RHONJ Husband Was Surprised By His Popularity on the Show

Joe Giudice admitted he was surprised by his popularity on “Real Housewives of New Jersey” because he didn’t “try.”

During a January 2025 appearance on the “AllAboutTHR“ podcast, the ex-husband of Teresa Giudice was asked if he was surprised that he became so popular with fans during his run on the Bravo reality show. “I guess,” he told hosts Roxanne Bahri and Shantel Butras. “I don’t really know why, I mean it was not like I was on it that much, you know what I mean? They’d have to force me to be on it, I didn’t voluntarily walk and say, ‘okay film me today.’”

“It is what it is,” he added. “But I mean, at the end of the day I mean you know, it’s a Housewives show so I mean it’s supposed to be for the Housewives, not the husbands.”

Joe Giudice has appeared in all but two seasons of RHONJ, per IMDb.

Joe Giudice Only Joined RHONJ Became Teresa ‘Kept Bothering’ Him to Do It

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The Giudices were original cast members on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” when it debuted in 2009. Joe Giudice said he never really wanted to do the show at all.

“No, I just did it because [Teresa] kept bothering me about it so finally I gave in,“ he told AllAboutTRH.  “And I was like you know nobody knew what the hell it was back then, you know? I think the only show like that was the California (Orange County) one and it wasn’t even that big back then. And yeah, so we did it and here we go, what, like, 15 years I’m deported.”

Giudice was deported out of the United States after serving a  41-month prison sentence for fraud charges. He has lived in the Bahamas since 2021, per The Daily Dish.

In a separate interview on the “Reality Court” podcast, Giudice noted that he didn’t “need” to be on a reality show. “I was in business for over 25 years before that show,” the father of four said. “I didn’t even want to be on the show to begin with…I didn’t need the show.”

“The first year, I think they paid us $25,000,” he dished. “I think [Teresa] threw a party that cost me $125,000. It cost me money to be on that stupid show.”

Joe Giudice Said His Brother Was Approached to Join RHONJ

During the third season of RHONJ, Teresa Giudice’s bother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law Melissa joined the cast, as well as her cousin Kathy Wakile. Teresa has repeatedly claimed her family members joined the show behind her back and she is now estranged from them.

During a 2024 interview on the “Give Them Lala” podcast, Teresa said, “You get to season three, then all of a sudden, my family comes on the show like behind my back. Like this was my first cousin and my sister-in-law married to my brother that I was getting along with at the time.”

Joe Giudice told AllAboutTRH that his brother Pete was also approached by RHONJ producers at one point. “They did actually [contact] my brother,” he said. “They did, but my brother wouldn’t go against me, you know, and do that stuff like that, so they weren’t interested. …But you know, I guess when they approached Joe [Gorga], and Teresa’s side of the family, you know they were all gung-ho, you know what? I mean ready to go do whatever it took, you know, to make that extra buck.”

During a January 2025 interview with PIX11’s “New York Living,” Teresa Giudice said the break from her brother is “permanent” as “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” remains on hiatus for season 15.