In a world where reality TV is always the latest craze, The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jackie Goldschneider is a testament to authenticity and perseverance. Her journey has captured millions of viewers’ hearts not solely through fabricated drama, but through raw honesty about her struggles, wins, and her commitment to telling her truth. Beyond her memorable presence on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Goldschneider has become a powerful voice for mental health awareness, particularly in her personal discussions about her recovery from an eating disorder. Jackie has transformed her personal challenges into platforms for change using her influence to break down stigmas and connect with others facing similar battles. Jackie brings immense strength, grace, and determination, whether she is advocating for body positivity, navigating TV drama in front of the public eye, sharing her story through her powerful writing, or doing interviews like this one!
On December 11, 2024, I had the privilege of interviewing the legend herself. Jackie brought layers of wisdom and laughter to our conversation, and it was a moment I will truly never forget. Learning about Jackie’s career trajectory was inspiring and a true reminder that nothing in life is impossible, and there is nothing separating anyone from success!
For the first question of our interview, I asked Jackie what motivated her and got her into the Real Housewives franchise, to which she responded, “If I went back 30 years, I would probably be astonished by how things turned out for me because it wasn’t at all what I expected. I wanted to be a high-powered corporate attorney, but even as a kid, I always had a little part of me that wanted to be famous. I always wanted to know how it felt for the outside world to know my name. I was a lonely kid, so I think that made me want fame even more, you know! However, I didn’t think it was ever an option, haha! So, I went to college to become a lawyer, and I practiced law for a little while, and when I started having children, we moved. I never took the New Jersey Bar Exam so I couldn’t practice law in New Jersey, and I didn’t want to have to commute back to New York, so I needed a new career. I have to say, working has always been very important to me, so I needed to find something else to keep me busy. So, I decided to become a journalist even though I had never published anything before! I had never even taken one journalism class, but I took a class at this place called the Gotham Writers Workshop in the city, and I started submitting things, and one little thing got picked up, and I turned that into a whole writing career! By the time 2018 came, I was writing for many big publications because I never said no to anything. I had a pretty popular parenting column in a major newspaper every Saturday, and I would get fan feedback. People started learning my name, and then the Housewives called! It is very strange because I was a fan of the show, and I knew all the people on the show, but I wasn’t a dedicated or die-hard fan. Now, being friends and actually being on the show is just so crazy to me because I never thought being on the show was something I would go after. I always thought I was too mainstream and normal to be on the show. I was driving a minivan, just being a mom, haha! I guess things happen how they are supposed to, and that’s how I got onto the show!”
Moving on, I asked Jackie about the origins and her inspiration for writing her book, The Weight of Beautiful, to which she candidly explained, “My grandparents were Holocaust survivors, so there was a lot of food rationing, and my mom never grew up with enough food. When my mom came to America, she was in poverty, and so when I was a kid, I was taught to eat every single thing put in front of me, whether or not I was hungry. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I was obese, and all I wanted was to be thin. I really believed that being thin would solve every single problem I had. I was very lonely; I didn’t have a lot of friends, I moved to a new town, and all I really wanted was to be thin. So, in my senior year of high school, I was getting a physical for college, and my doctor basically fat-shamed me. He told me, ‘You are not going to enjoy college if you go there this fat.’ He sent me straight to Weight Watchers, and it was the last day of my life when I wasn’t on a diet. That day, something switched in my brain. I was like, ‘I will never, never, never not count my calories.’ I did that for almost a decade!”
Jackie continued, “In 2003, I just decided to stop eating. Before I knew it, I was just caught in this spiral. I was so thin, and I was getting all of this positive feedback, but I didn’t want to gain any weight because I didn’t want people to tell me that I was gaining weight again. There really was a lot of mental illness mixed in there. I spent almost 20 years completely anorexic and very, very scared of food. There was no meal that I ate where I didn’t count calories. I didn’t have any quality of life when it came to eating. I had a lot of social anxiety when it came to food. I would often skip events so that I wouldn’t have to eat. It actually got so bad that my health took a turn. I was in so much pain that I basically collapsed. I just had a moment where I was like, ‘If I don’t stop, I am never going to.’ So, yeah, that was the start. I decided to get some help and started opening up to people. I actually hosted the National Eating Disorders Association Gala this year, three years later. I am a national spokesperson for eating disorder recovery, and it is incredible. However, it wasn’t and isn’t easy. There are still days when it is hard, but writing this book was so therapeutic for me because I had all of these terrible memories in my mind, moments in my life that I ruined, and people I hurt, and I needed an outlet to do something with these memories. I was healing my body, but my mind also needed to be healed. Writing the book was also good for me because it allowed me to come to terms with all of it. So, yeah, I loved writing the book, but I LOVED hearing the feedback from people telling me, ‘Oh, I had the same story,’ or ‘I found myself in your words,’ or, ‘Now I understand what my sister is going through…’ So, this book has been such a gift for me. It is also so fun to be on Entertainment Tonight, The Tamron Hall Show, and all these talk shows and podcasts; it is all so exciting!”
Segueing to our next question, I asked Jackie what advice she would give others trying to cope with their mental health. Without hesitation, Jackie responded, “First of all, I am the BIGGEST advocate for therapy. I think therapy is such a gift that you can give to yourself. I know therapy does cost a lot of money, but there are so many different types of therapies and coping mechanisms. I mean, there is online therapy, apps, and other resources to find someone to talk to. Another thing is opening up to someone you trust and letting them help you. I would also say you don’t just keep everything to yourself because any sort of mental health experience doesn’t just go away on its own. So, if you could live a happier life by talking through your issues with somebody, it would be the best solution, in my opinion. Definitely seek out therapy if you can.”
Moving onto a new topic, I asked Jackie what it is TRULY like to be a Real Housewife on the Real Housewives of New Jersey and what she would consider to be the most rewarding and challenging aspect of being on the show. With a laugh, Jackie replied, “You know, it has its ups and downs; it’s not all fun and games. Sometimes, it is really fun, but I do not enjoy the fighting, and as you know, New Jersey has A LOT of fighting. I don’t mind a petty fight, but the fights in New Jersey get very dark and heavy.” Jackie continued, “It’s not the filming I love the most; it’s the real friendships you form with people on the show that carry over from the show. Also, it really is the doors that the show opens for you as well. I won’t lie; the fun parties, the movie premieres, all of it is so surreal because not many people get these opportunities! Also, the Bravo community is sort of like a sisterhood. I mean, there aren’t that many housewives in the world. I have friends from different cities, and there is not one housewife I wouldn’t help. It is a really special bond. So, it isn’t the filming itself that we love the most, but the outside stuff.” Jackie finished off this topic by saying, “The worst aspect, hands down, is the social media. The fan base for Bravo is really intense, especially for New Jersey, and I still don’t do that well with people telling me that I am ‘disgusting’ and ‘awful.’ When the finale was airing this summer, I took Instagram off my phone for a month because it was so vicious. There was no way I could deal with the nasty comments and keep my mental health intact.”
Following this question, I asked Jackie what inspired her to start her podcast, Two Jersey Js, with Jennifer Fessler, to which she exclaimed, “I was dying to be a podcaster! I always say that 99% of people’s dreams die because they don’t go anywhere. So, when I was thinking of doing this podcast, I figured out the top 10 of the biggest podcasting networks in the country, and I figured out the directors of podcasting development at each station, and I sent them a message, and of those 10, I got six calls and four interviews, and I got two networks that were really interested in me. I literally fell in love with iHeartRadio and they fell in love with me, and it took a little while, but they came up to me and they were like, ‘How do you feel about working with a co-host?’, and I was like, ‘I have the perfect person!’ Since then, it has been such a dream! It has been the most fun project!”
Once again, moving on to our next question, I asked Jackie how it felt to work with such well-known stars. She responded, “It depends who the person is. I don’t get starstruck by anyone on Bravo because I enjoy getting to know the person behind the screen. However, I did get very excited when Jen and I had Mayim Bialik on our podcast, and I just love her. She has done so much brilliant work! I wouldn’t say I get starstruck often, but if you are the type of person to accomplish something, I do get very excited to meet them!”
Similarly, I asked Jackie who her role model would be, famous or not. Pondering, Jackie said, “I don’t feel like I have a role model. I feel like I want to forge my own path. Do not get me wrong, the people who have reached the top of their specific industries are my role models. For example, I could say my mom because she has done such incredible work in a male-dominated field, and she is retired now, but she created software for some of the biggest banks in the world back in the day when women weren’t in the software industry. But, I don’t think there is any one specific person who is my role model. I would say any person who is a hustler who works to chase after their dream and gets it, that is what I aspire to be like.”
Approaching the end of our conversation, I asked Jackie if she could go back in time, what advice she would give her high-school self, to which she readily replied, “I would really tell myself that there is a very happy medium between not caring about your health and starving yourself. I would just tell myself that a healthy lifestyle is all you need. Also, don’t overthink anything!”
For my final question for Jackie, I asked her what advice she would have for anyone to follow their dreams, to which she passionately explained, “There are so many negative voices out there. Don’t listen to any of them! Nobody knows anything! Rejection is part of everything! So, you just need to stay the course. If you want something, you just need to keep going for it. For example, I had to pitch myself a thousand times to get one ‘yes,’ and that’s okay. The one ‘yes’ that comes is the only ‘yes’ you need. You need one. So, I would say when there is something you really want to do, go for it. Never let rejection get you down because it is just part of the process. I also remind myself of that a lot. Just stay the course; it is SO important!”
To end our interview, all I can say is thank you, Jackie. Your words of wisdom are nothing short of inspiring. You have motivated me to stay the course and reach for my dreams. You also have taught me the true definition of limitless. Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to live out my inner journalist. Thank you for believing in me and taking the time to answer all my questions. You have truly proven to me that success is not about following a single path but about embracing the right mindset. You are the ultimate role model, and your journey is nothing short of astounding. Thanks again for everything!
