Teresa Giudice ( , ; ; born May 18, 1972) is an American television personality best known for starring in The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Besides appearing on the show, Giudice wrote multiple New York Times bestseller cookbooks and was featured on Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice 5 (2012).
In December 2015, she was released from prison after serving 11 months of a 15-month sentence for fraud, while her husband and four daughters resided in the Towaco section of Montville, New Jersey. She is known for her extravagant lifestyle and highly publicized financial and legal troubles leading up to her prison sentence. Her ex-husband, born Giuseppe but called Joe, began his 41-month sentence in March 2016.
Early life
Giudice was born Teresa Gorga in Paterson, New Jersey, to Giacinto and Antonia Gorga, Italian immigrants from Sala Consilina, Campania. She and her younger brother Giuseppe "Joey" Gorga were raised in the Roman Catholic faith. She studied fashion marketing at Berkeley College in New Jersey.
Career
Giudice worked for Macy's as an associate buyer. She has been a cast member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey since season 1. Since Season 8, she has been the last-remaining original cast member of the show.
In 2009, one of Giudice's infamous stunts on the show was her flipping a dinner table on Danielle Staub for telling Giudice to "pay attention" to Staub. This led to Teresa flipping the table between the two and coining a unique term in the Housewives vernacular by calling Staub a "prostitution whore".
Since starring on Housewives, Giudice has co-authored three successful cookbooks that include recipes handed down from her mother: Skinny Italian (May 4, 2010), Fabulicious (May 3, 2011), and Fabulicious!: Fast & Fit (May 8, 2012) alongside a memoir, co-written with K.C. Baker, Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again, revolving around her time in prison. Giudice's sixth book, Standing Strong, was released on October 3, 2017. All four books have been New York Times Best Sellers. Giudice also created Fabellini, a line of bellini cocktails, as well as a haircare line with Jerel Sabella named after Giudice's daughter Milania.
In 2012, Giudice joined the cast of The Celebrity Apprentice 5 (also known as The Apprentice 12), and ultimately raised $70,000 for her selected charity, The NephCure Foundation. She was fired in episode 12 (airdate May 6, 2012), after placing fifth.
She is a committee member for Project Ladybug, a charity founded by fellow RHONJ co-star Dina Manzo.
In May 2017, Giudice, Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga opened a restaurant named Gorga's Homemade Pasta & Pizza in East Hanover, New Jersey. In January 2018, the restaurant closed.
Giudice starred in The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, that premiered on Peacock in November 2021.
On September 8, 2022, Giudice was announced as a contestant on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Pasha Pashkov. They were eliminated week 2, finishing in 15th place.
Personal life
Teresa was married to Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice (an Italian citizen born in Saronno, Italy, and brought to Paterson, New Jersey, by his parents when he was a one-year-old), who had worked as a construction builder and restaurant owner in New Jersey. They have four daughters together: Gia (b. 2001), Gabriella (b. 2004), Milania (b. 2006), and Audriana (b. 2009). After her release from prison, Giudice became a competitive bodybuilder.
Teresa Giudice's mother, Antonia Gorga, died in March 2017. Her father, Giacinto Gorga, died on April 3, 2020.
Teresa and Melissa Gorga have appeared together on The Real Housewives of New Jersey since Melissa joined the show's cast in its third season.
In December 2019, it was announced that Giudice and her husband had separated after 20 years of marriage. Teresa filed for divorce a few months later, and in September 2020, a rep confirmed the divorce had been finalized.
In July 2020, Giudice started dating Luis Ruelas, and they became engaged in October 2021. The couple officially wed in August 2022.
Giudice supported Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election saying "I think he's amazing. I think he'll make a great president".
Convictions
In October 2009, the Giudices filed for bankruptcy. An auction of furniture from their Montville, New Jersey, home was initially scheduled for August 22, 2010, but was postponed and then canceled as the couple withdrew their bankruptcy petition.