‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Jackie Goldschneider Offers Health Update Amid Eating Disorder Treatment

Jackie Goldschneider isn’t your typical Real Housewives of New Jersey star. The former lawyer-turned-journalist burst onto the show in Season 9 and went toe-to-toe with longtime Queen Bee, Teresa Giudice. Standing on her own made her a fan favorite, coupled with the fact that, unlike previous Housewives, she wasn’t friends with any of the longstanding cast members, she isn’t Italian and had a legitimate career outside of being a mother and wife. But one thing that also stood out was her honesty. From the start of her time on the show, Goldschneider has been open about the fact that she’s dealt with an eating disorder for much of her life. This season, she re-entered treatment after a painful conversation with her husband Evan about her four children noticing her unusual eating habits.

In one episode, Evan tells Jackie that their children recognized that she eats the same meals daily. An emotional Jackie cries that she doesn’t want to revert back to old habits and relapse to a point of no return. She seeks the help of a treatment center, where she reveals that much of her rigid diet is comprised of greens and salads, and she only allows herself 2-3 meals a week in order to splurge on what she wants to eat. In her words, she assumed she was “healed” until the realization her children gave her.

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Jackie tells producers that her unhealthy relationship with food began while she was in high school, noting that she was chunkier than her peers. It intensified as she grew older and she found herself on diets and pills to stay thin. She liked the attention she got for being smaller. Now, she understands it’s not a healthy lifestyle and wants to do better for herself and her family.

In a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Cohen praises Jackie for being so open with her journey. “I am finding your sharing, and there’s so much more to come and it’s very moving and it’s very informative, but I’m finding your openness about your eating disorder to be just really engaging and brave of you to do. How is that process going for you healing yourself?”

Jackie responds with a great update.”It’s intense and it’s ongoing and it’s not easy, but I’m the healthiest that I’ve ever been,” she said. Sharing her story is something she hopes helps others. “There’s a lot of shame and silence around eating disorders, so I figured if I’m gonna recover, I’m going to do it really out loud and let everyone know it’s OK to talk about,” she added.