RHONJ’s Jennifer Aydin -Taking Bravo’s Franchise by Storm By Christine Montanti
Jennifer Aydin, star of Bravo’s Real housewives of New Jersey, is indisputably a force to be reckoned with. The larger-than-life TV personality is the wife of renowned board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon Dr. Bill Aydin; she is the devoted mother of five adoring children and someone who relishes sharing her personal life on camera. As an evolving entrepreneur, the cast member of RHONJ recently honed her capitalist skills by launching her very first beauty product, The Ultimate Beauty Pillow: Lips, Lashes and Brows, designed to protect the face after undergoing non-invasive and invasive procedures. With several other career objectives on the horizon, such as acting and TV hosting, Aydin, who is often portrayed as the villain on the hit reality show, takes no prisoners. She unapologetically takes Bravo’s franchise by storm!
Growing up in a conservative Turkish household in Plainview, Long Island, Aydin moved to New Jersey shortly after her husband completed his medical residency. Together, they made the decision to ultimately reside in Bergen County because of the Syrian Orthodox community influence there and their strong desire to maintain their Turkish heritage. Not wanting their children to lose their culture, Aydin felt that if her kids grew up going to church and camp with people who shared the same traditions and values, they would have a sense of belonging to their community. “I feel that it is very Important for people and humanity in general to belong to something that is greater than them, and that’s why I feel that religion is so important. You have to believe in something, otherwise, it’s a very lonely world out there,” Aydin explains.
The Paramus resident admits her first season on Real Housewives of New Jersey was difficult. She felt that she was being transparent with her cast mates by revealing her true feelings, not realizing her words were getting the best of her and weren’t received the way she had intended. On the show when Aydin is confronted by cast members, she takes-no-prisoners and fiercely defends her position. When she watches the show and sees what the other castmates are saying about her, she reveals that instead of bothering her, it frustrates her. “They got it all wrong! I have to set them straight and I’m like, OMG, you don’t like me? Give me five minutes, and you’re going to love me!”
Aydin gets candid and describes her very first season on the Bravo Network. “My first year on the show, I had just moved into my house, and I was so excited to share my home with my castmates. My house is massive; it has eight bedrooms, sixteen bathrooms, and with the basement included, it’s twenty thousand square feet. It wasn’t really furnished, and I was talking about it a lot. It looked like I was bragging and trying to be a one-upper, when in reality, I was just really excited and extremely proud of my new home. Everything was taken out of context. My husband is from Turkey, and he likes the Pelasgian and regal look, so we had ornate furnishings which are very expensive. Being new to all this, I was shopping on a dime and filled my house with extravagant heavy Pelasgian furniture from China. There were thrones everywhere, which I have since gotten rid of; although, we kept a few thrones because I am the queen of thrones!”
There have been other challenging times for Aydin while filming RHONJ, especially during the 12th season when rumors leaked of her husband Bill cheating on her. Margaret Josephs, a castmate, revealed on the show that everyone knew Bill cheated on Aydin with a co-worker of his. The reality star admits that the show can be problematic at times, but despite the show being about conflict, she says it is primarily about friendships and how you navigate them. “I really do believe Margaret was remorseful for what she did; however, I don’t think she regrets what she did. There is a difference. I get that I did things to trigger her to bring her to this place, not that it justifies what she did. I acknowledge that I got her angry, and she got me back. I can move on from it and release her for it. I am certainly not going to hold a grudge over it. If I didn’t hold a grudge over my husband, who actually had the affair, I am not going to hold a grudge over Margaret for revealing it. Will I be having Christmas dinner with Margaret? No. That is not going to happen! I can move forward, and we can compartmentalize it and fight about new stuff. I am happy to move on with anyone who is happy to move on with me. It is noted, and I can now move forward with her. I do believe that Margaret is professional enough to do that; everything in life is a lesson learned.”
As for fans who describe Aydin as being Theresa Giudice’s minion and soldier, Aydin sets the record straight about their friendship. “Theresa’s guard was up when I first met her, and I equated that to being betrayed previously by her friends and cast members. I don’t think she knew what to expect of me. When you have been scorned that much, it is inevitable, you are going to have your guard up. That didn’t bother me because I believe that trust comes with time. With Theresa, our trust grew, and she saw I was different; I am always there for her. Last year, she and Louie invited me and Bill to go away with them for Theresa’s birthday. We went to Tulum, Mexico, and Louie flew us out on a private jet and got villas for us that had our own private butler; he put out the red carpet. We really bonded on this trip. When you go away with someone, you see their true colors. You see them in the morning in their pajamas and at their most vulnerable. When we came away from that trip, nobody spoke about anything. We left that trip and said we’re not going to let anyone’s negative energy affect us. Louie happens to be the most loving, gracious person who is also sensitive and passionate. If you go after Louie, you go after Theresa -they are a package deal. They are not going to let anyone infiltrate their love bubble because their love is strong. I’m loyal, and I love Theresa, and when I love my people, I am in full throttle; I hold on to them, nurture and protect them. We have come to a place where we really want to support each other, and we speak every day. We are best friends.”
Whether The Real House Wives is filming or not, Aydin is a hands-on mother of her five children, and she is completely devoted to attending to all of her kids’ needs. She manages to balance her hectic schedule of caring for her family while filming for the Bravo franchise with ease revealing her “go with the flow” personality. Aydin doesn’t dwell on things, instead, she prefers living in the moment. “I’m like a drill sergeant; my day starts at 7 AM when I first begin to make the rounds into my kid’s rooms. I am my kids alarm clocks announcing the time every 15 minutes. I start off with my daughter Gabby, and then, I go into my other kids’ rooms, and
finally, get everyone downstairs by 7:30AM, and then we leave for school. I drop my kids off at school, my daughter at high school, and then, my two younger kids at middle school; Jacob goes to private school, so I carpool and Jordan is in college. When I am finally done by 8 am, I do whatever I need to do; after school we split the driving to activities or anywhere the kids need to go.”
Despite the reality star having to juggle her film schedule and her parental duties, she feels the importance of looking neat and well-dressed every day, especially when she is in public running errands. “You need to look presentable always. It is how you want to be represented. I always feel that you can dress comfortably but still look chic. I don’t put on makeup every day, I just put strip lashes on. I do believe that your hair is your crown and glory, and you need to wear it every day. I wear my hair straight usually, but my hair is naturally thick and curly. The reason why I don’t wear my hair curly often is that t doesn’t last me that long. I am all about comfort but chic comfortable. We can be casual yet chic, comfortable and still be presentable. Do what works for you!”
Aydin spends some of her free time refining her entrepreneurial skills, and she recently launched her first beauty product The Ultimate Beauty Pillow . It stabilizes facial recovery from non – invasive procedures such as Botox, Dermal Fillers, Lip Injections, Micro-blading and eyelash extensions. It is a product that the cosmetic surgeon’s wife has been very passionate about, and she developed the pillow to protect the face and elevate one’s head while sleeping. Aydin asserts, “It has been the most comfortable sleep aid that I use every night to prevent my face from hitting the pillow. It really helps you to sleep on your back because it cradles your neck and aside from all the beauty aspects of it, it really provides for a very comfortable sleep.”
As for what viewers can expect to see on season 14? Aydin reveals that viewers will see a new dynamic as far as friendships go, and they will also see the demise of some friendships. “I think it’s going to be both intriguing and entertaining to see how we made it work. Some of the friendships may be surprising. This season is not about Melissa and Theresa, and it doesn’t highlight as many of their quarrels; I think fans want them to move on from them. I don’t know about the audience, but I am definitely excited to see the new season and how we made it work!”
As for what the reality star has taken away from her experience on RHONJ over the past six years? “I was naive and thought I was living in a world where humanity was innately good, and bad and evil people were an exception to the rule. Now, I am seeing that humanity is so screwed up with the evolution of broken homes and children who are traumatized and who grow up to be adults who are traumatized; they are not mentally well and lack the empathy and compassion they should have. On the show, they tried to use my husband’s affair against me. He is a good person who did a bad thing. We are human, and we make mistakes. I believe in second chances. I don’t believe you need to forgive and forget to move on, you can become indifferent. You learn to navigate; I can forgive, but I never forget; I don’t have to forgive to move on. I just release it , and I don’t think about the past, I don’t think about the future, I just live in the present. I am not going to let anyone rain on my parade. I believe God doesn’t give you what you can’t handle, and you know what, bring it on baby!”’
Bravo’s Real Housewives of New Jersey premiers Sunday, May 5th at 8/7 C
