Season 12 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey came out swinging with a pretty dramatic revelation in the premiere episode. Margaret Josephs called out Jennifer Aydin’s husband, Bill, for cheating on her in the past, which Aydin surprisingly confirmed to be true. She stated that it was a pharmaceutical rep, not an office manager as was implied, and that it took place almost 10 years ago when she was pregnant with the couple’s youngest son, Christian. Looking back on the moment, the reality star is now speaking more candidly on Josephs’ reasons for exposing her husband’s past infidelity.
For context, Margaret Josephs has been very open and honest with the group about how her relationship with her now-husband started when they were both still married to other people. And Jennifer Aydin would often criticize the dynamic, calling it “taboo.” As a result, Josephs claimed of late on the show that she brought up the infidelity in Aydin’s own marriage only because her co-star wouldn’t fully own up to past comments that she in fact saw as a “double standard.” In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, though, Aydin wanted to clarify the root of their problem, saying:
I wasn't mad that she was a cheater. And I know now that I didn't articulate it in that way. I think I was just annoyed or irritated at the way that she boasted about it, because [her now-husband, Joe Benigno's] got an ex-wife somewhere -- and she has an ex-husband and she has stepchildren -- and doesn't she know how hurtful this is to constantly repeat it over and over? ... I would be very hurt if my husband bragged about this infidelity.
In other words, Jennifer Aydin’s disconnect wasn’t the actual idea of her co-star being a cheater at one point in time but that she continued to talk about it many years later. Apparently, it triggered the Real Housewives of New Jersey alum when Josephs would get into graphics about her infidelity with castmates. She told the outlet:
I just kept wondering what was her purpose on just almost making it a headline, like it was funny, and things that she would say on camera that she knows people are going to see. Like, we were at a party last year and she was saying how Joe used to wash the stench of her off before he went home to his wife, or something to that effect. And I was just like, just don't talk like that. Like just be respectful. It's TMI. We don't need to know. We got it.
Margaret Josephs hinted at Bill Aydin’s affair in the previous RHONJ season, but it wasn’t until recently that she would firmly state it and claim to have a source. Many fans online would react to the moment with sympathy for Jennifer Aydin, given that it wasn’t really a “double standard” for her (as a once-injured party) to feel some kind of way about other cheaters.
Speaking on cheating rumors, true or not, are usually fighting words in the Real Housewives franchise. Jackie Goldschneider came to find out last season amidst her infamous dispute with Teresa Giudice. Nevertheless, Jennifer Aydin evidently has come to some understanding with Margaret Josephs, even if the infidelity reveal wasn’t totally ideal. She shared:
I get why she did it. I don't think the way she went about it was right. Like, if she really wanted to do me a solid, she could have called me up and said, 'Listen, I have this information. I'm going to bring it out. I'm going to say it...' maybe giving me the opportunity to say to my own voice, in my own way. I was very ambushed and I felt like I was very caught off guard.
As far as teasers show for the rest of the season, Margaret Josephs apparently gets into other drama with co-star Teresa Giudice concerning the motive behind her new fiancé Louie Ruelas. It’s slated to get super intense, and the formerly incarcerated star has said that it might just affect the longevity of their friendship in the future.
However, we know from past experience that sometimes Bravo can be purposefully misleading with footage, so maybe the ongoing feuds are just for show. (Vanderpump Rules’ Lala Kent has been frank that conflict is financially rewarded by the network.) But if we’ve learned anything about Jennifer Aydin from her short time on The Real Housewives of New Jersey so far, it’s that she usually finds time for the last word. Stay tuned for how it all unfolds on Season 12, which airs new episodes on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST!
