Roxanne 
Teresa Giudice is opening up about what she believes should be off-limits on The Real Housewives.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Teresa joined Vicki Gunvalson, Luann de Lesseps, Gizelle Bryant and Porsha Williams to discuss fame, fan criticism and where the line should be drawn when it comes to reality TV drama.
When asked what topics should be off-limits, Vicki said her business should not be dragged into the drama.
“Businesses, to me,” Vicki said. “My business was 27 years old.”
Gizelle, however, quickly disagreed, saying businesses are fair game on The Real Housewives of Potomac.
“Oh, that’s on the table for us,” Gizelle said. “Business is always on the table.”
Teresa then shared that she believes spouses should be protected from cast attacks, especially when they are new to the reality TV world.
“I feel like your spouses should be off-limits,” Teresa said.
Teresa specifically brought up her husband, Luis “Louie” Ruelas, and how difficult it was for her to watch him become part of RHONJ drama after they got married.
“When I got married, he was innocent to this,” Teresa said. “I had all these people who I just met attack my husband, and he didn’t sign up for this.”
Luann pushed back on Teresa’s take, saying that once someone appears on the show, they become part of the conversation.
“But he did go on the show, so once you have somebody on the show, it is fair game,” Luann said.
Teresa, however, argued that Louie did not fully understand what he was walking into.
“He did not know that he was going to get attacked by my castmembers and my family members,” Teresa explained. “My brother even attacked him! That was so heart-wrenching for me.”
Teresa’s comments come after several intense seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, where Louie became a major topic of conversation among the cast. His relationship with Teresa, his past, and his dynamic with Joe and Melissa Gorga were all heavily discussed on the show.
For Teresa, the situation crossed a line because Louie was not a longtime reality star when he entered her world.
The women were also asked about the intense relationship between reality stars and fans, especially how everything they say or do gets debated, analyzed and turned into memes online.
Teresa admitted that the online criticism used to bother her, but she has learned to tune it out.
“It used to drive me crazy,” Teresa said. “So I don’t look at it anymore. They don’t know me.”
Luann then joked about the strange experience of forgetting she is famous until a fan approaches her in public.
“Does it happen to you, though, where you’re walking around and you forget who you are?” Luann asked. “You’re just Luann. And then some stranger bounds up to you at a store and you think, ‘Oh, shit. I forgot. I am famous.’”
Porsha added her own joke, saying, “I just think I scared them without my wig.”
Luann also reflected on how fans often believe they know the Housewives personally, even though they are only seeing a small portion of their lives on television.
“People tend to project their own lives on to you,” Luann said. “They think they know you and what you’re feeling.”
She continued, “But they see just a few minutes out of your life that the producers create.”
Still, Luann admitted that fan feedback is not always bad.
“People care,” Luann said. “They give you lots of bad advice, but sometimes its really smart and helpful.”
Luann then summed up her approach to social media in classic Countess fashion.
“I’m a cafeteria Catholic, OK?” she said. “I take what I like from social, and I leave the rest behind.”
The conversation highlights a debate Housewives fans have had for years: what is actually off-limits once someone signs up for reality TV?
