So part one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion/bitchfight was Monday night. We’re just getting to it now as I didn’t watch it when it aired and am relying on the clips and analysis already online. These ladies are amusing for a while, but unless I’m doing something else, like cooking or exercising, I don’t particularly feel like watching this show. It’s not something I’m comfortable focusing my full attention on, even if it’s my job to talk smack about it. Still, this episode earned the highest ever ratings for Bravo and RHONJ has been renewed for a third season. A lot of people are watching these grown ladies act like impetuous preteens with a grudge and no supervision.

One of the big scenes that’s getting attention is when Danielle asked Teresa why she didn’t acknowledge her nephew’s birth. Teresa got super offended by that and got up screaming in Danielle’s face. She yelled “Do not bring up my family you f’ing bitch, piece of shit, motherf’cker.” These two have a long history of screaming fights so it’s not like it takes much to set either of them off. There’s speculation, though, that the “nephew” that Danielle brings up is actually the love child of Teresa’s husband Joe, which would explain why she freaked out. Jezebel notes that Danielle is thought to have hired a private investigator to dig into her on-screen rivals’ pasts. We know that she hired a PI to find her birth mother along with the fact that she loves digging up dirt on the others to use against them. It’s possible she suspects that the nephew is Joe’s mistresses’ kid and is using the issue to taunt Teresa in a way that she knew would get to her. There might not be anything behind it, though. Here’s Jezebel’s analysis, which includes more on the alleged mistress:

Within the first 10 minutes of last night’s reunion, Teresa flew off the couch in a rage, screaming in Danielle’s face over the mysterious mention of a “nephew.” Was Danielle implying that Juicy Joe has a love child?

It all started when the women were discussing how Danielle didn’t congratulate Jacqueline on the birth of her son. In true Danielle fashion, she tried to turn the conversation away from any negative reflection on herself and asked Teresa, “Did you acknowledge your nephew? Did you?”

At first, everyone on camera seemed just as confused as the audience at home, since it seemed like Danielle was asking whether Teresa acknowledged the birth of Jacqueline’s son. But then you could see on Teresa’s face that the wheels began turning. She knew exactly what Danielle was implying, and it threw her into a fit of ire that had her screaming like a farm animal giving birth. Danielle—having successfully made someone look more psychotic than herself—sauntered off the stage.

Everyone was left wondering how the mention of a nephew could evoke such a visceral reaction from Teresa. It was obviously a hot-button issue, and Danielle know exactly what she was doing when she pushed it.

Well, rumors have been swirling for several months now that Juicy Joe has a “gumar” named Tara G. (It is unknown at this time whether or not there is any relation to Kim G.) Apparently, it’s an open secret in the Giudice’s hometown with Tara showing off pictures of the couple together, and Joe supposedly even takes her to his construction sites. Tara is said to be young, blonde, and supported, financially, by Joe. She also has a baby boy, and while it’s unknown whether or not Joe is really the father (someone get Maury on the horn!), it would make sense that even the suggestion of a love child would make Teresa lose control.

According to one website, Danielle hired a private investigator to follow the Giudices, Lauritas, and Manzos to get some dirt on them, and that sounds like some crazy shit that she would do. Could this be the same P.I. she hired to track down her birth mother? Because that whole story line this season of finding her birth mother—the teenager who allegedly traveled from Sicily to Pennsylvania to give birth—seemed completely contrived and pointless to me, seeing as how Danielle’s ex-husband Keven Maher discussed the impossibility of opening her adoption records.

[From Jezebel]

Jezebel links to two websites that have more on the alleged mistress. One of the sites Reality Tea, acknowledges that it’s just hearsay for now. “There is also a rumor that has been going around for the past couple of weeks stating that Teresa’s husband Joe Giudice has been having an affair with a Jersey woman named Tara G. We received an email about this a while back, with someone telling us that everyone in the Giudices hometown is aware of this woman and the affair, including Teresa. We didn’t publish this as there was no proof attached to the email.” The other claims to have more insider information on the mistress, but it’s still rumor and there’s no proof.

So why did Teresa freak out? She’s telling anyone that will listen that she just thinks her family is off limits. She told Popeater that it’s all about Danielle taking too much of an interest in her family, and she told OMG! “All I was saying was: Do not bring up my family. I’m very protective of my family. I’m on the show, not my family. I don’t regret anything, and I think I handled myself very well. That part just got me heated again, and she knows how to push my buttons. When I’m attacked, I attack. The things that come out of her mouth are very malicious, mean things. I’m not going to just sit there and take whatever she’s going to say to me.” Yeah, Teresa knows that Danielle has some serious dirt on her and she doesn’t want it to come out. She wouldn’t be yelling and screaming like that over not being able to see her nephew right after he was born.

Meanwhile it still seems up in the air whether Danielle will be on the show next season. Teresa tells Popeater through a “source” (her) that she doesn’t care, though. “I just talked to her and it’s funny but she actually doesn’t care if Danielle comes back for another season or not. Teresa’s not intimidated or scared of Danielle. She actually thinks Danielle makes good TV and is amusing. If anything, she feels sorry for her. All she has in her life is this show.” Someone is trying to play tough. Maybe she knows for a fact that Danielle is not coming back. They need a villain, though, and she makes a good one, as hard as she is to look at. It’s not like any of them are easy on the eyes though, and that’s a great understatement in some cases. (below)