Teresa Giudice believes her parents would be upset by the way Joe Gorga spoke to her at the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion.
After she agreed with Jennifer Aydin that Joe was “b-tch boy” before later apologizing for the diss, Teresa revealed the comment that was most upsetting, explained why Andy Cohen got so angry at the taping, and admitted to feeling as if she’s portrayed as a “stupid” woman on the show.
“I don’t want to fight with [Joe] on TV. What he said, that hurts my feelings. He said, ‘Act like a sister,’ and he called me a moron,’” Teresa recalled during a recent interview with Us Weekly. “I didn’t know that he said that. It’s just very sad. I know my parents wouldn’t like for him to be saying that. I don’t know how he would like it if Gino and Joey would say that to Antonia. That’s just something you don’t say. [But] it’s okay. I’ll take all the bullets you want.”
According to Teresa, she wasn’t putting Joe down when she called him a “b-tch.” Instead, she was simply giving her opinion, and she claims she had the same opinion when asked about fiancé Luis Ruelas.
“I’m not putting you down. That’s just how I feel, and how I felt. My answer goes the same for Luis. Like, that answer would go the same for Luis so you’ll see it play out,” Teresa said, seemingly in a nod to her comments about Luis’ involvement in the season’s drama.
In addition to not liking Joe’s “moron” comment at the RHONJ reunion, Teresa said she also didn’t like how he and Melissa Gorga failed to take a stand against Margaret Josephs and her ongoing questioning of Luis.
“I don’t like that him and Melissa are buddy-buddy with Margaret and [Joe Benigno] that are blasting my boyfriend. I wanted my brother and Melissa to set them straight all season and they didn’t because that’s their friends,” she explained.
As expected, Teresa and Margaret faced off at the reunion special taping last month. And as also expected, things between them were quite tense, even leading host Andy to have a bit of a meltdown.
“If she said something, of course I answered her back. That’s why Andy was getting frustrated because she was talking over him also. I’m like, ‘She’s not going to have the last word. She’s going to say something, I’m going to answer right back.’ So that’s what happens,” Teresa shared. “We all talk over each other and then that’s how Andy got frustrated.”
While it was insinuated throughout season 12 that Luis had somehow left Teresa in the dark about who he really was, Teresa wants her fans and her critics to know that she’s “really smart” when it comes to men, despite what editing makes it look like on the Bravo series.
“I’m really smart. Everyone might think… They think I’m stupid because the way I’m portrayed on the show. I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t have brains upstairs,” she stated. “I know if someone’s treating me the right way. And if someone’s not treating me the right way. And I’m a mother of four daughters. Do you think that if I was being mistreated in any way my daughters would stand for that?”
As fans saw on the finale episode of RHONJ, things didn’t end well between Teresa and Margaret. However, as Teresa confessed, she’s never saying “never” when it comes to a potential reconciliation.
“There was a lot of things going on behind the scenes and on the TV show, which you saw, that [were] very hurtful… to me and Luis. [But] I guess time heals all wounds,” she noted. “Every day like everything else, it gets better. You just forget about things.”
Teresa also said that she doesn’t “like” how she behaved against Margaret in Nashville.
“That’s not me. So I’m working on myself… I was very hurt. I’m not going to blame it on tequila but I was drinking a lot of tequila too,” she explained.
Luckily, despite all the drama she faced amid filming, Teresa’s love bubble with Luis remained intact.
“I ended up finding the love of my life at 48. I thought Joe was, but looking back, it was a different kind of love,” Teresa confessed, comparing Luis to ex-husband Joe Giudice. “I knew Joe my whole life. Now I can’t wait to go to bed at night, just to even be next to him, it’s like a different kind of love. I can’t explain it. I love [Luis’] family. [It’s] the whole package deal. I remember with Joe’s family… Sometimes two Italian families don’t get along and it was crazy because we got along growing up and then after we got married, things changed.”
“[He’s] showing me what real love is. He does keep me grounded. Like at a calmer pace because I’m always on the go,” Teresa continued of how Luis has changed her.
Going into the reunion, Teresa said she and Luis had very specific plans.
“We both had an agenda of the way we were going to go in because unfortunately, you have to with these vultures. But he stuck to his plan. I didn’t stick to mine. I couldn’t help it,” she revealed. “Sitting across from Margaret, I was just so hurt. This is the person that caused me pain all season long.”
The three-part Real Housewives of New Jersey season 12 reunion airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.