Gia Giudice Claps Back at ‘Nepo Baby’ Critics, Talks Riley Drama, Ariana’s Confession, and Who Brought the Most Drama on Next Gen NYC, Plus How It Differs From RHONJ and If She’d Ever Be a Housewife

Gia Giudice is one of the stars of Bravo’s latest show, Next Gen NYC. In it, she’s exposing her life as she and the other children of famous people navigate the mean streets of New York City. Now, she’s opening up about becoming a reality star in her own right, the drama that has unfolded in real-time with Riley Burruss, and how her mother, Teresa Giudice, is handling her downtime from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. 

In addition to Gia, 24, and Riley, 22, Next Gen NYC also features the likes of Ariana Biermann, 23,  Ava Dash, 25,  Brooks Marks, 25, and Charlie Zakkour, 29.  

US Weekly recently interviewed Gia. One of the first questions posed was if Gia was nervous about doing the show. She responded, “I think you’re always a little nervous to do something on your own. It’s a little out of I think everyone’s comfort zone, but you know, especially coming from the Real Housewives of New Jersey, you’re stepping into a new light.” 

Gia added, “So, I think you know the pressure is definitely on, but I was nervous at first, but now I’m super excited to see what viewers think of the show.”

She was then asked about the most significant differences between RHONJ and Next Gen NYC. According to Gia, “Well, you know, on Jersey, my mom’s the main character, and I was giving my mom advice, and you know that was kind of my role on Jersey, and just being supportive around my family and everything like that.”

She then said, “Now with Next Gen, it honestly has nothing to do with my family, which is so nice, actually great.” From there, she shared how she knew some of the cast prior to filming and explained that Brooks was the one who presented the chance to do the show to her. Additionally, she says she recommended Ariana for the show. 

The interview continues, and the host asks Gia which relationship from the series surprised her the most. She said, “I would say Emira. We just have a lot of similarities, you know, we’re kind of in the same field of work, we do the same, you know, we do the same things every day, very booked and busy. You know the NYC social life influencing world, and I don’t know she’s really cool, she’s just chill, so I like her a lot.”

Regarding who caused the most drama this season, Gia says it was Charlie. She even calls him the Scott Disick of the friend group. Gia explained, “You are going to hate to love him, love to hate him, like he is awesome, he really is an amazing person, but he’s just himself and he doesn’t care, and it causes some rifts.”

From there, the topic of Ariana came up. Specifically, how she revealed in episode one that her parents had taken her brand deal money. Gia discussed this, saying, “She’s, you know, really raw and open with all of that this season, so I commend her for that.”

The host also mentioned the drama between Gia and Riley, which arose over Gia comparing RHOA to RHONJ. She begins by saying that she wasn’t trying to compare Kandi Burruss to her mother. She went on, “I literally was kind of just trying to break bread, like you know, make some conversation.”

She added, “All I was saying was you know obviously every housewife franchise has its own niche, like they all have what they’re known for, but at the end of the day, they also have the same common denominator, they’re friend groups with drama.” 

She continued to explain, “Same formula, just different people or different places for that matter, you know, like, and I really wasn’t trying to say anything like offensive at all, I really was just like you know our moms are on reality TV, they’re both on Bravo, just making conversation.”

When asked if the friendship is on ice, she said, “I don’t know. I guess she’s fine. I don’t I don’t know how to please her I guess.” The host then says, “You can’t be friends with everybody, right?” Gia responded, “No.”

Given the nature of Next Gen NYC, many have referred to the cast as “nepo babies.” When asked for her thoughts on the term, Gia shared, “I mean, I get it but that’s also like saying any other A-list celebrity and their children that are in the public eye or you know Nepo babies or and you know some people like or some children are dealt cards that they’re not. You know it’s not like we were like ‘oh let me pick these cards for my life,’ you know it’s just what our lives turned out to be. I am so grateful for every opportunity, but you know why knock us for taking advantage of it.”

She went on, “I don’t know, I think it’s just you know haters being haters.” Then, the interviewer asked Gia about her dynamic with Teresa and who is more protective over the other. She explained, “I think it’s both, you know, I think in different scenarios, you know we’re both very protective over each other.”

Gia then said, “i would say I’m very protective of her when you know things are just said that are not true, and you know if I ever see my mom hurting, I think that’s when you know my guard goes up and I think that’s you know with her too.” Regarding what she has learned from her mother about reality television, she says it was that she should be herself. Gia referenced the infamous table flipping as evidence of Teresa being authentic. 

Towards the end, the interview host asked if she would ever become a housewife, to which she said, “I think that would be Andy’s dream to like see me like be grandfathered in. I think it’s his dream to see something come full circle, like imagine me on Housewives and my mom as a grandma.” 

RHONJ came up at the end, and the host asked if Teresa misses the show. According to Gia, “Yeah, I mean, listen, I think she definitely wants Jersey back, she is the OG, you know, she has been doing this show for so long, it really is a part of her, but you know you kind of you kind of got to give it back to the show you know like this is where I started and you know I think she wants to end there too.” She clarified that Teresa wants to continue the show, rather than leaving it on the sour note left by Season 15. She also shared that her mother has been working out more than ever in her spare time. 

Fans can watch Next Gen NYC on Tuesday nights.