Teresa’s Romantic Delusions Are Clouding Her Judgment on ‘RHONJ’ (2024)

Teresa Giudice lives a life of revisionist history. After recanting her conversation with Jen Fessler to Louie Ruelas, she found it blasphemous that Rachel Fuda could possibly believe she meant that her husband, John Fuda, was a drug dealer...now. But in the very next breath, Teresa believed it was her duty to bring it up and not make a scene because he is a father, a husband, and a leader of a family. As everyone knows, the way that Teresa went about it did nothing but start an unwarranted scene. The contradiction is hilarious for viewers to see, but she and Louie, who will call John Fuda ugly, are blissfully unaware of how foolish they look. Teresa's inability to understand reality has caused the majority of drama in the past, and will continue to do so in the future. With no one to knock some sense into her, Teresa will never be able to take accountability for her actions. Living in her love bubble with Louie enables her horrible sense of reality.

Since the dawn of time, and by the dawn of time we mean the beginning of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice has been the central figure of the program. As the longest tenured cast member, having been a part of the show since day one, fans have been witness to the rise and fall of Tre. There is no doubt that Teresa has had a bumpy life since coming onto the scene. Between high-profile legal woes to the very public implosion of her family, Teresa's every move has been captured on camera, documented for the world to see. Even in her moments of solace, Teresa's perception of reality was insanely skewed. Whether there's stress in her life or a brand-new love, nothing can be an excuse for her inability to understand the world around her. No matter the situation, no matter the players included, she's not quite in touch with the situations she's thrust into. Since meeting Louie, namaste Teresa has been encapsulated in a love bubble. But the love bubble is not the best place for her to be.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

TV-14

See Also

Joe Gorga Throws Card and Gift from Sister Teresa Giudice Into Fire Pit at Housewarming PartyTeresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas' Relationship TimelineTeresa Giudice, Boyfriend Luis ‘Louie’ Ruelas: Relationship TimelineTeresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas Celebrate One Year of Marriage! A Look Back at Their Over-the-Top Wedding

Reality TV

Another installment of Bravo's "The Real Housewives" reality show. In this series, they focus on housewives living in New Jersey.

Release Date

May 12, 2009

Cast

Teresa Giudice , Melissa Gorga , Joe Gorga , Dolores Catania , Gia Giudice , Milania Giudice , Jacqueline Laurita , Margaret Josephs

Main Genre

Reality TV

Seasons

14

Teresa Has Never Taken Accountability

Teresa Giudice is easily one of the most infamous reality television show characters to ever grace the screen. Evolving from a supporting player in the Manzo family drama straight into her own personal family war, Teresa has been a divisive figure. You either love her or you hate her. There is no in between. As a viewer, sometimes it's difficult to look into such a real and raw situation regarding her battle with her brother Joe Gorga and his wife Melissa Gorga. But other times, when Teresa is playing the role of loving mother, her vulnerability shines through, allowing her to be authentic. Her persona is unique and ripe for reality television. Teresa has a playful sensibility, with her silly confusion over words and definitions, that makes her seem less bright than she actually is. The reality is, Teresa Giudice is quite the genius when it comes to manipulating the universe to revolve around her. As someone who has never taken fault in any situation, Teresa has made herself believe, whatever her truth is in her head, is reality for all. Because she's had a large army of minions to help build her up, no one has ever made her look in the mirror to accept her faults and the fact that she might actually be wrong.

Throughout the multi-season arc of the Gorga-Giudice war, Teresa has taken many of the situations to a level they never needed to reach. Because she's had friends feeding into her narrative, she has rarely been able to see things from another perspective. Not saying she was always wrong, but she most certainly was not always right. Because she would always get immensely defensive in any conversation turned confrontation, Teresa had prevented progress from being made. As seen with the Joe and Melissa situation, they felt they were arguing with a brick wall. There was no breaking through. They could never make a dent and have a calm conversation in hopes of resolving just the smallest of situations. After splitting from her first husband, Joe Giudice, Teresa's life was flipped upside down. Until she met Louie Ruelas. His presence in Teresa's life did change her for the better, as she had found another person to love her, but he may be loving her in a way that was not helping her. Teresa and Louie's love bubble has caused more drama for her and the show since he came into the picture.

Louie Is a Bad Influence on Teresa on 'RHONJ'

When Louie first entered the scene, he was often a voice of reason for Teresa. He would check her when she would be out of line, which she never quite took to. She was not thrilled someone could tell her she was wrong, but she allowed her love to blind her. Whether Louie saw a side of his brother-in-law and sister-in-law that viewers were not privy to, he immediately switched, fanning the flames of Teresa's hatred for the couple. Not only did he instigate situations he had no right to be involved in, he was an active participant in breaking up the family. He was a major reason why the Gorgas did not go to the wedding of the season. The infamous phone call in Season 13 where he admitted he didn't invite the Gorgas to the rehearsal dinner was a sign that he was not there to help Teresa. He was there to continue Teresa's story line on the show. Asking her to have the cameras cut was one of the most defining moments to the person Louie was.

With the Gorgas out of the picture, the Bo Diedl investigation of it all shifted to John and Rachel Fuda. And unfairly so. Teresa needed a new enemy that she could attempt to bully and break down. On Season 13, Rachel Fuda arrived as a new housewife and was immediately invited onto Team Melissa. Because she was an ally of Melissa, Teresa put a target on Rachel. At the Season 13 Reunion, the Fudas were targeted by Teresa and Louie by diving into their personal matters regarding the adoption of John's son by Rachel. They allegedly contacted his ex-wife to get dirt, which has led to the Season 14 drama regarding John Fuda's past as the biggest drug dealer in Bergen County. What was evident in the first few episodes of this season, how the situation was handled and brought up was simply vile. And it was all at the hands of Teresa and her desire to twist reality to suit her needs.

Teresa Thrives on Unwarranted Validation

Following her conversation with Jen Fessler at Nate Cabral's celebration of life party, Teresa manipulated another mind through her clueless aura, truly pulling the wool over Jen Fessler's eyes. Teresa knew damn well that she had instigated the situation at Jen's surprise birthday party. Whether the truth was that John Fuda had a run in with drugs as a young adult didn't matter, her specific intent to not mention the timing of the allegation allowed her to paint him as a monster now. It caused just enough confusion and discourse that she riled up the Fudas. This was also after Louie, who lambasted John Fuda for wanting to have a conversation at the party he bailed on, used Paulie Connell as his personal minion into a situation he shouldn't have been involved in. But none of this would have happened if Teresa wasn't threatened by the Reunion maneuver that her rivals had in the manila envelopes. Knowing that Teresa and Louie were about to be exposed, they turned reality on others in hopes of bringing them down. But no one can stoop that low. Well, Louie did. A grown man calling another grown man ugly. The men are truly fighting this season!

The Real Housewives of New Jersey is experiencing such immense change that you can tell that some of the cast members are grasping onto whatever they can to remain relevant to the story. While there are so many other assets to these women, from being incredible mothers and strong businesswomen, the drama is the thing that keeps the franchise alive. For Teresa to remain a part of the fold without Melissa as part of her plot is to twist reality to keep her at the center of the show. Perhaps for the first time in recent memory, the majority of the third episode of Season 14 was spent away from Teresa's story. When she was present, it focused on her daughter and how Teresa was coping with her leaving for college. THAT is the interesting part of Teresa we deserve to see. Not Louie stoking the fire of Teresa's erroneous reality. Sadly, it seems that the rest of the season will be spent on this new battle between Teresa and Louie versus Rachel and John, with Jenn Fessler turning on Rachel in the process. There is no good-intent in Teresa Giudice. Everything she does on the show is for a purpose that benefits her. She didn't care if there were rumors about John Fuda. She was eager to tear down the family man. All she had to do was pull him aside and politely ask him about the rumors. But alas, that's not how Teresa operates. There is malice streaming through her veins.

The hardest part of analyzing a show like The Real Housewives of New Jersey is understanding what happens for the cameras and what is actually reality. When it comes to Teresa Giudice, her humanity shines through when she is seen as an incredible mother to her four beautiful children. But when the girls are living their lives off camera and Teresa is engaged in reality television drama, it's hard to understand if she's truly that out of touch. There comes a time when, no matter the situation, if you find yourself at the wrong end of a fight, you have to consider yourself the common denominator. Teresa fights with every single woman who has been on the show. When she's eliminated one story line, she finds a new one to thrust herself into. If this season isn't about her feud with Melissa, it's now spawned a new fight with the Fudas. And when close friends are brainwashed by Teresa so she can have a new minion on her side, it's clear that her ability to see reality will never happen. With Louie by her side, her love bubble will never be popped and reality will remain wrong.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs new episodes Sundays on Bravo. All episodes are available to stream on Peaco*ck.

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