Joe Giudice is setting the record straight, starring on The Real Housewives of New Jersey wasn’t the payday you might expect. In a candid chat on his daughter Gia’s podcast Casual Chaos, the former reality star revealed just how little he and his ex-wife Teresa Giudice made during their debut season… and how much it actually cost him.
“I think the first year, we had that big party in my great room,” Joe recalled. “I think that show cost me $150,000 the first year.”
And Teresa’s Bravo paycheck? A jaw-dropping $25,000.
“We got paid nothing the first season,” Joe said. “I’ll even say, it was like $25,000. I mean, it was ridiculous, but whatever.”
Gia, now 24, backed up her dad’s claims, saying it’s typical for Bravo’s Housewives to start with low salaries and build their brand over time. “When you’re throwing parties and stuff like that, especially for the first season, you’re putting in more money than you’re actually getting out of it,” she said. “Then obviously, you grow and make your way and make your name.”
But the financial strain was just the beginning. As the family’s fame grew, so did their legal troubles, all of it documented on national television. “Our lives were on full display. The good and the bad,” Gia said. “So, mom was literally filmed leaving our home from jail. The show was on pause until she came home.”
Teresa served 11 months in 2015 after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Joe served over three years for similar charges and was deported to Italy in 2019. He now lives in the Bahamas and is in a relationship with a woman named Margie, whom Gia described as “sweet.”
Joe admits he now regrets how much of their legal issues were aired on TV. “At the time, my attorney called me up and said that I was a target,” he said. “He called me and he said, ‘Listen, Joe, I just want you to know that you’re under investigation and you’re a target.’”
Since the couple’s 2020 divorce, Joe has stayed off the Bravo series while Teresa has continued her journey, including her 2022 wedding to Luis Ruelas. Season 14 marked a pause for RHONJ.
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