Rosie Pierri Saves Kathy Wakile’s Gig On RHONJ?

Rosie Pierri began appearing on The Real Housewives of New Jersey as the sister of Kathy Wakile years ago and immediately became a fan favorite. So, when talks of a cast shakeup began happening within the Bravo family, producers knew they wanted to keep her around. Rosie is always good for a laugh and even in high-drama situations, she’s often the comic relief.

However, having her around has led to some confusion in regards to casting and one source claims Kathy was only asked to return to the show for season 6 because of Rosie.

“Kathy is not a housewife anymore. They wanted Rosie, not Kathy. Rosie would never sign a contract without Kathy. So what they did was they made them split a contract,” an insider reveals to Radar Online. “They are ‘friends of the housewives’ with a split contract. Trust me, you aren’t going to be seeing too much of Kathy next season. They only got her to get to Rosie.”

Although Rosie is certainly someone any show would love to have, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that producers would downgrade her sister to ensure that she would remain. After all, less Kathy time would also mean less Rosie time. If anything, producers would want Kathy to be seen more so that Rosie’s camera time was increased as well.

“Bravo is [a] gay [network] and that’s cool. She’s like the gay person on housewives,” the source continues. “There’s no question about it. People think she’s funny… getting completely drunk… sometimes it can get a little perverted and a little crazy. That’s Bravo.”

Still, Kathy’s husband Richard claims the reports of Kathy being downgraded are “BS” — and he would know. After all, he too signs a contract to appear on the show, so if contracts are out, he’s seen them.