RHONJ 's Margaret Josephs Says She Slept with a Boss Early in Her Career: 'You Felt Very Pressured'

Margaret Josephs is opening up about some of her experiences working in the fashion industry as a young woman in the hopes of helping others.

In PEOPLE's exclusive sneak peek at Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the Bravo star, 53, tells her fellow cast members that she has landed a book deal and will be writing a memoir about her life, from childhood to her early career as a dress designer. (The book, Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget, comes out April 13.)

"When I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to be in fashion," she says in a confessional. "Every other little girl's parents were reading them books, my mother and I were reading Vogue and Harper's Bazaar."

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"It's going to be a little bit of memoir, but it's going to be about my pitfalls in business," she then tells the group as they sit down for dinner. "Because, listen, a lot of crazy s--- happened to me, like, with men. I was in the garment center in the '80s, you know, everyone was sleeping together, sleeping with your boss — you felt very pressured."

She goes on to detail a specific experience she had with her own boss while working in New York City's garment district.

"I mean, I was 22 years old, I was living in the city, and then my first job, my boss was really good-looking, 20 years older than me," she recalls. "We went out — you would shop the store, go back to his apartment and, of course, he wanted to sleep with me."

The revelation prompts gasps from the other Housewives, with Melissa Gorga saying, "Are you kidding me?"

"He was like, 'Don't go home,' and it was very awkward, but I did it," Margaret says. "It was a weird dynamic and it was a very different time."

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"I don't want to diminish what she's gone through, but I would never say that out loud, let alone publish it in a book," Jennifer Aydin says in a confessional. "I mean, there are some things that you just take to the grave."

Though some of her costars may not agree, Margaret says she wanted to share her story to help others feel empowered when confronted with similar situations.

"I don't want people to make some mistakes that I've made," she says. "And I want women to learn from them."

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.