NJ Pizzeria Owner Steps Back In Time To Seek Love On NBC's 'The Courtship'

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — What do you do when the trips to the bar are not helping you find the love of your life?

If you're Giuseppe Castronovo of Point Pleasant, you accept an invitation to a unique opportunity: participating in a reality show that mixes "The Bachelor" with "Bridgerton" for a different take on reality love shows.

The show, which debuted Sunday evening, is set in an English castle and has imposed the courtship structure of the Regency era of the late 1700s on the participants. Castronovo and the other 15 suitors must not only win over the show's leading lady, Nicole Rémy, but also Rémy's parents, her sister and her best friend.

"Given the fact that I'm 27 and still single, when the opportunity came up, I took it," Castronovo said. "There’s only so many times you can go to D'Jais and find something there and it doesn't work."

So he was willing to be transported to the era of prim and proper courting to see if that offered a better chance at love. Being in the castle, where the whole show was filmed, was memorable.

"To live in a real castle that was literally built for royalty is an experience," he said in an interview with Patch. "Everything was just jaw-dropping. Everything was just beautiful."

It isn't Castronovo's first time on television; as a teenager he appeared in a couple of episodes of MTV's "Jersey Shore;" Vinny Guadagnino is a third cousin, Castronovo said.

"We're like the cousins you see twice a year," he said with a laugh. Those appearances led to the producers of "The Courtship" contacting him, he said.

Because filming meant being away from home, Castronovo had to lean on his father to run the pizzeria he opened two years ago, right before the pandemic began. Oakwood's Point Pizza, at 2708 Bridge Ave. in Point Pleasant, is in the spot that used to be called Lenny's.

"Thank God I have my amazing father by my side," Castronovo said. "He was supportive of the idea" of his son appearing on the reality show, even though he would have to pick up the extra work.

"Usually it's the two of us," Castronovo said. "I usually run the day-to-day and he runs the restaurant."

"It meant a lot for him to pick up the extra responsibilities," he said. Running the pizzeria has been a hard task because of the pandemic. "I had people out with COVID, and there's supply chain issues."

But his father is not a stranger to the process, Castronovo said.

"He's been doing this a long time. He taught me everything I know," he said.

The debut episode of the show — it airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on NBC and is available on the Peacock app — featured Castronovo and the other 15 suitors arriving at the castle — Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, England, according to TV Insider — where they met Rick Edwards, an English TV presenter, journalist, and author and the expert on Regency-era etiquette who is the narrator/host, the TV Insider report said.

After brief introductions, the suitors are introduced to Rémy, a 26-year-old software engineer and former NFL cheerleader, and her parents, Dr. Claire Spain-Rémy and Claude Rémy, her sister, Danie Baker, and her best friend, Tessa Cleary.

At the end of the episode, Rémy chose six of the suitors for a final dance and sent three of them home, leaving 13, including Castronovo, for at least one more week. NBC has not said how many episodes are included in the season.

"People find love in the craziest and strangest of places," Castronovo said. "You think 'this would be a cool experience' to see if they choose me."

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