Gia Giudice is ready to take the next step in her relationship with longtime boyfriend Christian Carmichael, and it sounds like an engagement could be happening sooner rather than later.
The Next Gen NYC star, 25, revealed that Christian is officially moving into her Jersey City apartment after nearly seven years together. And while the couple is focused on adjusting to life under one roof, Gia made it clear that she believes a proposal is the natural next step.
Speaking exclusively to Us Weekly on Monday, November 2, Gia opened up about the couple’s future and why she expects an engagement to follow their big move.
“I would assume I could probably see my ring coming closer than not,” Gia shared.
“This is the next step, to move in with each other … and I would assume my ring will follow.”
Gia and Christian first met at the Jersey Shore in 2019 and have remained together through several major milestones, including Gia’s college years at Rutgers University and her transition into adulthood.
Although the couple has been together for years, they have never officially shared a home.
According to Gia, that was always part of their plan once she had experienced living independently.
“We always knew after I had moved out [of my family’s Montville home] that after completing my one-year lease, the next step would be for us to move in with each other,” Gia explained.
The couple initially explored moving into an apartment in Manhattan, but their busy schedules ultimately changed those plans.
Gia recently opened Il Vero, an Italian restaurant in Westwood, New Jersey, while Christian has been transitioning into a new job.
Rather than complicating their lives with another move, they decided Christian would join Gia in her existing Jersey City apartment.
“With [my restaurant] Il Vero opening [and] his transition into a new job, there was lots happening, so we decided to just stay put in my apartment for right now,” she explained.
“He’s making his way in this week, so I’ve been doing many closet cleanouts and just trying to make as much room for him as possible. But we’re so excited. We can’t wait.”
For Gia, the most exciting part of moving in together isn’t the apartment itself but finally getting to spend more time with Christian.
Throughout their relationship, the couple has dealt with distance, including when Gia attended Rutgers and Christian lived approximately 40 minutes away.
More recently, living separately while managing their careers has made finding quality time together challenging.
Gia admitted that some of their past disagreements have stemmed from those circumstances.
Now, she’s hopeful that living together will eliminate some of those challenges.
She said she is looking forward to coming home to Christian every night and getting a glimpse of what their future as a married couple might look like.
Gia also believes the move will strengthen their relationship, particularly when it comes to communication.
“I think it’s going to strengthen our relationship as a whole, and I think communication is the biggest thing,” she told Us Weekly.
“That’s something we’ve definitely worked on throughout the years, and I think it just comes with maturity and getting older, and that has definitely been beneficial.”
Her comments come after viewers watched Gia and Christian navigate some tension during Season 2 of Next Gen NYC.
One of their biggest disagreements centered on Christian’s comfort level with filming reality television.
While Gia grew up in front of Bravo cameras on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Christian has generally preferred keeping his private life out of the spotlight.
During the season, Gia expressed frustration about the challenges of balancing her public career with Christian’s reservations about filming.
However, she is now pushing back against the suggestion that he doesn’t want to participate in the show.
Gia described that characterization as a false narrative, explaining that Christian simply needed time to adjust to an environment that was unfamiliar to him.
She pointed out that aspects of reality television production, including having to revisit conversations multiple times, can be difficult for someone who hasn’t grown up around cameras.
Despite those growing pains, Gia insisted that Christian has always supported her career.
“He supports me with everything and anything,” she shared.
Gia also revealed that viewers can expect to see much more of Christian during Season 3 of Next Gen NYC, which is currently filming.
According to Gia, her boyfriend has developed friendships with the cast and enjoys spending time with the group.
While certain situations can still be frustrating, she believes Christian has become much more comfortable with the experience.
The latest relationship update also comes just days after Gia received some unsolicited advice from Dorinda Medley about moving in with Christian before marriage.
During an October 27 appearance on SiriusXM’s Reality Checked with Dorinda Medley and Kiki Monique, Gia revealed that she and Christian were preparing to live together.
Dorinda immediately expressed concern.
“You know I’m not a fan of that,” Dorinda told her.
“I told you not to move in too quickly. We had a whole speech about that.”
Gia quickly reminded Dorinda that she and Christian had been together for almost seven years.
“But it’s not too quickly. We’re going on seven years,” Gia responded.
Dorinda, however, suggested the couple should take an even bigger step before sharing a home.
“I know. But then get married,” she replied.
The former RHONY star went on to explain her personal rules for relationships, including not getting a dog, moving in together or having children before marriage.
Dorinda emphasized that her concerns weren’t about morality but rather the complications that can arise when unmarried couples combine their finances and living arrangements.
She also questioned whether Christian would be included on Gia’s apartment lease.
Gia reassured Dorinda that she had already considered those details and was financially prepared.
“I’m 10 steps ahead of you, and yes, he is,” Gia responded when asked whether Christian’s name would be on the lease.
Although Gia isn’t following Dorinda’s advice to wait until marriage, her latest interview suggests that an engagement may not be too far away.
In a separate interview with TV Insider, Gia admitted that seeing close friends get engaged had made her think more seriously about her own future.
She explained that she doesn’t want Christian to feel pressured into proposing but believes they are moving in that direction.
“I would say maybe within the next year or so,” Gia said when discussing a potential engagement.
The reality star also previously revealed that she hopes to be married by the time she turns 30, giving herself and Christian time to enjoy their engagement and newlywed years before starting a family.
For now, the couple is focused on settling into their new living arrangement.
Outside her relationship, Gia has also been balancing a busy professional schedule.
In addition to opening Il Vero, she continues hosting her Casual Chaos podcast and filming Next Gen NYC.
And according to Gia, the upcoming season will feature plenty of drama as the cast becomes more comfortable confronting issues within their friend group.
“Lots of drama,” she teased.
“We’re much more comfortable with each other at this point. I think you’re going to see the root of more problems and what we are condoning or not condoning in the friend group.”
But while Gia may be preparing for another dramatic season on Bravo, her personal life appears to be moving in a positive direction.