Take a Look Back at Jacqueline Laurita’s Children Over the Years with These Adorable Pics
Ashlee Holmes, Chris “CJ” Laurita, and Nicholas Laurita have grown up since first appearing on RHONJ with their mom, Jacqueline Laurita.
When The Real Housewives of New Jersey premiered in 2009, Jacqueline Laurita gave viewers a glimpse at her loving marriage with her husband, Chris Laurita, and their journey as parents raising their young sons, Chris “CJ” Laurita and Nicholas Laurita, as well as her teenage daughter, Ashlee Holmes, from a previous relationship.
During her seven-season run on RHONJ, Jacqueline openly shared many aspects of her life, including the challenges she faced while raising Ashlee early on and Nicholas' autism journey. Fast forward to today, Jacqueline's children are all grown up — Ashlee has started her own family, CJ is working at his father's company, Velocity Global Brands, and Nicholas is a thriving teenager.
While it’s clear that Ashlee, CJ, and Nicholas’s lives have evolved, we like to still think of them as the kids we met 15 years ago. So join us on a trip down memory lane with Jacqueline’s kids with the most adorable photos from their early years.
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Ashlee Holmes is "best friends" with her mom
Ashlee was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 1, 1990, and like most kids, she formed an instantaneous bond with her mother. Before moving to Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, when she was only 17, Ashlee spent most of her life in Sin City with her mom, stepdad Chris, and little brother CJ.
During a confessional in Season 1 of RHONJ, Ashlee opened up about the unbreakable bond she and Jacquline shared, saying, "My mom is one of my best friends; we fight like we're friends too." She continued: "I like that she's a young mom. She's like the mom from Mean Girls."
Baby photos of Jacqueline Laurita’s daughter, Ashlee Holmes
With a fabulous mother like Jacqueline, you better believe that Ashlee was always impeccably dressed whether for her birthday party or an impromptu photo shoot.
What's more, the mother-and-daughter duo also happened to have a love for dressing up in tutu costumes.
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Young Ashlee Holmes wearing costumes
Long before Ashlee found her passion for the beauty industry, specializing in various makeup techniques such as bridal and prosthetic makeup, she loved dressing up in adorable costumes. Over the years, Ashlee has portrayed a genie in a bottle, a patriotic performer, and even wore matching silly teeth with her mom and stepdad.
Ashlee's fondness for dressing up also grew during her years of ballet training.
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Ashlee Holmes' school life
Although Ashlee hasn't talked much about her time in elementary and middle school, one of her extracurricular activities was cheerleading, as shown in the photos below.
Ashlee was even crowned district champ top cheerleader when she was only 13 years old.
Ashlee Holmes spends time with brother CJ
In the past, CJ enjoyed being in the spotlight as a child, especially when he was in front of the camera with his family, including his older sister Ashlee. The brother and sister duo made many memories together, which is shown in the adorable photos above.
Surprisingly enough, Jacqueline got to update her family photo scrapbook with a new snapshot of her two oldest kids in May 2024, when they reunited to celebrate Memorial Day weekend.
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Jacqueline Laurita’s Son CJ Over the years
CJ grew up fondly attending hockey games, hiking, and hanging out with his family.
It seems that he also took an interest in learning how to play poker, as seen in the photo with a stack of poker chips in front of him.
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CJ Laurita cosplaying as his father Chris
Like father, like son. As a child, CJ was inseparable from his dad and even found himself mimicking Chris’ day job. Little did CJ know that more than a decade later he would be following in his old man’s footsteps and working at his apparel company.
Nicholas also got in on the work from home shenanigans as well.
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Brothers CJ Laurita and Nicholas through the years
In this heartwarming, throwback snap, CJ can be seen giving his baby brother Nicholas a kiss on the cheek.
The sons of Jacqueline and Chris have remained close over the years with the two even strengthening their bond by twinning in a few outfits.
When the siblings didn’t dress alike, they spent their downtime relaxing in their family’s jacuzzi tub.
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Nicholas Laurita’s relationship with his father Chris Laurita
In Season 5, Episode 2 of RHONJ, Chris surprised Jacqueline by having their son Nicholas express his love for her after having him work with a therapist.
Jacqueline opened up about the emotional moment in 2013 in a blog post on BravoTV.com. “This was an emotional episode for me to watch. Talking about Nick's Autism diagnosis is still very new and painful, although there's hope. My husband told the truth when he said I was very emotional. I still have my moments of weakness, but I gain my strength from those moments,” she wrote.
Jacqueline continued: “The support of my husband, my family, my friends, and all those that have reached out to us have given me my strength, hope, and encouragement to keep up the fight to recover our child. Thank you for that! XO!”
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Jacqueline Laurita’s son Nick is all smiles as a young boy
Little Nicholas appears to be happy as he tries to open a door in the picture above.
Jacqueline has recently shared updates about her son Nicholas, celebrating his achievements such as getting straight A's in 7th grade, showcasing his drawings of people, and sharing videos of him singing.
Ashlee Holmes, CJ Laurita, and Nicholas Laurita celebrate Christmas
The Laurita family has always been enthusiastic about celebrating the holidays, and Christmas is no exception. In a 2011 blog post on BravoTV.com, the mother of three explained how she and her castmates share similar holiday traditions. "I noticed that one of the things our families on this show have in common is our love of food and the ridiculous amounts of it we make for a holiday (or any other day for that matter)," she wrote.
One tradition that Jacqueline's kids have always looked forward to every year during the December holiday season is baking sprinkle cookies. She reflected on the memory in a past chat with Real Mr. Housewife, saying, "It’s been a traditional Christmas favorite cookie to make in our house for years because they are easy to make and the kids enjoy making them..."
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More candid moments of Jacqueline Laurita’s kids over the years
Ashlee fan girls over meeting Lil Bow Wow.
Ashlee, CJ, and Nicholas's childhood were truly amazing as the trio created countless memories with various family members.
