When Caroline Manzo quit The Real Housewives of New Jersey, she was probably hoping to put the drama of the show behind her.
But even though she’s moved on with a new reality series, Caroline can’t seem to escape the bombshell revelation that reportedly caused her to quit the show.
Sources tell Radar Online that while filming season five last year, Caroline was confronted by Teresa Giudice’s friend Penny Drossos.
During an argument with Manzo, Drossos was heard to remark, “F–k you, the Jill card is on the table.”
“Jill is Al Manzo’s longtime mistress,” one insider revealed. “Caroline ripped off her microphone and bolted for the door. That’s the real reason she left the show.”
Caroline’s confessed in the past that her husband may not have always been entirely faithful, but she was reportedly terrified by the idea of the details of his decades-long affair being made public.
Manzo has released a life advice book and plays a more motherly role on her new series Manzo’d With Children.
Sources say Caroline knows that if the word got out that she helped her husband conceal his affair, it would shatter her image.
The confrontation with Drossos apparently took place in front of Bravo cameras, but the network agreed to not air the argument. Manzo had already quit RHONJ, and producers reportedly didn’t want to discourage her from returning to the network for a spinoff.
“If Caroline wasn’t coming back to the show, there was no reason to air it,” the source claims. “She wouldn’t be back next season to defend herself.”
For some vintage Caroline watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey online.
To see what kind of motherly wisdom she’s dishing out nowadays, watch Manzo’d With Children online at TV Fanatic.