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Inner Circle

Caroline reflects on Dina's departure, poker night at Jacqueline's, and more!

By Caroline Manzo

 

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 premiere May 5th at 8/9c on Bravo and stream next day on Peacock.

So, here we are again, another week has past and we’re already on episode seven. I can’t believe how quickly these days are flying by!

So, the million-dollar question: How many of you predicted Dina’s departure? I think the writing was on the wall for a while, wouldn’t you agree? I’m proud of how she handled herself. It clearly was an uncomfortable situation, but Dina remained calm and poised throughout. I believe she made the right choice by leaving the restaurant when she did, because it was about to get ugly, and she knew it. I also like that she respected the other patrons in the restaurant right to have a peaceful dinner - no need for a scene. I think we’ve had enough scenes for a while, don’t you?

Dina is doing fine and is very happy with the choice she made. Lexi just graduated eighth grade this past Friday and will be going into high school in the fall. She is growing into a beautiful young lady and I completely understand Dina’s decision to keep her out of the fray. Now, for those of you who are in panic mode, RELAX! I would be willing to guess that you’ll be seeing glimpses of Dina and Lexi here and there, how could you not? We're talking about my sister and my niece; obviously they’re not only a huge part of my life, but the lives of Jacqueline and Teresa as well! Keep an eye out folks, they’ll be like the Where’s Waldo? of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, you’ll never know where they’ll turn up!

The pumpkin-picking trip was fun! We look forward to going every year, and it seems the group just keeps growing! Everyone gets involved - brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, Grammas, Grandpas, boyfriends, girlfriends, and all the new babies too! Not only do we pick pumpkins, but also we pick apples and berries and usually go home and bake our asses off for days! It was Derek’s first field trip with all of us, and guess what? He survived, and had fun too! I know we look like a bunch of lunatics that guard our "inner circle," but the truth of the matter is we just love to joke around, and our bark is definitely worse than our bite when it comes to the kids and their boyfriends and girlfriends!

 

 

Kim G. Hmmm, what can I say? As I watch I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed. I need to see how this plays out, but all I'll say for now is that it's interesting, very interesting. Many of you ask if the boys' friendship has suffered. No, it hasn’t. I love both of them to death, and I’m sure Kim does too. Good for them for not allowing petty nonsense to interfere with their friendship. Maybe they can teach us all a lesson.

The card game, oh the card game! Again, try to understand us, we have a very distorted sense of humor, and whether you get it or not, it’s all in good fun. Although I have to admit, I do hope Jacqueline was kidding when she said they hog-tied someone! I’m sure I would have heard about it if it actually happened, right? When Jacqueline told Ashley she looked like her grandmother I was shocked to see Ashley’s reaction. First, I need to understand where the insult was, because Jac clearly told Ashley she looked like her grandmother when she was younger. So what? Second, why would you go down and disrupt the card game? I like the fact that Jacqueline stood her ground and diffused the situation immediately. I like even more that Derek didn’t get involved and STAYED after Ashley was asked to leave. By staying he showed Ashley that he didn’t condone her behavior. Good for him. Ashley needs to understand that Jacqueline is her mother, not her girlfriend. It’s OK to have an opinion and disagree, but it is NEVER OK to be disrespectful. As for Jacqueline’s conversation with Steve, I love the fact that she hit him head on and told him how she felt. I met Steve once, very briefly, and I don’t know too much about the whole situation, but I have to hand it to Jacqueline for addressing it. See, I told you, she’s a spitfire!

OMG, it's 2:15 am. I may pass out so I think I need to wrap this up. I think I covered everything, so again, thanks for watching! You guys are the best!

PS. I have a feeling I’m going to be crying my heart out as I watch next week’s episode. :o(

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