner to throw a housewarming party. And yes, this is the same home that was briefly put on the market a week ago and is rumored will soon be in foreclosure.

The over the top party will include an extravagant red carpet and fire eaters. Clearly, excess is not an issue in the Garden State. Meanwhile Caroline must face the fact that her son Albie Manzo might get kicked out of law school due to bad grades. The new episode airs tonight at 10/9c.

Dina Getting Replaced? – This has been all the buzz this weekend, when rumors hit that Elvira Grau (pictured above – what is she wearing?), who happens to be Teresa’s party planner on tonight’s episode, would be replacing Dina Manzo for the remainder of the season. The Dish Rag however shuts down the rumors, even saying there will be no replacement for Dina this season. What a bummer. I guess the women vs. Danielle drama will continue to be the main plot for the show. Bravo really dropped the ball with this one. It would have been perfect timing to introduce a new housewife, and change things up.

Danielle Stalking Ashley? – Those are the claims of Ashley Holmes, daughter of Jacqueline Laurita. Ashley tweeted the following this weekend:

“just found out that @daniellestaub came by my work yesterday “looking for me”.. WTF.. what a crazy STALKER !! GO AWAY!! & get a life.”

Judging from Danielle Staub‘s actions this season, this doesn’t come as a surprise. Ashley also tweeted that the sex tape queen must not be struggling anymore since her bill from Ashley’s workplace came to $500. Ashley added, “how are you liking your new condo at ‘The Watermark on Hudson’ ?..where does a struggling single mom get all that money?”

A quick look at The Watermark condos show condos ranging in price from $800,000 to $3,100,000. If true, then it’s safe to say her sex tape is doing well on the market. Good to see selling her soul sex tape is paying off financially. Let’s all hope Danielle saves some of the sex tape dough for the therapy she badly needs.

TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THESE STORIES AND TONIGHT’S NEW EPISODE?

Real Housewives of New Jersey