Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Caroline Manzo has been out of the Housewives world since she left the show in 2013. She spent five seasons as the matriarch of the Manzo family and the voice of reason among the ladies.
Her no-nonsense attitude made her a fan favorite, and when she left, her leadership was sorely missed. She did spend three seasons on her family’s spin-off show, Manzo’d With Children, but left TV for good in 2017.
Her relationship with Teresa Giudice used to be incredibly close, but as her time on the series progressed, their friendship fell apart and they turned into enemies. Their history is long and complicated, and after years of silence, Caroline is finally speaking out about her former friend.
Caroline wants to put Teresa ‘in her place’
Caroline was a guest on her son Albie Manzo’s podcast, Dear Albie, last week, and Albie called it an episode not to miss. Titled Caroline Manzo out for blood, she went out of her way to leave no stone unturned on how she felt about Teresa these days.
Albie read a letter from a fan, who asked Caroline if she would ever return to Housewives, and she let loose. “I’m just gonna put it out there ’cause I just don’t give a f–k, alright?” she said. “You know what? I would get great pleasure, fans, community, to go in and just knock the s**t out of [Teresa] verbally and just put her in her place.” Well, tell us how you really feel, Caroline!
After the rough past season Teresa had, Caroline noticed the same things that fans have also been talking about. “I am tired. I am tired of certain things,” the famous mom continued. “I am tired of her opening her very uneducated mouth and using me as a weapon to say that I was the one that spearheaded her IRS claim and stuff like that. We are not those people.”
Caroline firmly believes that Teresa has been acting like a bully. “Sometimes, you gotta smack the bully. I am more than happy to go smack the bully,” she said.
But to answer the question, will Caroline ever come back to RHONJ? Not anytime soon, she says. “Bravo doesn’t wanna pay me,” she suspected. “So guess what, Bravo? You don’t get this for free. You don’t get the dame for free, Bravo. They are paying Teresa, I’m sure, an exorbitant amount of money.”
What happened to Caroline and Teresa’s friendship?
The beginning of the end between the duo was when Teresa and Joe Giudice started having public financial problems, and most of them were dealing with legal issues. But Caroline ended up calling it – both Teresa and Joe spent time in prison for fraud. Teresa added fuel to the fire when she accused Caroline of helping the federal government get information that helped get Tre and Joe convicted.
To top it off, Caroline has been estranged from her sister, Dina, who is Teresa’s best friend. Dina is also a former New Jersey Housewife and left the show after three total seasons. Dina is also the godmother of Tre’s youngest daughter, Audriana.
Recently. Caroline has been seen with Dolores Catania, another Jersey Housewife and longtime friend of Teresa. Rumors have swirled that this friendship has damaged the bond Dolores has with Teresa.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is currently on hiatus on Bravo.