RHONJ's Jackie 'Didn't Like Having' Secret of Meeting With Luis Ruelas' Ex

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jackie Goldschneider is getting real about that season 14 finale bombshell.

“It was a secret that I didn’t like having. It was bad when it got revealed,” Jackie, 47, told Us Weekly exclusively during the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet on Wednesday, September 11. “I knew the whole world was gonna make it a big deal. But it actually felt very good to me to not have a secret anymore.”

Jackie explained to Us that she felt there wasn’t a “true friendship” with Teresa Giudice as long as the secret was looming between them.

“I knew that once it was revealed — if we decided to move forward as friends — that [friendship] was gonna be true,” Jackie continued. “When she was like, ‘I don’t even care,’ then I knew we could really move forward with honesty.”

During the RHONJ season 14 finale, which premiered on August 4, Margaret Josephs revealed that Jackie had previously been in contact with one of Luis “Louie” Ruelas’ ex-girlfriends. As Jackie explained during the episode, she reached out to the ex when there was bad blood between her and Teresa. In a move that surprised her castmates, Teresa understood. (The two women were previously at odds after Teresa repeated a rumor stating that Jackie’s husband, Evan Goldschneider, was cheating.)

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“You can’t keep a secret like that from a friend and have a normal friendship,” Jackie stated to Us on Wednesday.

As for where she and Teresa stand now? Things are still on the right track.

“I don’t think we’re a part of each other’s inner circles,” Jackie explained. “But we are both very invested in growing a friendship.”

Jackie also weighed in on the future of RHONJ — which is the million-dollar question everyone keeps asking. (Viewers have stated that the season 14 finale felt like the end of the series.)

“It’s such a great show that I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t come back in some form,” Jackie said. “I do think things are gonna change because they sort of have to. It got too dark.”

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She added: “The problem with Jersey is that fights go too far, and they get too dark and they get too heavy and then you can’t come back from them.”

Jackie proposed a show in which she would be included, of course, but wanted a less serious tone.

“The fighting is more petty and you can come back from it and have a good time,” she said.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi