We have all felt encouragement while watching Jackie Goldschneider make strides in her recovery from disordered eating.
That does not mean that she has been front and center on RHONJ, however.
A very credible report says that Jackie is receiving a demotion to a “Friend of” role.
Meanwhile, newcomer Rachel Fuda will be taking her place as a Full Housewife.
Page Six reports that, per multiple inside sources, Rachel Fuda will star on Season 13.
Fellow newbie Danielle Cabral is also adding her name to the lineup.
Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, and Margaret Josephs are all returning.
Jackie Goldschneider is not, this report explains, leaving the series.
Instead, she is appearing as a “Friend” of the Housewives this season.
To be fair, she is a friend of some of them. But it sounds like her demotion may be a recent development.
See, this decision went down in the wake of Season 13 filming.
Principal photography on RHONJ wrapped “a few weeks ago,” the report details.
Danielle Cabral was always clearly a Full Housewife during filming, insiders dish.
Meanwhile, the status of three of the women remained unclear for a while.
Apparently, Bravo thrust them into a winner-take-all, dog-eat-dog drama fest to see who came out on top.
Those women were Jackie Goldschneider, Rachel Fuda, and Jennifer “Jenn” Fessler “competed” for Full Housewife status.
Jenn is a fellow newcomer, even though it should be a crime for two Housewives on the same show to share a first name.
(Maybe crime is an overstatement, but either get a nickname or move to a new city! I’m not kidding!)
Notably, at least one source said that the cast always knew that Jenn Fessler was destined for a Friend role.
After the season wrapped and the dust settled, Bravo made the call.
Rachel Fuda, the bigwigs decided, would usurp Jackie’s role.
At least, that’s what the report says. Officially, Bravo says that nothing is set in stone just yet.
If you’re part of the Jack-Jack-Jackie Hive and feel a crawling sense of despair, don’t panic.
Sometimes, a “Friend” role means only appearing in three episodes, like a relative visiting from out of town.
But the report shares that Jackie and the other Friends filmed all season and are “featured heavily” in the Season 13 storylines.
Interestingly, insiders seem to be at odds about how Jackie feels about this demotion.
One source says that she feels “unhappy” about Bravo’s decision.
Another affirms that she “feels great about her season.”
That same second insider went on to claim that Jackie is happy to focus upon other things going on in her life right now.
The second one has the vibe of someone putting on a brave face, right?
Either way, it will be interesting to see how this casting upset impacts Season 13. We all know that even small changes can have dire consequences.
