Gia Giudice is reflecting on her mom Teresa Giudice and dad Joe Giudice's past legal issues as part of her newest career venture.
The Rutgers University graduate, who is the eldest daughter of The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member, opened up about experiencing "hard times" on the show during the first episode of her podcast, Casual Chaos.
"My family has also been through a lot of hard times, a lot of dark times," she said on the debut episode, which came out on Monday, March 24. "But there's also been a lot of good times and a lot of good memories that have [come] from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. But, beyond that, I've always had to be kind of serious on the show besides when I was an eight-year-old running around going to my auditions in New York City."
As the oldest child (she has younger sisters Gabriella Giudice, Milania Giudice, and Audriana Giudice), Gia felt like she needed to grow up quickly when her parents were charged with bank, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud in 2013.
"I was a kid during my young years while being on the show, and I acted like one, but then that came to a really big halt when my family went through legal issues and we had family drama and there was just a really dark cloud over my family for a really long time," Gia continued.
Why did Teresa Giudice go to jail?
Teresa went to prison in January 2015 after pleading guilty to multiple counts of bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. She was released in December of that year, and Joe began his 41-month sentence in 2016 after her release. He came out in March 2019 and was later deported, so he now resides in Nassau, Bahamas.
How Teresa Giudice's legal battle brought her closer to daughter Gia
Though Gia felt like she had to step in as a voice of reason amid her parents' respective sentences, it did bring her closer to her mom.
"So, during that time on the show, I still am, but I've always been my mom's right-hand man," the content creator continued on her podcast. "No matter what, it's her and I through it all. If she has no one, I'm right there with her. It kind of made me have a more serious attitude on the show and not be my fun, lighthearted, honestly, don't give a f--k self."
