Jennifer Aydin calls new ‘RHONJ’ reunion format ‘quite pleasant,’ avoided people she doesn’t ‘like’
Jennifer Aydin has nothing but positive things to say about the new “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion format amid heightened tensions among cast members.
“I didn’t have to see anybody I didn’t like or that I’m not getting along with. It was quiet pleasant!” she told People at Mend Skincare Presents: Jill Zarin’s Luxury Luncheon by Laifen & Ticket2events on Saturday.
After Season 14 wrapped with an intense dinner that left the cast divided, Bravo opted instead to film two separate parties in which each group watched the finale unfold.
Aydin, 47, clarified that the women with whom she filmed were still able to “air [their] grievances and [their] gripes” and “communicate” with each other.
“It wasn’t the fighting that you usually see. And the fans are as sick of the fighting as I am, so I think they’re going to love it,” the “RHONJ” star added.
Aydin didn’t name who was in her room, but sources previously told Variety that she filmed with Teresa Giudice and Jackie Goldschneider.
Dolores Catania also participated in their party at times, but then at points popped over to the other room with Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Rachel Fuda, Danielle Cabral and Jennifer Fessler.
Aydin concluded, “Sometimes you don’t [need] resolutions to move on. You can decide that somebody is not right for you and some people are not right for you.
“You don’t need resolution to move on, you can be indifferent and that’s where I am with some of these girls. I’m neither here or there.”
Giudice, 52, is also eager for fans to “see the truth” that is revealed during both the finale and the reunion.
“Everything I’ve been saying all along has been the truth,” the “Turning the Tables” author told People.
“I don’t lie, I’m not fake. I don’t put fake storylines out there. I don’t hurt other people’s families. If you’re a viewer, you’ve been with me a long time and you’ll see that. But other people do that, and they do it for storylines. So I’m ready for the truth to be out there.”
However, Catania, 53, seems to have mixed feelings about the format and recently admitted to E! News that she “regret[s] that everybody couldn’t come together the way I would like.”
“We are a beautiful group of women who have the same hearts and the same love for our families and our children and we have that in common,” she explained.
“My biggest regret is that I just would love to have seen family come together and friendships come together and we just couldn’t seem to do that,” Catania concluded, seemingly referencing the long-standing feud between Giudice and Gorga, 45.
The sisters-in-law have been fighting on and off for years, but they haven’t spoken since the Season 13 reunion last year. Several of their close friends have butted heads with the other person as a result.
Fans have been speculating on the future of “RHONJ” ever since Page Six confirmed that Bravo would not be conducting a traditional reunion after a tumultuous cast dinner.
“[Forgoing a reunion] makes sense. And once viewers see the finale, the decision to forgo the traditional reunion will make even more sense,” a source told us last month.
Bravo has not announced when the reunion will air, nor have they shared any decisions on casting going forward.
However, Bravo honcho Andy Cohen previously teased that they are thinking about adding some “fresh faces” to the cast –– for which Gorga told us she’s “excited.”
“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
