Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Teresa Giudice is a busy lady. Like, so busy that she’s rarely ever doing just one thing at a time. While her husband Joe is not quite halfway through his 41-month prison sentence, she’s got her father living in her house with her and her 4 daughters. Oh, and yesterday alone she released her new book, Standing Strong, and had the season 8 premiere of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Both chronicle the pain and anger she’s endured this year after the passing of her mother and the pressure of juggling it all.
We stopped by the Bravo offices as Teresa had her hair and makeup done and prepped for a book signing to ask about the new season, why she clicked with new Housewife, Margaret, and what it’s been like to have Danielle Staub back in the mix. She also opened up about why her husband hasn’t read her book yet, the Trump chapter she wanted to include, and what a “me day” would look like for her (don’t hold your breath, Netflix).
You really expressed yourself in this book, you’re very open and it feels like we see a new side to you.
That’s what I would say. A whole new side to me.
What prompted you to be so confident and put all your real feelings out there?
The passing of my mom. I just got really upset about losing her and that I lost time with her, 11 and a half months with her. So I just got really angry, you know, I got angry at Joe, and I just expressed my feelings in my book. It was very therapeutic to do that and get everything out. And then when he comes home, we’ll start a new beginning.
Has he read the book?
No, it just came out today.
I didn’t know if you sent him a copy.
No.
Are you going to?
Yeah. I think so. But I already told him what was in it.
Was he supportive?
Yeah. You know, he was fine with it. He was like, I’m sorry. And he’s going to come home and do the right thing. He better.
Do you think your daughters will read it at all? Would you want them to?
Not right now. Gia’s read a little through it. But yeah, the other ones, no. Maybe when they get a little older.
Do you think Joe will watch the show while he’s away?
Yes. Yes. He watches it now, he watches the reruns. He never used to want to watch the show, and now he’s watching it, and the other day he called me, and he’s like, “Teresa, honey, our girls look so little. They were so cute. Gia looks just like Audriana.” That’s what he says. So yeah, he’s watching them now.
I’ve seen some of the reruns lately when they’re on in the morning, too. Have you been watching them?
Girl, I do not have time to watch TV. No. I don’t have time between my dad living with me, my daughters, I don’t have the time.
If you had a day that was just for you, what would you do?
Definitely yoga. Sometimes I don’t even have time to do yoga because I have to do stuff for my dad, take him to the doctors and stuff. Yeah, just pamper myself. Definitely do yoga, hair, you know, get massages. Like a spa day. Yoga and a spa day.
Not a binge-watch day? I would do a binge-watch day. I’d stay in bed and just watch something on Netflix.
No way. I would not do that. I don’t like to stay home. I mean, I like to stay home on like a snowy day, days like that. But otherwise I like to be out and doing things. Or on a rainy day. Rainy or snowy.
Congrats on getting yoga certified. Would you ever think about opening a studio?
Yeah, maybe down the line.
Is it the kind of thing where you want to teach, do you teach the girls?
I do yoga with my baby Audriana, because I was sending her to kids yoga, so she loves it. So I do yoga with her. And yeah. If I open up my own studio, of course I would teach.
How about now? Do you do it at home or do you still go to classes?
I still go to classes where I got certified. And then when I don’t have time to go to classes, I do it at home. I feel better when I do it, and it’s good for my mind and my body too.
Have you watched the first episode of this season yet?
No, I didn’t watch the beginning of it because I knew it had to do with my mom and I didn’t want to watch it.
It’s nice that they included it, especially to show what you’ve been though. But in your book, you talk about how special your time in Italy was when the cast visits there this season, and how connected you felt to her. Do you think you’re going to want to watch that trip because it meant so much to you?
Yeah. I would want to watch that because I felt like my mom brought me there, and I felt close to her there. And visiting the churches and the praying spots, and that’s where she was born.
You have a chapter in your book about your experience with Trump. Why did you feel like that was something important for you to include?
You know, Celebrity Apprentice is part of my life. I enjoyed it, it was a good experience for me. Matter of fact, you know what came out of it? I met this lady, and her son’s name is Matthew, and I got involved with NephCure, and he has a rare kidney disease. It’s a part of my life, so just mentioning that the [Trump] family is a wonderful family. They really are. They’re really family-oriented. I just love how they’re all together. And I’m all about family.
Oh, we know. I understood because it was your personal experience with them, but do you feel worried that people are going to want to talk about politics with you?
Yeah, but I’m not going to go there. All I’m saying is that they are a wonderful family, and that’s it. In that aspect, that’s all I’m going to say about it.
Right.
And so anyways, Dana is one of my best friends, and I met her from doing the show. I got introduced to her at one of Eric’s St. Jude charity events, and they asked me what charity event I want to do, and I thought about Matt, the kid, and then, through that, we stayed close ever since. And she’s here supporting me today.
In your time as a single mom now, what’s your proudest accomplishment?
Raising my four daughters. I still am doing it, and I’ll always be doing it. You know, through difficult times, doing it by myself, and I know my daughters see that. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m standing strong. I want them to see that in life there are curveballs that are thrown at you, and you can’t crumble down. You have to face them and move forward and do the best you can. And that’s what I’m trying to do.
There’s a new Housewife this season.
Yes, Margaret.
You seem to get a good vibe from her right away, what was it about her that connected with you?
I got to know her, and as a matter of fact, we clicked in Boca. She was asking me about my mom and I was just telling her everything about it. That’s when it happened, we just clicked. She didn’t have to ask me about my mom, I don’t know, just everything we were talking about. She told me things that she was going through that were hard in her life. So you know, everyone has difficult times in their life. So that’s it. We just clicked. What I love about her is she’s quick on her feet. I love her comebacks. So she’s good. And she’s a lot of fun. She talks about pot puss, I never heard of that. I’m like, “What? I’ve never heard of that.” So I like anything that—she made me laugh, and I like people that make me laugh. And she doesn’t even have to drink to make me laugh, so I like that.
I don’t know if all the other Housewives feel the exact same way about her—
No, have you watched the interviews?
Yeah. Do you feel like you’re stuck in the middle of some friendships?
Listen. I’m not going to tell people how to feel about someone, that’s on them. And no one is going to tell me how to feel about anyone. So I have a good connection with her, and that’s how I feel about it. We’re all adults, so I could be friends with whoever I want, and that’s it.
A lot of people are excited for Danielle to be back, and I think mostly because you guys are friends now. Has it been good and does it feel old school to have her back?
Yeah, it does feel kind of old school. She has great energy. We’re just taking things slow. Like, first season, second season, I never got a chance to get to know her because she had people in her ear, I had people in my ear, so I never really got to know the real Danielle. So now we’re getting to know each other. We’re building on a friendship, and you guys will see how it plays out.
Oh, I’m sure we will.
I felt bad for her with the way everything went down. So that’s why I wanted to meet with her and I wanted to let her know that I’ve never had any ill intentions toward her and I felt bad that her job was taken away and everything. It was never any of my doing. People refused to film with her, and I said that I always wanted her on the show. Then I felt bad because as a single mom raising two kids, that’s not right. So I just reached out to her to let her know that, and that’s where it all started. We did yoga together and then you’ll see how it plays out on the show.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo and Teresa’s new book Standing Strong is available now.
