Teresa Giudice is sharing her “dream cast” for The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 15 as she also slammed the cast’s “lies” about her husband, Luis Ruelas.
As the women of the show remain divided following the cancellation of the season 14 reunion, Teresa, 52, revealed who she wants to see back as she dished on her friendship with Jackie Goldschneider, 47, and praised Jackie’s husband, Evan Goldschneider.
“Obviously me, [Jennifer Aydin], [Dolores Catania], [Jackie Goldschneider],” Teresa began during a July 14 interview with the Daily Mail, noting that she was unsure about Jennifer Fessler, 54, due to her closeness to Melissa Gorga, 45, Margaret Josephs, 57, and Rachel Fuda, 33.
“I don’t know about Jenn Fessler. I mean, I like Jenn Fessler, but I guess she would have to decide. And I think that’s it. So, it’s up to Jennifer if she would want [to come back], but I like [Jenn Fessler],” she explained.
According to Teresa, who has faced rumors of a potential exit in recent weeks, she’s “not going to walk away” from her role on the show.
“Whatever Bravo wants me to do. I will do. They’re the boss. Bravo’s the boss. So, whatever they want, and I’m not going to walk away until they want me to walk away,” she confirmed.
As for her friendship with Jackie, Teresa insisted that despite claims of using her for information about Margaret, their relationship is “genuine.”
“I’m excited about that friendship because I swear, like, I’m watching it, you’re watching it right now and I saw that she saw who Margaret was and she made her decision on her own,” Teresa stated. “It’s not like I pulled her to my side and said you better be my friend. No, it was really genuine.”
“I swear I’m not [using her]. And we just went out, the four of us on Friday night,” she added of their recent outing with husbands Luis and Evan.
“We had so much fun, and I have to say I love Evan because listen, I know I said I was wrong for what I did, and when I said sorry to him, I think he could tell that I meant it,” Teresa continued, signaling her past sharing of a false cheating rumor about him. “And he was such a gentleman. He could have been nasty with me, and he never was.”
Looking back, Teresa said she wishes she would’ve never brought up the rumor on camera.
“If I had to redo it again, I would never say that to Jackie. I would never put that [out there],” she confessed. “If you really know me, you would know I was only telling her so she could stop that rumor because it was out there. I wasn’t trying to put it out there to start trouble.”
According to Teresa, Evan’s handling of her rumor-spreading was far different from the reaction of John Fuda, 36, who she accused of being the “biggest drug dealer in Bergen County.”
As fans will recall, John stormed away from Teresa after she offered what he deemed an insincere apology.
“Look at the two, Evan and John. I said sorry to Evan, look at the way Evan responded. I said sorry to John, look at the way he responded. Evan is my kind of guy. I am just saying he’s a gentleman. And that’s where you can build a friendship,” Teresa noted.
Also speaking to the Daily Mail, Teresa admitted that filming with Luis strengthened their marriage.
“Oh, definitely. Have you been watching the show? Poor guy! I mean, what they put him through. Like, all the lies,” she stated. “He’s the best husband. He really is. And I’m lucky to have him because not too many men would deal with the crap that he dealt with.”
Ahead of their August 6 anniversary, Teresa said the two of them are planning to celebrate in Europe.
“We’re going away for our two-year anniversary. We’re going to go to Mykonos. We’re going to Ibiza and Turkey,” she revealed.
Regarding the upcoming finale episode, Teresa admitted she was “pissed,” although she insists that she and Luis came out on top.
“You’ll see why. Yeah, I was pissed. I feel like there’s a lot of [vindication] with us, you know, like they put all these – Margaret put lies out there. Rachel put lies out there. My family put lies out there. It all gets resolved. You’re going to see everything,” Teresa noted, seemingly accusing Melissa and her brother, Joe Gorga, of making false claims against Luis.
Teresa also addressed the alternative reunion, which will reportedly feature two groups separately discussing the events of the finale after watching the final cut of the episode.
“I’m fine with it. I mean, it’s not really a reunion. Whatever you want to call it – I don’t know what you want to call it. Whatever Bravo wants. It’s fine with me,” she said.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 airs Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.