The Real Housewives of New Jersey became the latest addition to The Real Housewives franchise when it first hit our screens on Bravo in 2009.
Following in the footsteps of its Orange County and New York City counterparts, it quickly became a reality TV hit -and still attracts a huge following to this day. There has been no shortage of drama along the way with ever present Teresa Giudice often at the centre of the action.
Her sister-in-law Melissa Gorga has also proved a hit with viewers too, having first been seen in season two. Whilst the show largely follows the lives of the ladies, their husbands – most notably Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga – are never far from scrutiny too and themselves have played a key role in the programme’s success.
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Now, as season 14 debuts today (May 6), we take a look back at some of the show’s most shocking moments in its 15-year history.
Table Flip
Back in the show’s first series, Teresa threw a dinner table at co-star Danielle Staub during a heated argument that has become one of RHONJ’s most iconic scenes. At the time, Teresa claimed she took action because Danielle was “going after” her girlfriend. She explained: “I was sticking up for my girlfriend. I’m a girl’s girl.”
She continued: “Afterwards, everyone loved it. So then I embraced it. You know, I don’t like the picture that everybody posted with that mean, face it out and I was like, I should have been smiling, but I, everyone loves it. So, you know, because everyone else loves it. I’ve embraced it.”
Teresa even went as far as mocking the scene by recreating it during one of her performances on Dancing With The Stars with professional dancer, Pasha Pashkov in a 2022 Jive. Last year, however, she admitted the incident left her with instant regret as she told BravoCon 2023: “Let me tell you the truth – after I did it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what did I just do?’ Like, I wasn’t proud of it. I really wasn’t. That was the first time I ever did that. I got that mad.”
Hair pulling
Danielle found herself at the centre of the drama during another incident in season 10. Then, the now 61-year old pulled at the hair of Margaret Josephs during a private shopping trip that saw years of bickering come to a head.
The action first saw Margaret throw a glass of wine over Danielle, who returned the complement by yanking her ponytail. Clearly having no regrets, Danielle later commented: “I would love to know why Margaret feels that she needs to pour things on me, throw things at me, yell at me, talk about my past as if she was a part of it, get involved with my marriage, get involved with my relationships.
“She’s affected my life in a very bad way and all I did was help her fit into the group in the beginning. She owes me not only a big apology, but she should give me a lot of gratitude.”
Moments before the row, Danielle had dumped the contents of Margaret’s handbag into a large candle. “It made me feel happy,” she told E Online, before revealing her surprise that the rest of the cast were shocked by it all.
“All of them, collectively, really are just the most disgusting vile people ever,” she raged. “I would never be around a group like that again. And you know what? They should be very careful. I do hold secrets of theirs of my own, for a long time I’ve held those secrets. You never know when it’s going to blow.”
Imprisonment
(Image: Getty Images)
Teresa and her ex-husband Joe Giudice first encountered legal trouble in 2013 and were jailed on federal fraud charges. The pair were accused of exaggertaing their income in order to acquire bank loans before they found TV fame.
Joe was also convicted for failing to file tax returns between 2004 and 2008 and was placed behind bars for 41 months. Teresa, meanwhile, served 15 months. According to People, the then-spouses antagonised judge Esther Salas by withholding information in court that saw $75,000 unaccounted for.
Judge Salas subsequently told Teresa in court: Teresa: “On one hand, I see you’re a savvy businesswoman. But then you’re going to tell me you don’t know how to cooperate with probation? Full disclosure of your financial assets was a requirement. The lack of transparency, that’s what offends the court.”
She continued: “For a moment I thought about probation. I don’t honestly believe you understand or respect the law. I need to send a message. In the eye of the law, it doesn’t matter who you are. There are consequences to pay.”
Teresa was relased from prison on December 23, 2015, whilst Joe was incarcerated until March 14, 2019. On his release he was immediately transferred directly to an immigration detention centre, before heading to Italy.
Family Feud
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
A family feud dragged out on RHONJ for more than a decade with – you guessed it – Teresa at the centre of the drama. It followed Teresa’s aforementioned jail term, and saw her brother, Joe Gorga, and his wife, Melissa join the show’s cast in season three allegedly against her wishes.
Teresa went on to accuse the Gorgas of joining the show “to bring her down”, but Joe insisted it was to become “closer” to the family, later adding that fame had “gone to Teresa’s head”. The show’s executive producer for series one and two – Carlos King – later backed Teresa’s claims, however, telling his podcast show that the Gorgas had been persistent in contacting him to ask if they could join.
In a reunion show in 2022, a comment by Joe about Teresa’s daughter Gia seemingly tipped her over the edge for good. Joe alleged that Gia had said Melissa could “do better” than him, prompting Teresa to rage: “You’re f–king disgusting. Disgusting! This is not how I would raise my children, ever! You should be ashamed of yourself. And don’t come following me!”
She continued her rant: “He lies about my daughter? I really don’t want to go out there anymore and see him,” she told her husband and producers. “I don’t want to make up with him. I want this over. I am done with him.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
