Gia Giudice is proud to be Teresa Giudice’s daughter, but she is ready for people to see her as her own person.
In a new interview with Elite Daily, Gia opened up about growing up in the public eye, stepping into her own identity and wanting fans to recognize her beyond being the eldest daughter of The Real Housewives of New Jersey icon Teresa Giudice.
Gia has spent most of her life on television. Viewers watched her grow up on RHONJ, navigate her parents’ legal issues, support her mom through prison, deal with her dad Joe Giudice’s deportation and help hold her family together through some of their most difficult years.
Because of that, Gia says she has always played a certain role in her family.
“I’ve always been the voice of reason in my family,” Gia said. “It’s the classic eldest daughter thing to an extent. It’s also because I’ve gone through a lot in my life where my parents were absent for certain points and I had to step up for my siblings.”
Gia has often been praised by RHONJ fans for her maturity and loyalty to her family. But now, as she steps further into adulthood, she is also focused on creating a name for herself.
While Gia has deep appreciation for where she comes from, she wants people to see her as more than just Teresa’s mini-me.
“Over the past year, there have been a lot of milestones in my life that have really molded me into ‘This is Gia Giudice as an individual and as a brand,’ rather than ‘She’s a mini Teresa.’ I obviously do not take that as an insult at all; she’s iconic,” Gia said, “but I wish people could also see who I am separately.”
Since filming Season 1 of Next Gen NYC, Gia has been building her own platform. She launched her podcast, Casual Chaos, which she called “my baby,” and she won Season 4 of Special Forces after many people underestimated her.
“Everyone thought I was going to be the first one out,” Gia said.
That experience ended up being life-changing for her. In November, Gia moved out of her family’s home in Montville, New Jersey, and into her own apartment in Jersey City. While the move was emotional, Gia said Special Forces helped her realize she was ready.
“Special Forces made me realize that I am OK on my own,” Gia said. “I was really staying home as a security blanket for my family in case they needed me.”
Now, Gia says her apartment has become her “safe space,” though she still misses the comfort of home, especially Teresa’s cooking.
“There was literally never a time that I came home as a kid and my mom and her parents weren’t cooking in the kitchen,” Gia said.
In true Giudice family fashion, Teresa even called during the interview, prompting Gia to send a quick text: “Two minutes. In a meeting.”
Gia also reflected on how she is approaching Season 2 of Next Gen NYC differently. After watching herself in Season 1, she realized she wanted to be less defensive and less focused on mediating other people’s drama.
“I am my biggest critic. So when I watched Next Gen, I saw it as a mirror. I looked at the things that I loved about myself and things I didn’t,” Gia said.
One thing she noticed was that she may have gone too hard defending Ariana Biermann during conflicts with Charlie Zakkour and Ava Dash.
Now, Gia says her mindset is different.
“Worry about myself, let my friends handle their own battles, and speak when needed,” she said.
Gia hopes this new season gives viewers a fuller picture of who she really is beyond family drama, Bravo history and being Teresa’s daughter.
“I’m a fun drunk. I like to just go out with my friends. I’m so hardworking, and I bust my *ss every single day. That was lacking in Season 1, but I think that’s a lot of what you’re going to see in Season 2.”
Next Gen NYC Season 2 airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo
