RHONJ’s Lauren Manzo Responds After Lexi Ioannou Says She “Failed” to Help Retrieve Her Belongings From Former Stepdad’s Garage Sale

Lauren Manzo is reacting to Lexi Ioannou‘s tell-all interview with Gia Giudice.

Hours after Lexi, 29, appeared on Gia’s podcast, Casual Chaos, where she claimed that Lauren “failed” her by not doing more to retrieve her childhood heirlooms from her stepfather, Tommy Manzo, the 37-year-old Real Housewives of New Jersey alum took to her TikTok account, where she responded to a fan calling her out for not having Lexi’s back.

“Why wouldn’t you go get [Lexi’s] things from the garage sale you and your brothers and your mom wow family is everything right,” the person had written on May 27, also signaling Caroline Manzo, 63, and Lauren’s brothers, Albie Manzo, 39, and Chris Manzo, 36.

“Because I don’t have access to them. I do not have a relationship with my uncle and I was told I was not allowed to access to the house,” Lauren replied. “I went myself to the garage sale and tried to get her things back and I was kicked out. I was on private property that wasn’t my [uncle’s] house. I could not break into the home to get her things. I tried everything.”

In other screenshots captured by a Reddit user, Lauren added, “Was I supposed to break in? I was literally kicked out of a garage sale trying to get things back.  So sick of people speaking on things they don’t know.”

Lauren also insisted she “didn’t ignore” Lexi, adding, “I have texts to prove it.”

On Gia’s podcast on Monday, Lexi said that while Lauren texted her about the garage sale, she didn’t initially want to go.

“She’s like, ‘I’m gonna send some of my friends,’ and I called her. I was like, ‘No, you’re gonna go and you’re gonna now,’ because at that point the sale was almost over,” Lexi recalled.

Ultimately, Lauren and Caroline attended the sale, as did Lexi’s dad and a friend of her mom, Dina Manzo, 53.

“I saw things like the dollhouse that my grandmother made me that was in my room growing up, these are like irreplaceable heirlooms that have no value to anyone else … I was looking for a piece of myself to have back, and people were just protecting the things in that house, protecting Tommy,” Lexi explained. “I would ask them to make phone calls to people, and they wouldn’t make them … I like to think they care. They’re my family. But I think they care about themselves more and keeping their own peace more than fighting for mine.”

“I’m sure if you asked them, they did everything to their best ability, but if you ask me, it wasn’t nearly enough … From my eyes, they failed me,” she added.