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The Real Housewives of New Jersey is an American reality television series on Bravo, which follows the lives of five women in and around several communities in northern New Jersey. It is the network's fourth installation of The Real Housewives series. Since season 3, The Real Housewives of New Jersey has been, and as of May 2013, is the only The Real Housewives series within the franchise that features a main cast who are all married.

Production history

The show's first season premiered on May 12, 2009. The five housewives featured on the program were Caroline Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita, Teresa Giudice, Dina Manzo, and Danielle Staub. For the first time in the franchise, the series followed housewives who are related to one another: sisters Caroline and Dina are married to brothers Albert and Tommy Manzo, and Jacqueline Laurita is married to Caroline and Dina's brother, Chris Laurita.

The show premiered its second season on May 3, 2010. Dina Manzo left the show after the seventh episode of the second season. On August 31, 2010 Bravo officially renewed the series for a third season. On September 7, 2010, it was announced that Danielle Staub was not returning to the show.

The third season of the series premiered on May 16, 2011, with a 90-minute episode. Melissa Gorga and Kathy Wakile were the newest housewives to join the cast. Recording of Season 4 wrapped late-October 2011. The third season also delivered the highest rated season premiere in the network's history and the highest rated season premiere in The Real Housewives franchise.

On June 7, 2011 Bravo renewed the series for a fourth season due to record breaking ratings, which premiered on April 22, 2012 and became the highest rated season premiere in the network's history. The season 4 finale aired on September 23, 2012, and the three part reunion began on September 30, 2012. The reunion concluded on October 14, 2012, in which appearances were made by the husbands of the housewives and Kim D.

On April 2, 2013, Bravo announced that the series' fifth season would premiere on June 2, 2013 at 8 PM with the season four cast returning: Caroline Manzo, Teresa Guidice, Jacqueline Laurita, Melissa Gorga and Kathy Wakile. Kim DePaola and Jennifer Dalton have joined as "friends of the housewives".

Current Housewives

Teresa Giudice

(Season 1 – present)

Teresa Giudice (née Gorga) (born May 18, 1972) was born and raised in New Jersey. Her parents immigrated from Italy and raised Teresa and her brother Giuseppe, also known as Joe, in an Italian Catholic home. She grew up in Paterson, New Jersey where she met her husband of more than ten years, Joe. Teresa has four daughters—Gia (born on January 8, 2001), Gabriella (born on October 4, 2004), Milania (born on February 2, 2006) and baby Audriana (born on September 14, 2009).

After graduating from Berkeley College with a degree in Fashion Marketing and Management, Giudice worked as an associate buyer for Macy's in New York before deciding to stay home with her children. She owns an online boutique, TG Fabulicious, and has co-authored three successful Italian cookbooks, each of which is a New York Times Best Seller. The first, Skinny Italian, a lifestyle title that teaches authentic, healthy Italian cooking, was published May 4, 2010, her second cookbook, Fabulicious, was published May 3, 2011, and Giudice's third cookbook, Fabulicious!: Fast & Fit, was released on May 8, 2012. Giudice has also created her own line of Bellini called Fabellini, along with a haircare line named Milania Hair Care.

Fabulicious cookbook caused a dispute with fellow castmate Caroline Manzo after Giudice wrote that Caroline was "1/16th Italian" and "as Italian as the Olive Garden". The dispute spilled into the third season reunion, where Manzo also accused Giudice of causing the issues between Caroline and her sister, Dina, who are no longer on speaking terms, an accusation that both Dina Manzo and Teresa Giudice have denied.

Additionally, she is a committee member for her former co-star, Dina Manzo's charity, Project Ladybug. On February 19, 2012, Giudice was a cast member on season 12 of Celebrity Apprentice. She was fired on May 6, 2012 (episode 12), placing fifth after raising $60,000 for her charity, The NephCure Foundation.

Status: Married

Caroline Manzo

(Season 1 – present)

Caroline Manzo (née Laurita) (born August 23, 1961) has been married for over 27 years to Albert Manzo, co-owner of The Brownstone, an event and catering facility in Paterson, New Jersey. Albert Manzo's brother, Tommy Manzo, is the second husband of Manzo's sister and former cast mate, Dina Manzo, making the two sisters by both marriage and blood.

The couple have three children: Albert "Albie" Manzo IV (born May 27, 1986), Lauren Manzo (born in 1988), and Christopher Manzo (born May 23, 1989). Manzo is the owner of two businesses: Opus Properties, a real estate firm, and a children's accessories line. In addition, she serves on the board of her sister Dina's charity foundation, Project Ladybug. In season 4, she is also portrayed partnering with daughter Lauren in a boutique store. It was rumored that Manzo was not going to return for season 5, but these rumors were confirmed false by fellow cast member Melissa Gorga.

Status: Married

Jacqueline Laurita

(Season 1 – present)

Jacqueline Laurita (née Grippe) born April 26, 1970 is a stay-at-home mother married to Chris Laurita, brother of Caroline and Dina Manzo. Together, Jacqueline and Chris have two sons: Christopher "C.J." Laurita, Jr. (born in 2002) and Nicholas Laurita (born June 11, 2009). Jacqueline also has a daughter, Ashlee Holmes (born Ashley on December 1, 1990), from a previous marriage. After several miscarriages and fertility problems, which she discussed on the show, Laurita gave birth to Nicholas shortly after the Season 1 Reunion show. In 2012, Laurita revealed that Nicholas had been diagnosed with autism.

Her father, Jerome "Jerry" Grippe, was an Army colonel, and Jacqueline moved with her family to locations such as South Korea, Germany and Virginia; she graduated from Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Virginia in 1988. Jacqueline spent most of her adult life in Las Vegas, where her parents reside. In "How I Met Chris", Jacqueline describes the roles her father (who was senior vice president of operations at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, his then-coworker Steve Schirripa, and a fellow convention model played in her meeting her husband in 1996 at a Chicago sporting goods trade show, their courtship, and jobs she held at Lancome and as a licensed cosmetologist, convention and product model, on-call cocktail waitress for Samston hotel and casino, and freelance makeup artist.

During Season 2, the majority of drama around Jacqueline involved teenage daughter, Ashley. The drama led up to one of the most infamous moments in the show's history; Ashley pulled Housewife Danielle Staub's hair, causing Staub to slap Jacqueline's daughter with a lawsuit.

Shortly following Season 3, Jacqueline had a dramatic falling out with cast member and longtime friend Teresa Giudice. The feud consisted of a long Twitter war, which ended with Laurita's referring to Giudice as "scum" and claiming that Giudice had stabbed her in the back several times. The falling out was so volatile that Laurita decided not to attend the season 3 reunion.

Status: Married

Melissa Gorga

(Season 3 – present)

Melissa Gorga (née Marco, born March 21, 1979) is married to Giuseppe (Joe) Gorga, who is the younger brother of Teresa Giudice. Melissa and Joe have three children: Antonia, Gino, and Joey. Melissa, who in the past has worked as a teacher, has parlayed her fame from Real Housewives into a music career. Her single, "On Display", was released on iTunes dance chart selections on August 13, 2011 to mixed critical reviews. Gorga has stated that she continues to work on her music and has released several new singles, which have been previewed on several Season 4 episodes, as well as a four-track EP. As of July 5, 2012, she has released two additional singles on iTunes: "How Many Times", released Apr 29, 2012, and "Rockstar", released June 10, 2012.

Melissa, along with music superstars Pitbull and Fergie, is an ambassador for Voli Light Vodka, which bills itself as "the world's first low-calorie vodka".

Status: Married

Kathy Wakile

(Season 3 – present)

Katherina "Kathy" Wakile (née Pierri, born October 4, 1965) currently resides in Wayne, New Jersey with her husband of 21 years, Richard "Richie" Wakile, and their two children, Victoria (born 1994) and Joseph (born 1996). Her family is very close to that of her cousin Joe Gorga (Teresa Guidice's brother) and his wife, fellow Housewife Melissa Gorga. Unlike her other castmates, Kathy is not married to an Italian-American. Her husband, Rich, is Lebanese-American. Kathy is passionate about food and one day plans to open her own restaurant or catering business. Kathy has had several arguments with her cousin Teresa throughout season three of the show and is often dragged into feuds between Teresa and Teresa's sister-in-law Melissa. Kathy has introduced several new product lines since joining the show. Additionally, she and Victoria frequently participate in events that raise awareness for brain cancer, an illness they take close to heart, as Victoria needed an operation to remove a benign brain tumor; this incident was discussed on Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Status: Married

Former Housewives

Dina Manzo

(Season 1 – Season 2)

Claudine "Dina" Manzo (née Laurita) (born March 7, 1972) is a mother, an interior decorator, and the founder of the non-profit organization, Project Ladybug. Project Ladybug is dedicated to supporting St. Joseph's Hospital Paterson and helping children with cancer.She and her family live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. She married her second husband, Tommy Manzo, co-owner of the event and catering facility The Brownstone, in 2005. Tommy's elder brother and business partner, Albert Manzo, is married to Dina's older sister and cast mate, Caroline, making the two also sisters-in-law. Tommy and Dina's wedding was featured on the VH1 television show My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding. In February 2013, Dina announced that she and Tommy had separated in October 2012.

Dina has a daughter, Alexia ("Lexi", born on January 25, 1996) from her previous marriage to George Hadjiapostoli (co-owner of Nisha nail salon in Wayne, New Jersey). Season 1 focuses on the struggles Dina, like many other mothers, faces as Alexia grows up.

In 2010, Dina produced the return of the Off-Broadway comedy, My Big Gay Italian Wedding, at the St. Luke's Theatre in New York City. Dina also stars in Dina's Party, on HGTV. The show follows her event planning company, known for its outlandish celebrations and parties. It premiered on September 10, 2011. Dina made an appearance on episode 18 of Season 4 ("Dinasty of Denial", airdate 9 September 2012), appearing at Teresa Giudice's Fabellini launch party.

Manzo has signed a development deal with Al Roker Entertainment for her own reality-documentary series, which will showcase her life as she moves on from her divorce.

Status: Divorced

Danielle Staub

(Seasons 1 – 2)

Danielle Staub (born July 29, 1962) is divorced and a single mother of two daughters, Christine Staub (born in 1994) and Jillian Staub (born in 1998). She was the only cast member who entered filming as a relative stranger to the group; she was friends with only Jacqueline once filming began.

After weeks of speculation, it was confirmed by Bravo that Staub would not be returning to the show for season 3. In the spring of 2012, Staub joined part of dialastar, a telephone service that allows fans to talk to their favorite celebrities. In the summer of 2012, Staub had filed for bankruptcy.

Status: Divorced

Housewives History

Episodes

Web series

During the show's third season, a web series was made starring Caroline's sons Albie and Chris Manzo. The series also featured their roommate, Greg Bennett. The spin-off called, Boys to Manzo, featured the three in their Hoboken, NJ apartment, living the bachelor life. The series was never intended to be aired on TV, and is uploaded to bravotv.com.

Ratings

The first part of the second season reunion gathered 3.9 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the season at the time of its airing and the second highest rated episode of the franchise after the January 30, 2011 episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

The third season opener had the second to the highest rated season premiere ever for the network, and the highest rated season premiere within the franchise. The fourth season opened with 2.95 million viewers, the highest opening of the series and the highest season premiere ever for the network.)

DVD Releases

In April 2010, Target stores released the first season on DVD. The second season was released on January 9, 2011.

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