Teresa Giudice‘s ex-husband Joe Giudice is reflecting on season one of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
While appearing on daughter Gia Giudice‘s Casual Chaos podcast on Monday (August 18), Joe, 53, disclosed the “ridiculous” amount of money Teresa, also 53, earned for the first season.
Continue reading to discover more…“We got paid nothing the first season,” Joe stated. “I’ll even say, it was like $25,000. I mean, it was ridiculous, but whatever.”
He further claimed that he incurred losses during the first season.
“I think the first year, we had that big party in my great room,” Joe reminisced. “I think that show cost me $150,000 the first year.”
Gia, 24, then pointed out that typically, Housewives “don’t get, obviously, paid that much money filming” their first season, adding that their salary “grows as the seasons progress.”
Teresa was one of the original stars of RHONJ alongside Dina Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita, Danielle Staub, and Caroline Manzo when the reality show first premiered in 2009.
Also during the new podcast episode, Gia and Joe, who finalized his divorce from Teresa in 2020, reflected on the show documenting all the highs and lows of their lives.
“Our lives were on full display. The good and the bad. So, mom was literally filmed leaving our home from jail. The show was on pause until she returned home,” said Gia, referring to Teresa‘s 11-month stint in jail in 2015 for fraud.
Joe, who served three years in prison for fraud before being deported back to Italy, then admitted that he “regrets” allowing their legal battle to unfold on TV and believes that the show contributed to their 2013 indictment.
“At the time, my attorney called me up and said that I was a target,” Joe recounted. “He called me and he said ‘Listen, Joe, I just want you to know that you’re under investigation and you’re a target.’”
An additional moment he regrets from the show occurred during the season 4 cast trip to Napa, Calif., where he referred to Teresa as his “bitch wife” and a “c–t” while taking a phone call.
“We were stuck there for like a week, I think in this house, just drinking wine every day,” Joe recalled. “Sometimes it just gets so chaotic with everybody around because all they want you to do is just start drama and do this and do that. They don’t want you to just hang out and have a normal time.”
He went on to express that was the “only” time on the show when he didn’t feel like himself.
“I don’t even use that word. I hate that word,” Joe added. “Why it came out of my mouth, I have no idea.”
This past Fourth of July, Gia posted a video pleading with Donald Trump to pardon Joe, allowing him to return to America.
