Heavy/NBCUniversal Teresa Giudice.
Former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Kim DePaola shared her thoughts about the RHONJ season 13 reunion special, which was filmed on April 20, in the June 2 episode of the “Behind the Velvet Rope” podcast, hosted by David Yontef. DePaola stated that she did not believe her former friend and castmate, Teresa Giudice, was honest while filming the reunion. She also stated that she thinks Giudice’s estranged sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, handled herself better during the RHONJ season 13 reunion. In addition, the former RHONJ star deemed Giudice’s behavior at the reunion as “vicious.”
“Teresa lied left and right, she was lying and she was caught, you know, yeah. I mean I’m not knocking Teresa and I’m not promoting Melissa. I’m just saying my opinion is — Melissa could have taken it a lot further, again, we’re going to say it’s because she’s worried about her job, but Teresa lied and got caught a couple times,” said DePaola.
While recording the “Behind the Velvet Rope” episode, DePaola noted that Giudice stated Melissa Gorga and her husband, Joe Gorga, “never asked [her] to go to dinner” after her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, “left” following his 2016 prison sentence. Melissa Gorga denied the claim and stated that she and her husband invited Giudice and their neighbor, Shane, to a restaurant in Bay Head, New Jersey. Melissa Gorga also provided photos of the dinner in question. Giudice stated, however, “that was another night” and said that she thinks she invited herself to the outing.
When Yontef stated that he believed “this is a strange thing to lie about,” DePaola replied, “1000 percent.” The Posche owner also stated that she said Giudice was seeing the Gorgas’ neighbor in RHONJ season 8.
“I know Teresa was with the guy Shane. I know she was with him, she was dating him, I don’t know how far it went. I know a little kissy kissy, huggy huggy,” said DePaola.
Teresa Giudice & Melissa Gorga Spoke About Filming the Season 13 Reunion on Their Podcasts
GettyTeresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga pose in 2022.
Melissa Gorga spoke about her experience filming the season 13 reunion special on the May 10 episode of her podcast, “On Display with Melissa Gorga.” She stated that one of her castmates was making accusations that “sounded like they came from the sky.” She also said “there was a lot of deflecting going on where it’s like ‘wait this has nothing to do with anything that went on all season.’”
In the May 11 episode of her podcast, “Namaste B$tches,” Giudice stated that she was pleased she “got some stuff off [her] chest” while filming the season 13 reunion. She also said she believes the season 13 reunion signified an ending.
“I put that in the past and sometimes you have to close out chapters,” said Giudice.
Teresa Giudice Stated That She ‘Started’ RHONJ
Getty Luis Ruelas and Teresa Giudice pose in 2022.
During a May 2023 interview with Extra, alongside her husband Luis “Louie” Ruelas, Giudice shared that she does not intend on leaving RHONJ. She referenced that she began starring in the series during its premiere season, which began airing in 2009.
“I started the show,” said the mother of four.
Giudice also spoke about her ongoing feud with her brother and sister-in-law. She said she does not believe she will try to mend her relationship with the Gorgas, stating, “I just need time to heal.” Ruelas also shared his thoughts about his wife’s issues with the Gorgas.
“It’s family, it’s been going on for a long time, I tried a lot on-camera, off-camera, as a brother-in-law, if you want to talk about things with your brother-in-law, you talk about things with your brother-in-law, it’s uncomfortable because it’s all on TV, so it makes it harder, it makes it worse,” said Ruelas.