Jackie Goldschneider Explains Why Being a Friend on RHONJ Season 13 Was "The Best Solution"

Jackie Goldschneider is opening up about why she's a friend of the ladies on The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 13.

The attorney spoke to PEOPLE about her role the upcoming set of episodes, and she explained why she's looking forward to being a "friend" after four seasons on the full-time cast. 

Since she joined the show back in Season 9, Jackie has been open about having an eating disorder. On Season 12, Jackie began attending therapy for her eating disorder, but, when casting for Season 13 was in process, Jackie told PEOPLE that her "recovery was not in the place that I expected it to be."

"It was moving very slowly," she added. "I was still being triggered by stress, and I still needed a lot of intense therapy."

Because "recovery was [her] priority" and Jackie "wasn't sure how to balance the time commitment for the show with [her] recovery," she accepted a friend role for the upcoming season. 

"And even though that was a really tough pill to swallow and it was hard for me to step back a little bit after having been such a big part of the show for so many years, I really knew that that was probably the best solution," she told PEOPLE.

As a result, Jackie has been able to put her full attention into her health. She noted that being a friend was the ideal "sweet spot" for her on Season 13, and that she "turned a corner" in her recovery in the summer. 

"In retrospect, it was the best decision that I could have made. It was really tough to do, but I'm really proud of myself for prioritizing myself," she continued. "I'm so incredibly healthy now and I don't know [if that would] be the case if I didn't do this. So I have no regrets."

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 13 premieres Tuesday, February 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT with a 75-minute supersized episode. Each week, the episode will stream next day on Peacock.