Real Housewives franchises are infamous for being a revolving door of friendships. The ladies break up and make up, sometimes more than once in the same season.
Teresa Giudice is the only original cast member left on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, but her Bravo journey started with a group of her best friends, the Manzo family.
But once the legal battles started to multiply for Teresa and her then-husband, Joe Giudice, sisters-in-law Caroline and Jacqueline Manzo had questions, and Teresa did not appreciate the way they expressed their concern.
Over time, the once inseparable group fell apart, and the three ladies became bitter enemies and still have bad blood a decade later. Because they were once so close, Teresa knew the inner workings of the Manzo family.
With Teresa’s family falling apart on screen, she realizes that the publicity and fame that she, her brother Joe Gorga, and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga experienced could have fed into their never-ending issues.
Teresa spoke out about the Manzo family recently and showed admiration for the way they handled internal family problems, and reflected on her own family drama.
RHONJ: Teresa Giudice gave the Manzo’s ‘credit where credit is due’
Teresa has a new podcast with friend, Melissa Pfeister, called Namaste B$tches, and she spoke out about the Manzo family’s silence about any issues they had within the family while filming for reality television.
“I’m gonna give a compliment to Caroline, Dina (Manzo), and Jacqueline. They never aired their dirty laundry out there,” Teresa admitted. Fans know that Dina Manzo broke away from much of her family, including her sister Caroline and sister-in-law Jacqueline, and they have been in a bitter feud for years.
Teresa is still best friends with Dina, the godmother of Teresa’s daughter Audriana, and knows the intricate and challenging details of how the Manzo family was in private. Teresa admitted, “I know stuff, of course, behind the scene,” adding that no one in the Manzo family ever aired their “dirty laundry” on the show for the world to see.
Teresa kindly praised the family, “I have to say, I compliment them for that.” She and Caroline might still be bitter enemies, but Teresa showed she could still pay a kind word to her rival.
Was Teresa throwing shade at her brother and sister-in-law with her statement?
Teresa said she wishes that viewers could see what her family was like before RHONJ came into their lives, and made clear that her family was very happy and loving before Joe and Melissa decided to join the hit Bravo show in Season 3.
“I had a bad taste in my mouth because I know what [Melissa] did to me,” Teresa said of Melissa joining the show. She even referenced the holiday sprinkle cookie incident as an issue that was private and should not have been talked about on the show for all to hear. Teresa claimed that was just the beginning of Melissa villainizing her in public, and it has continued from there.
Teresa also claimed Bravo used private issues in the family to pit her and the Gorga’s against each other.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is currently on hiatus on Bravo.