The Truth Behind the Evan Goldschneider Cheating Rumors on 'RHONJ'

While some Real Housewives franchises fizzle out as time goes on, Season 11 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey opened with a bang. The hit Bravo series returned to the small screen in February of 2021 and the premiere included marital issues between Joe and Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania's plastic surgery update, and a cheating storyline between none other than the show's golden couple: Jackie and Evan Goldschneider.

Since Jackie joined RHONJ in Season 9, her marriage to Evan has been considered to be one of the strongest in the show's history. However, that changed when Teresa Giudice spread a rumor that Evan goes to his gym in order to have extramarital affairs.

Did Evan cheat on Jackie? Keep reading for the refresher on what Teresa alleged, and to find out what Jackie has said about her husband's fidelity. 

Though Season 11 of RHONJ filmed in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast managed to safely celebrate Evan's birthday with an outdoor party in the premiere episode. 

While Jackie and Evan were enjoying themselves with their close friends, Teresa began to tell her co-stars about a rumor she had heard about Evan's reputation at the gym in Tenafly, NJ. 

"Like, why do I hear rumors about Evan?" Teresa asked Margaret Josephs. "Have you heard that Evan does stuff? Like, when he goes to the gym he screws around."'

"No, no, no, no," Margaret responded. "From who?"

"I don't know," Teresa replied. "I can't f--king remember. You know me, I forget things. But, I'm just saying, I heard something."

Margaret concluded the conversation by sharing that she hadn't heard anything to that effect about Evan. 

But, when Jackie learned about how the rumor was getting spread at her husband's birthday party, she had a sit-down with Teresa at Margaret's house. 

"Evan is the best guy in the world. My marriage is beautiful, my family is beautiful. This weekend, you took his name and what's most important to him in the world... you s--t all over it," Jackie told the Fabellini creator.

"You need to admit that, whoever told you this, doesn't know me and Evan, gave you no evidence of anything. You have to admit this was a lie," Jackie continued.

Teresa refused to say that the rumor was fake, and she wouldn't share her source either. She also wasn't sure if the person she learned the information from actually knew Jackie and Evan.

Jackie then tried to make an analogy to an untrue rumor about Teresa's eldest daughter, Gia Giudice.

Instead of coming to an understanding about how damaging the speculation could be to her family, the chat concluded with Teresa repeatedly calling Jackie the c-word, and with Jackie exclaiming that she "win[s]" in life.

Since the infidelity storyline first aired on the Feb. 17 episode of RHONJ, Jackie has vehemently denied that Evan has ever been unfaithful to her. 

She noted that she got emotional about it on the show because of the potential impact it could have on her four young children. After it aired, she referred to the scuttlebutt as "nonsense."

"There is not even a thought in my head — not even for a second did I worry about whether or not this was true. It was nonsense. However, we did end up having some issues because I'm a cast member on this show; he is not. So to have his life suddenly be the center and have his reputation [involved was an issue]," Jackie told PeopleTV's Reality Check after the Season 11 premiere. 

While some viewers are convinced that the rumors must be true because, as Tre said, "where there's smoke, there's fire," one unnamed source told Page Six that the RHONJ O.G. concocted the tale for the sake of a storyline. 

"She's being watched by the network and needed a story to stir the pot. She had zero proof [that he cheated] and made up the story because Bravo has been getting rid of original Housewives," the source shared, before adding that Teresa's high show salary might be partly to blame. "[She's] too expensive and they can filter through different women She's desperately trying to stay relevant."

While Jackie has tried to get in front of the rumor mill in order to nip the cheating story in the bud, Teresa has not shared further details about what she heard. 

She still has yet to share who her source was, leading many to assume that the speculation wasn't based in fact. 

Will the co-stars ever be able to patch things up after their epic blowout fight?

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.