Where Are The Former 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' Cast Members Now?

WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN -- Episode 17004 -- Pictured: Danielle Staub -- (Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

The Real Housewives universe is a vast and ever-changing one, with new personalities regularly arriving to jolt the old guard, change up the group dynamics and, of course, cause plenty of drama. The Real Housewives of New Jersey has been no exception. Teresa Giudice remains the only original cast member from the Jersey-set reality series, which premiered on Bravo back in May 2009 and is currently in its 14th season. Giudice’s sister-in-law/on-screen rival Melissa Gorga arrived shortly after in Season 3.

Related: Here's When Every 'Real Housewives' Franchise Is Coming Back

But what happened to the other former O.G. housewives like Caroline Manzo and Danielle Staub, or one-and-done cast members like Teresa Aprea, Nicole Napolitano and Amber Marchese? Here’s an update on all of those previously-featured cast members from RHONJ, including when and why the Garden State gals departed the Bravo series.

Where are the former cast members of The Real Housewives of New Jersey now?

Caroline Manzo (Seasons 1-5)

One of the most iconic personalities to come out of RHONJ, Caroline Manzo was an original cast member back in 2009.

Appearing alongside her sister Dina Cantin (née Manzo) and sister-in-law Jacqueline Laurita, the tough-talking matriarch made the series a true family affair. (Seriously, we can still recite that “Let me tell you-a something about my family!” speech verbatim.) In fact, she departed The Real Housewives in 2013 after five seasons for a spin-off series about that very "famiglia." Manzo’d with Children, which ran for three seasons on Bravo.

Over the years, Manzo was reportedly asked by the network to return to RHONJ, both in part-time and housewife capacities, but previously turned down those offers. She was set to make her dramatic comeback on a season of Ultimate Girls Trip, but an altercation with Brandi Glanville and subsequent legal battle with Bravo makes that season's airing increasingly unlikely.

Dina Manzo (Seasons 1-2)

Speaking of the Manzo family, Caroline’s younger sis Dina (Manzo) Cantin was also an early-days RHONJ cast member, leaving after Season 2 at the height of the Manzo family’s feud with Danielle Staub. ("She desires to spend more time with her husband and daughter, focus on her charity, and be a supportive godmother to Teresa's baby,” read a placard announcing Dina’s departure.)

But Cantin wouldn’t be absent from TV for long—she hosted the HGTV party-planning series Dina's Party for two seasons before popping up as a RHONJ guest star in Season 4 and resuming her full-time housewife duties in Season 6. She left not only the Jersey show but Jersey itself in 2015, relocating to Montecito, California with her now-husband Dave Cantin.

But that doesn’t mean her life has been any less drama-filled. In May 2017, Dina and Dave were attacked by masked robbers at their second home in Holmdel, New Jersey, and in December 2020, a Mafia soldier hired by Dina’s ex-husband Thomas Manzo assaulted Dave in exchange for discounts on his wedding reception. You can’t write this stuff!

Related: Teresa Giudice’s Net Worth: The Highs and Lows of This 'Real Housewife of New Jersey'

Jacqueline Laurita (Seasons 1-5, 7)

Married to Caroline and Dina Manzo’s brother Chris Laurita, Jacqueline Laurita joined her sisters-in-law as an O.G. Jersey housewife, leaving after Season 7.

In April 2017, Laurita announced she would be departing for good ahead of the series' eighth season: “I think the feeling [from the network] is that I no longer have an authentic connection with two of the season’s cast members,” she told ET, referring to former BFF Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga, with whom she had been fighting that season. After leaving the franchise, Jacqueline moved to Las Vegas with her husband Chris and their two sons, C.J. and Nicholas, in 2019 and began co-hosting the LookOver Ladies podcast.

Danielle Staub (Seasons 1-2)

A controversial figure in RHONJ lore, Staub is, of course, the woman who prompted Teresa Giudice to famously flip a table back in the show’s debut season. Staub has had an on-again, off-again relationship with The Real Housewives, but her influence lasted far longer than the two seasons in which she was a main housewife. (She returned to stir up drama as a “friend of” the housewives in Seasons 8-10. Remember “Your husband’s in the pool”?!)

She announced her permanent departure from the franchise in 2020—”I’m never returning as a housewife again…with the Jersey girls,” she shadily declared on Watch What Happens Live! Staub has, however, stayed involved in the Bravo business, hosting a podcast Absolutely Danielle in which she critiques RHONJ and discusses other housewives’ legal issues.

Related: 'Real Housewives' Star Melissa Gorga's Net Worth Is 'On Display'

Kathy Wakile (Seasons 3-5)

Appearing as a guest in Season 2 before getting promoted to full-cast status for Season 3-5, Kathy Wakile often found herself in the middle of family feuds between her cousin Teresa Giudice and cousin-in-law Melissa Gorga.

Fast-forward to February 2018, Wakile revealed to Bravo’s The Daily Dish that she and younger sister Rosie Pierri (who made frequent appearances alongside her sibling on RHONJ) hadn't had “any relationship” with either Teresa or Melissa since leaving the reality series. Instead, Kathy has been busy with her baked-goods business Indulge by Kathy Wakile and her Italian restaurant Pizza Love in Bergen County.

Nicole Napolitano (Season 6)

Season 6 saw the introduction of three new housewives in an attempt to fill the gap left by the exits of long-running stars Carolina Manzo, Kathy Wakile and Jacqueline Laurita. Along with her twin sister Teresa Aprea, Nicole Napolitano was one such newcomer to the show.

While her relationship with boyfriend Bobby Ciasulli was a major focus of her screen time, Nicole split from her copper beau after the show wrapped. She only lasted one season on RHONJ, though she continued to appear as a guest in Season 7. But Napolitano’s got plenty to fill her schedule in the wake of her short-lived reality career: she operates a private jet charter business and owns a Dairy Queen franchise.

Teresa Aprea (Season 6)

Like her twin sister, Teresa appeared on Season 6 of RHONJ as a full-time housewife and made a guest appearance in Season 7. The reason behind the siblings’ swift departure from the show has been the subject of rumors for years.

Initial press reports indicated that Napolitano and Aprea were dropped because they lived in Central Jersey, an hour away from the rest of the cast. But the juicier story is that the twins’ mother Santa Napolitano once had an affair with Teresa’s husband Rino Aprea, a wild yarn spun by Jim Marchese, the husband of fellow RHONJ newcomer Amber Marchese. The sisters vehemently denied the rumor, but allegedly, it was enough to have them searching for the "exit" sign.

Since leaving RHONJ, the two sisters hosted a podcast called Girls in Heels from 2014 to 2016 and Aprea is busy with her two NYC restaurants: Ponte Vecchio in Brooklyn and Angelo's of Mulberry Street in Manhattan.

Amber Marchese (Season 6)

Amber was brought in alongside Aprea and Napolitano to stir things up in Season 6, and stir it up she did. She ultimately caused a physical fight so heated, it ended up with a clump of hair yanked out of her head (and subsequent exit.)

It’s not much of a surprise then that her post-RHONJ life has been dramatic. After announcing her departure from the series in November 2015, Amber and husband Jim Marchese went on the WE tv reality show Marriage Boot Camp, where Amber revealed that she previously had an affair with another woman.

The marital problems didn’t stop there: in May 2016, Jim was arrested for domestic assault after an incident on a Virgin America flight, though Amber later dropped the lawsuit. That same year, Amber had to battle not only a Lyme disease diagnosis but also a second bout of breast cancer, which she completed treatment for. As for her career, she traded reality TV for real estate, and currently works as a “real estate advisor and investor” and Airbnb Superhost in New Jersey, per her Instagram bio.

Siggy Flicker (Seasons 7-8)

Unlike most personalities in The Real Housewives universe, Siggy Flicker was already used to the spotlight prior to joining RHONJ in Season 7. The Israeli-American matchmaker had previously starred in her own VH1 reality series, Why Am I Still Single?!, and had been featured on Good Morning America, Dr. Phil and in the pages of Marie Claire.

Since leaving RHONJ, Flicker has continued her work as a motivational speaker and activist against anti-semitism. Her political views, including her staunch support of Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, have found Flicker in the middle of controversy in recent years: her stepson Tyler Campanella was arrested in 2021 on charges related to the January 6th riot on the US Capitol. That same year, Flicker left New Jersey for the sunny shores of Florida.

Next, The Bickering Is Back! The Scoop on Who's Returning to 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' Season 14