Teresa Giudice has spent a dozen seasons on the Real Housewives Of New Jersey, and she’s prepping for the premiere of number 13 in a few weeks. But that doesn’t mean she’s ever seen the show when it airs on Bravo! Until now, at least…
The longtime reality TV veteran admitted this week that she finally started watching RHONJ in order to see the on-air feud play out from the perspective of her estranged brother Joe Gorga and his wife, Melissa Gorga.
Related: Teresa Offers Up Prison Advice For Todd & Julie Chrisley!
Of course, the 50-year-old Bravo-lebrity has been embroiled in a nasty and aggressive back-and-forth with the Gorgas. It all started a season ago following a contentious RHONJ reunion. Then, it spilled over into real-life when Teresa shaded Melissa while choosing bridesmaids for her August wedding to Luis Ruelas. Melissa and Joe responded by ditching the wedding altogether. Then, the s**t really hit the fan during a very tense non-interaction at BravoCon earlier this fall.
And now, Teresa is getting real about what she’s just seen on TV from all the way back in the annals of RHONJ history! Joe Giudice‘s ex-wife explained why she finally decided to binge the Bravo hit in a brand-new interview with People:
“I just wanted to educate myself and to see what my brother and sister-in-law were saying about me.”
And she added:
“I’m watching the show for the first time because I never watched it before. And if you pay attention, when I was at the reunions, Andy Cohen would ask me questions and I wouldn’t know what he was talking about. Everybody knew I was not watching the show. … I’ve been seeing all this on Instagram, these accounts that are posting past episodes. And I’m watching and I’m like, ‘My brother said that? My sister-in-law said that?’ So then I started watching and I’m like, ‘Now, I got my answer.'”
Yeah, now she got her answer, indeed. And it wasn’t great!!
The last season of reality TV fare has offered up shade in all directions. But having seen it flow in such quick succession was certainly a shock to Teresa’s system. She admitted as much to the mag, saying it was “like a knife right through the heart” to zoom in on the Gorgas during their dramatic RHONJ run:
“I couldn’t watch it [at first] because it was so hard for me to relive it. And good thing I didn’t watch it back then, because now I’m seeing what my brother and my sister-in-law was saying about me back then, oh my God. It was like a knife right through my heart. I think I would’ve reacted differently if I would’ve watched the show.”
Ouch…
As you might expect by now, Teresa doesn’t regret cutting ties with her brother and sister-in-law. In fact, she stands by the tough decision — and actually regrets bringing them into the reality TV fold in the first place!
She told the outlet:
“It’s been hard since my family came on [RHONJ]. I never signed up to be on a TV show with my family. This was my thing. I was excited about it. It was something new for me, and it was like my job, and I was excited. And then all of a sudden I get bombarded and ambushed by my family. And it was very sad, because I felt like my dream kind of got shattered.”
Damn! Sounds like the mom of four was ready for reality to be her thing, and then family stepped in for access to the money and fame too? Or is that just sour grapes from Teresa after a tough time in the spotlight battling Joe and Melissa?!
Related: Teresa Claims She ‘Had No Idea’ About Balenciaga Controversy After Sweater Shots!
Either way, Teresa wasn’t done there. She added:
“I would’ve never sucker-punched them like that, because I don’t roll like that. If they were on a show, I would’ve never went on there and hurt them the way they hurt me. That’s not my style. That’s not the person I am. If anything, I would’ve got my own thing, because I’m always that. I always like to be different.”
And she wrapped things up by indicating how she’s supposedly done with the “toxicity” of the back-and-forth with her bro:
“Now I know why I didn’t watch it. Maybe it was just to keep the peace, for our family, for my parents … I kept peace while my parents were alive. And now I have closure. Now I understand. I am living in my truth. I finally came to my truth and I’m not going to accept this toxicity anymore. And I am going to be the mama bear, protect my family.”
Well, we will see about that.
Without a doubt, it makes for great reality TV drama. But it must be very difficult for the family, too. Reactions, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Teresa Giudice/Melissa Gorga/Instagram]