“Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Margaret Josephs thinks you can still have fun on reality TV without alcohol.
Josephs, 53, surmises that her co-stars imbibe not because they like to get plastered but because of how awkward it looks to chew food on camera.
“I think a lot of people don’t like to eat on camera unlike me,” she told Page Six Thursday. “I think it’s easier to have a drink on camera then constantly have food in your mouth.
“If you have a drink in your hand it looks more sophisticated. People don’t like to eat on camera and if you’re drinking and not eating, obviously it’s much easier to get drunk,” she added.
The fashion designer will be taking part in a discussion with former “Real Housewives of New York” cast member Barbara Kavovit for Monument, an online platform designed to help users navigate sobriety or moderation.
Josephs told us her mother had an “unhealthy relationship” with alcohol that made for a sometimes frightening childhood. The result is that the Bravo star is a self-professed teetotaler.
“I went in the exact opposite direction,” she explained. “You really go either way but it was very frightening to me so I did vow as I grew up I’m never going to drink in front of my children. It’s not like I’ve never had a drink but I don’t like to feel out of control and you can still be the life of the party and not drink.”
She has been in touch with “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Braunwyn Windham-Burke who recently announced that she is an alcoholic.
“She’s a very strong woman,” Josephs said. “I think that’s really hard that she came out with that. I’ve had dinner with her since then. We’ve had a discussion about it. We’re very good friends.”
And as for the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” which just wrapped, Josephs promised the usual drama even though they filmed under pandemic precautions.
“The first time we were all back together we were so thrilled to see each other and just so happy,” she said, “but a pandemic does not calm the beast of the savage New Jersey girl.”