Ashlee Holmes Believed Teresa Giudice Had ‘Ulterior Motives’ in Reuniting With Jacquelin as RHONJ Alum Shares Why

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Ashlee Holmes-Malleo wasn’t thrilled when she learned of mom Jacqueline Laurita‘s reunion with Teresa Giudice.

During a new interview, the Real Housewives of New Jersey alum admitted that when she came across Jacqueline and Teresa’s Las Vegas photos on Instagram, she immediately sent her mother a text message and “called her out.”

“I saw her reconnect with Teresa, and I was like, ‘Teresa? Really?’” Ashlee, 32, admitted to Page Six on March 2. “I’m very blunt. My mom and I have that sister relationship. I was like, ‘You know, I wish you guys well.’”

According to Ashlee, she was “skeptical” of “the timing” at first due to the fact that Jacqueline had recently slammed Teresa’s nemesis, sister-in-law Melissa Gorga.

“I was saying to my mom, I was like, ‘You know, there might be ulterior motives,’” she recalled. “[I] wasn’t as accepting of it in the beginning.”

After posting and deleting a sarcastic “congrats” comment on Jacqueline’s post about her and Teresa’s reunion, Ashlee had a discussion with her mom, during which Jacqueline “explained the whole situation.”

“It makes sense,” she said, adding that because Jacqueline “isn’t coming back” to RHONJ, she doesn’t believe Teresa was “trying to make up with her to recruit her to be a little ally on the show” or “talk sh-t about Melissa on camera.”

“When they met, they honestly didn’t even talk about Melissa or the show or anything like that,” she continued. “It was just kind of recapping [that] they were both going through really stressful times in their lives when they had that fallout.”

As Ashlee explained, reality television “isn’t the environment to heal in” because cast members are “constantly having to rehash old fights.” But now that Jacqueline is “separated from that show,” the two of them have been “able to kind of do that.”

Plus, she added, Teresa is “going to therapy” and her husband, Luis Ruelas, has been “helping [her] work on herself.”

As for where Jacqueline and Teresa stand after their “five-hour lunch” in Sin City, Ashlee says they’ve been “talking all the time.”

“Ever since [their meet-up], I’ve been on the phone with my mom, and she’ll be like, ‘Oh, hold on, Teresa’s calling. Let me call you right back,’” Ashlee revealed. “As you get older, it gets harder to change, but I do believe it’s possible. I believe people can change and grow. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Ashlee also revealed that Teresa has attempted to reconcile with Jacqueline several times “in the past” but Jacqueline “didn’t pick up the phone.”

“So I think they were both at a place where they were ready to reconnect,” she said. “It gets tricky for me, though, because I’m really close with my aunt [Caroline Manzo]. I just want everyone to get along!”

The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.