'Housewives' Promote Their Brands, Prepare for Cross-Country Trip

This week’s episode of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” showed how the families are expanding each of their respective business endeavors. The ladies also prepared preparing for their trip to Napa next week, which may not go down as smoothly as the wine they’re sure to be drinking.

Every housewife on the “Real Housewives” franchise seems to use the show to launch her own businesses or products and “New Jersey” is no exception.

Caroline Manzo and daughter Lauren are searching for the perfect place to open Cafface, a “Sephora with services,” as Lauren puts it.

Caroline, who feels Lauren’s struggles with weight have robbed the “real” Lauren from her, said: “It’s important for me to get this store up and running because that will improve her morale.”

They enlist the help of Manzo’s sister-in-law Jacqueline Laurita, a licensed cosmetologist. Despite Laurita’s hyper attitude and inappropriate jokes, the meeting seemed to go smoothly.

Melissa Gorga’s music career reached a major turning point after her performance at Beatstock, which was featured in last week’s episode. Her producer, Corte Ellis, talked to Gorga and her husband Joe about possibly signing with a record label, but Joe insisted that his wife remain independent.

“A record label doesn’t need to own Melissa. I own Melissa,” Joe said.

Nevertheless, he approved of the “porn star look” that Melissa donned for the label’s cover shoot because “l I love that they want my wife and they can’t have her.”

Teresa Giudice, Gorga’s sister-in-law, has been on her way to building an empire since the show’s first season, efforts she redoubled when her husband filed for bankruptcy after that first season.

This week, she visited a winery to taste some of her Fabellini wine. It was an important business meeting for her, but her husband Joe’s ramblings seemed to derail it.

“These people are looking at me like ‘shut your husband up,’” she said.

Later, she signed more of her cookbooks at a bakery.

“My fan base has gotten so big that my book signings have turned into classy affairs,” she said. “That said a lot about what I have accomplished as an author.”

As a tribute to their on-the-mend relationship, Giudice’s cousin Kathy Wakile and husband Rich showed up at the signing, cutting the very long line and asking Teresa to sign their book.

“We are family, and I want to make sure that she knows that I will be there for her,” Wakile said.

As they flipped through the book, Wakile makes a few subtle comments about the recipes belonging to her mother.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Giudice said. “Like, they’re my mother’s recipes. That was a cheap, passive-aggressive shot.”

Meanwhile, Wakile worked on expanding her line of dessert products with a tasting event at Gelatti’s in Paterson.

“I think that the best way to get people involved is to have them tell you what they really think,” Wakile said as she handed out rating cards to the guests. “If you write it down, then they can still smile in your face and have a clear conscience.”

Teresa attended the gathering with her friend, Linda.

“Teresa likes Linda because Linda speaks up on her behalf a lot,” Jacqueline Laurita said. “She’d rather have soldiers than friends.”

While Giudice told Linda tha she would not say anything about Kathy “stealing her recipes,” she did of course make a snide comment in her interview.

“I don’t want to compare my cookbook to her Gelatti event, but my daughters have signs like [the ones labeling Wakile’s desserts] when they have a lemonade stand,” she said.

Regardless of the negative energy in the air, Wakile made contact with Giacomo Berretta of Bindi Desserts, who told her to call him when the group returns from Napa.

The focus then shifts to Napa. The women are all planning on taking an trip across the country, but with the tension between them, Chris Laurita, who organized the trip, calls a meeting of all the husbands. Albert Manzo refused to attend. He said that no one could get through to Joe Giudice. Laurita’s point seemed to be that if all of the husbands talk to their wives, they can prevent any unpleasantness from happening on the trip.

While the men held their little powwow, the women reflected on their feelings about the upcoming trip.

“I don’t want to go with Teresa,” Caroline Manzo said. “I’m going to try to make the best of it but it’s going to ruin it for me.”

Melissa Gorga disagreed.

“Call me a sucker, but I think we’re good,” she said. “As long as his sister and I are getting along, my husband’s happy. So I don’t think there’s going to be any issues between the men.”

This may be less than true, however. Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga argued, although it is very unclear what about, even to those who are in the room. Giudice apparently alleged that Gorga did not return some tools that he lent him many years ago.

Regardless, it was clear the brothers-in-law should not be sharing an RV for a week, but that is exactly what they planned on doing.

“I’m disappointed with Joe and Teresa because I thought they were good people, but they knocked everyone down,” Chris Laurita said. “I’m concerned that it’s going to go back to the same old [stuff].”

The show airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Bravo.