“I Had to Protect Her!” — Gia Giudice Gets Candid About Defending Teresa on RHONJ, Her On-Screen Frustration, and Big Career Dreams

Amid ongoing reports regarding the $3 million in tax debt of her mother, Teresa Giudice, 52, and stepfather, Luis Ruelas, 50, the 24-year-old Real Housewives of New Jersey star is explaining why she will always have her mom’s back as she fights back against assumptions fans have of her due to what they’ve seen on Bravo.“A lot of people always say that I’m assertive or that I involve myself in adult conversations, but at the end of the day, I am defending my family and I will do that all day every day,” Gia declared during an April 15 interview with PopCulture.According to Gia, the oldest of Teresa’s four children, who also includes Gabriella Giudice, 21, Milania Giudice, 19, and Audriana Giudice, 15, she “will always defend” her family.“My mom also didn’t have my dad for quite some time on [RHONJ], so I was her person,” Gia explained. “When you always have people constantly going after you, you want somebody in your … corner — and that was me. And I would do that any day for my mom.”