‘RHONJ’ Star Teresa Giudice on Butting Heads, Letting Loose, & New Beginnings

There are few Bravo-lebrities as iconic as The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice. The “OG” cast member with a bit of a temper has shared plenty of table flips, friendships and heartache throughout the decade-long series.

With fellow castmates’ marriages on the line, Teresa seems to be enjoying single life in the Season 11 teaser trailer following her divorce from ex-husband Joe. After 10 years of reality TV, Teresa has had her fair share of ups and down.

Below, she opens up about what to expect for Season 11, premiering February 17, how she and her daughters are enduring the pandemic in the Garden State, and why she credits her late parents for finding well-deserved happiness in a new beau.

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How will the upcoming season differ from your past seasons on RHONJ?

Teresa Giudice: Well, I start off the season not happy. I lost my dad, so I was really depressed, but at the end of the season, you see me glowing and really happy. I’m in a really good place now.

This the start of a new chapter for you following your divorce from Joe, moving and then the loss of your father. How would you describe your personal journey throughout the last year?

It’s been rough. I started off the show, Seasons 1 and 2, thinking it would just be fun for me, showing what I normally do with my girlfriends. Then Season 3, my family [brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga] come on and that wasn’t good, and then the legal stuff happened. Then I lose my mom. It was like one thing after another, and then I lost my dad. Hopefully 2021 is going to be my year.

Greg Endries/Bravo

Your daughters have grown up to be such beautiful, strong women. Can fans expect to see them more this season?

You’ll see all my daughters on the show, but Gia and Melania will be on the most. They’re definitely not camera-shy. [Laughs]

How has quarantine been for you and your family?

During COVID-19, we were home a lot, cooking and baking a lot. That made me really sad because I wish my dad was here. I used to cook a lot with him, and he used to cook with my daughters also. That made me really depressed that he wasn’t here. It would have been great to spend some quality time together [during quarantine]. I was like “really God, you had to take him away?” I lost my dad April 3, 2020. After, we spent a lot of time together, talking, crying.

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Can you tease any fun moments, or who you might have problems with, this season?

You’ll definitely see us having fun on the show, but you’ll definitely also see us butting heads. Fans will have to tune in to see how it all plays out.

In the teaser trailer, we also see you bringing sex toys to a party! How has it been getting back into the dating scene?

I do have an amazing boyfriend now. He makes me so happy. He’s wonderful, he really is. My daughters think he’s great. I asked my parents to send me an amazing guy, the perfect person who would be amazing for me, and the street where I asked that is the street where I met my boyfriend, Louie Ruelas, on. I swear. It’s so crazy, just a few weeks later is when I met him. We’ve been together going on seven months. I was keeping it on the down-low at first!

 

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[Even my ex-husband] Joe is happy for me, and I’m happy for Joe. Everything has been in a good place.

What are you most excited for fans to see onscreen this season?

I love how everybody has been giving me positive feedback on my Instagram, that they’re so happy to see me happy. I think we should all be happy for each other in the world. I think it resonates throughout the universe. I hate bad vibes. I’m all about good vibes and just being happy for each other, because I feel like if you put out happiness into the world, you get happiness back.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Season Premiere, Wednesday, February 17, 9/8c, Bravo