Jackie Goldschneider Reveals Margaret Josephs Urged Her and Jennifer Fessler to Leave ‘RHONJ’ if Luis Ruelas Returned
Jackie Goldschneider Reveals Margaret Josephs Urged Her and Jennifer Fessler to Leave ‘RHONJ’ if Luis Ruelas Returned
In a shocking revelation, Jackie Goldschneider claims that her former best friend, Margaret Josephs, urged her and Jennifer Fessler to exit The Real Housewives of New Jersey if Teresa Giudice’s husband, Luis “Louie” Ruelas, returned for Season 14.
“Margaret wanted, if Louie was coming back to the show, she didn’t want me and Jenn Fessler to come back to the show,” Goldschneider, 47, disclosed during an interview with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
“She wanted to leave and she wanted all of us to leave together.”
According to Jackie, Jenn Fessler, 53, was on board with Josephs’ plan. Jenn confirmed this in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. “What happened was — and I think the first episode, maybe you saw me saying to Margaret, ‘I told you that if you don’t want to be around these people again, neither will I …,’” Fessler explained.
“And what I meant by that was, if you’re not gonna go back and do the show again, then I’m not going back and [won’t] do the show again.”
However, Jackie was not willing to comply with Margaret’ alleged demand. “Jenn Fessler said, ‘OK, I will do that for you.’ And I said, ‘I will not do that for you. I love you, but I’m not leaving my job because you don’t like somebody,’” she recounted, noting that this disagreement likely sparked the end of her friendship with Josephs, 57. “I think that started everything.”
Despite the tension, Ruelas, 49, returned to the show alongside Teresa, 52, as did Jackie, Jenn, and Josephs. Reflecting on Josephs’ decision to stay on the show with Luis, Jackie believes Margaret began viewing RHONJ as a competition rather than a reality show about friends. “I think she felt like she could do the show without filming with Teresa. And I think she also was looking at it a little bit as a game, you know, or a competition show,” she remarked.
“Less of a friend group and more of a competition show where, ‘If I get enough people onto my side, I’ll win.’ So I think that also contributed to the disconnect this season, unfortunately.”
During the dramatic Season 13 reunion of RHONJ in 2023, Margaret accused Luis of making a threatening call to her son at work, solidifying their rivalry on the show.
Jackie, who has had her own history of conflicts with Teresa, shared that she formed a “really nice friendship” with the series OG before filming for the current season began. “That definitely contributed to it. But I think there was a level of loyalty expected of me. Friendships should be easy. They should contribute joy and ease and comfort to your life. They shouldn’t be you having to answer for everything and [have] blind loyalty,” Jackie stated. “It shouldn’t be like that and I think a lot was expected of me as a friend.”
Margaret has openly expressed her sadness over the fractured friendship. “I feel sad about it. I think it’s sad, but I think it’s weird,” she told Page Six at BravoCon in November 2023. “It’s shocking.”
Catch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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