Is Caroline Manzo Coming Back to ‘RHONJ’?

Believe it or not, it has been almost 14 years since viewers met Caroline Manzo on Season 1 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The redheaded spitfire and mama bear joined the series with her sister, Dina Manzo, and she served as the main opponent against Danielle Staub. It’s been more than a decade since Caroline revealed that she’s the one who brought Cop Without a Badge around Franklin Lakes, and since she uttered her most iconic line during the finale.

“Let me tell you something about my family. We are as thick as thieves, and we protect each other ’til the end,” went down as one of the most powerful moments of Caroline’s face-off with Danielle.

Caroline left the show after Season 5 to star in a since-canceled spin-off series with her family, Manzo’d with Children. Since then, fans have wondered whether she might ever rejoin the show that she helped to put on the map.

So is there a chance that Caroline Manzo could be coming back to RHONJ?

So is there a chance that Caroline Manzo could be coming back to RHONJ? Viewers are hopeful after an inside source revealed that Caroline is considering a return.

As of writing, Caroline has not announced that she will be returning to RHONJ — but that doesn’t mean she’s never considered it. Back in 2020, a source close to Caroline told Hollywood Life that she was interested in returning to the series, but only on her terms.

“Caroline loved the good moments on RHONJ and would be very open to coming back to the show full-time, but only as a full-time wife. It doesn’t matter to her who’s in the cast, as long as Bravo comes correct, meaning a good offer and not a friend, she’d be very interested in considering returning to the show,” the inside source exclusively told the outlet.

The source also said that adding Caroline back into the mix would be a smart move, considering the fact that she’s never backed down from a fight with Teresa Giudice, while some of the current cast has.

“Caroline remains the only person to have the ‘is what it is attitude’ and is confident enough to remain true to herself when dealing with Teresa should she have to, which the current cast could use,” the source continued.

Fast-forward to today, and an alleged incident while filming of Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip has folks speculating all over again if Caroline could be returning to RHONJ.

In March 2023, Page Six reported that attorneys representing Brandi Glanville sent a letter to Warner Bros. to force the release of audio and video tapes from an alleged incident while filming for Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip.

Caroline alleges that Brandi touched her breast and genital area without consent during an incident off camera while filming for RHUGT in January 2023. Meanwhile, Brandi denies these allegations. Both Caroline and Brandi have claimed that these recordings would prove their respective sides of the story to be true.

People previously reported that Caroline and Brandi had left production for RHUGT early because Brandi allegedly kissed Caroline without consent multiple times.

A source told the publication: “It was unwanted. And Caroline’s distress over the matter did not seem to stop Brandi. Things escalated and physical boundaries allegedly were crossed that Caroline felt were serious and uncomfortable.”

Brandi has not directly responded to the allegations, although some believe a February tweet was related to the alleged incident.

During an interview with Life After Bravo, Caroline explained the reasoning behind her leaving RHONJ. “The burden became too heavy in my personal life,” she said. “The show became something that just didn’t reflect my beliefs or who I was as a person.”

Caroline added: “It’s about your moral compass and how you live your life, and it just did not blend with the way I Iive my life or who I was as a person.”