Teresa Giudice And Melissa Gorga Reportedly To Be Paid $50,000 Per ‘RHONJ’ Episode While Jacqueline Laurita Gets Less

The women of The Real Housewives of New Jersey are apparently being pressured to ramp up the drama for its seventh season. On Friday, NY Daily News reported that the show’s producers have decided to forgo traditional contracts and instead go with a pay-per-episode plan in the hopes that the show’s stars will bring their A game instead of coasting through the season in the background. According to sources, Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga, arguably the show’s two biggest stars, will be paid $50,000 per episode. Other cast members, including Jacqueline Laurita, will be paid less.

According to the article, all of the housewives used to be paid a lump sum for the entire season, regardless of their level of participation. Under the new arrangement, the housewives will be paid only for the episodes that they appear in. A source explained the rationale for the new pay system.

“The problem is you could sign a contract for an $800,000 salary and then sit back and do nothing. This way, you really have to bring it.”

Across all the Real Housewives shows, there have always been one or two housewives who sit out some events and trips, whether for legitimate scheduling conflicts or just because they didn’t feel up to it. Viewers may see less of this happen under the new pay system. Another source said that the pay-per-episode system pushes everyone to participate.

“Across all the (“Housewives”) series there are people who are more committed and people who are less committed. People sign up to do it and then lose their enthusiasm.”

The new pay system doesn’t necessarily mean a pay cut. As the article pointed out, since there has been an average of 19 episodes per season, one of the show’s top stars can appear in every episode and thus get herself a pay of almost $1 million by the end of the season.

The article noted that some of the cast members of The Real Housewives of New York City moved to the pay-per-episode plan last season. In November, Page Six reported that LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, and Sonja Morgan are currently being paid under the pay-per-episode system as they film the eighth season. In contrast, Bethenny Frankel, Carole Radziwill, and Dorinda Medley signed contracts.

Reportedly joining Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, and Jacqueline Laurita for The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 7 as “friends” of the housewives are Siggy Flicker and couple Robyn Levy and Christina Flores.

One thing that viewers will see likely on season 7 is Teresa’s reunion with her family after finishing her prison sentence. Teresa is due to be released from the Danbury Correctional Facility in Connecticut on Wednesday, December 23.

My moms releasing her soon to come memoir, Turning The Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again! I love you?? pic.twitter.com/dQngBxhuRv

— Gia Giudice (@TrueGia) November 21, 2015

In an interview with People, Melissa, who just opened her own clothing boutique, called Teresa’s release just before Christmas a “blessing.”

“I get more happy about her children seeing her. Everyone can’t wait for that reunion for them … it’ll be beautiful for her to be actually home with her family.”

Just another day at the office? @ENVYbyMG pic.twitter.com/rECw9yo99j

— Melissa Gorga (@melissagorga) December 12, 2015

Will Teresa Giudice herself see Melissa Gorga on Christmas Eve? Melissa told People that she’s hosting her family, including her in-laws, at her house for Christmas Eve. As for her own relationship with Teresa, Melissa hinted that she hopes that she and her sister-in-law, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship for years, will leave the drama in the past and start anew. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, after it was revealed on the Teresa Checks In special that Teresa has not approved Melissa to visit her in prison, Melissa tweeted that she didn’t expect to be approved.

“I think it’s gonna be a really nice Christmas this year. I just think it’s gonna be a lot of new beginnings, hopefully just a fresh start, especially for [Giudice].”

[Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]