The Shady Side Of Teresa Giudice And Louie Ruelas

The ladies of Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise are known for their dramatic and over-the-top personalities. They literally get paid to entertain — and they earn a fat check to have social lives interesting enough for millions of fans to tune in season after season. While many are entrepreneurs and business owners, Housewives are best known for their catfights and controversy. After all, would it really be reality television without the backstabbing, gossiping, and shade-throwing that is practically a part of the job description?

No one knows it better than "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast member Teresa Giudice. The Italian reality star has been a Jersey Housewife since the series' inaugural season premiered in 2009. While The Housewives of New Jersey are known for being outspoken, Giudice has a reputation for often being the loudest in the room. Fans have watched her go through major life moments on the show, including her prison sentence over tax fraud as well as her divorce from her ex-husband Joe. 

Giudice found love again with her current partner Louie Ruelas, whom she married in August 2022. Their relationship has played out in Season 13 of the "RHONJ," but not everybody has wished the newlyweds well. Ruelas has come under fire for several allegations from cast members who believe he is looking to expose their dirty laundry. In addition to accusations against Ruelas, fans have questioned Giudice for her tumultuous relationship with her own family members. We're breaking down all the tea — served piping hot. This is the shady side of Teresa Giudice and Louie Ruelas.

Teresa Giudice's storyline on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" centers around her tumultuous relationship with her brother Joe Gorga and his wife Melissa. She's even capitalized on the estranged relationship in her official Season 13 tagline. "Blood may be thicker than water, but it's harder to clean when it spills," Giudice quips. Ever since Melissa debuted as a Housewife in Season 3, the tumultuous relationship between the three has been a point of contention. 

The drama started as early as 2011 when Giudice felt she wasn't as close to Joe after he married Melissa. Joe called his sister "garbage" in Season 3 and tensions only increased in subsequent years. Giudice has referred to her sister-in-law as a gold-digger and alleged she cheated on her husband in 2012. The drama seemingly died down after Teresa and her former husband Joe Giudice were sentenced to prison in 2014. The Gorgas took in Teresa and Joe's daughters while Teresa served her sentence.

After over a decade of tension, the controversy came to a head in 2022. The Gorgas revealed to Us Weekly that they are no longer on speaking terms with Teresa, and skipped her wedding to Louie Ruelas. The decision came after they say Teresa spread yet another rumor during Season 13 that Melissa cheated on Joe Gorga (which she denies.) As for Teresa, she told Bravo ahead of the Season 13 reunion, "I just want to close this chapter, and I wish them well. I just want to be happy."

The buzz around the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" Season 13 finale and the three-part reunion series had a lot to do with Louie Ruelas. As seen in the finale episode (per Entertainment Tonight), a derailed cock-tail party led to a screaming match in which Ruelas made some shocking claims. "Bo Dietl knows s**t about everybody in this room," he yelled during the party, referencing a former NYPD detective who now works as a private investigator. Dietl has since denied the claims, telling Entertainment Tonight, "I'm not part of this 'Housewives' stuff," adding, "It was all bologna and it never happened."

Deitl or no Deitl, New Jersey Housewives Margaret Josephs and Rachel Fuda say they were both contacted by Duelas' alleged private investigators. In the Season 13 Part 2 Reunion episode (per North Jersey.com) they both claimed that their family members received calls from supposed detectives. Fuda alleged that her stepson (who she was in the process of adopting) was contacted, and Josephs said her child was threatened while at work with a phone call.

Amidst all the he-said-she-said, Ruelas revealed he lied about hiring a private investigator. On an episode of "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen" (per PageSix), he admitted, "Yeah, I was at the end of my rope. It was a long season. Frustrating you know, trying to get married," adding,  "...I regret it though."

Teresa Giudice may be a reality television star, but she isn't above the law. The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star was found guilty after she and her ex-husband Joe were hit with a 39-count indictment including charges of bank fraud, forged loan applications, and bankruptcy fraud. The pair originally entered a non-guilty plea but ultimately decided to plead guilty in March 2014. Teresa was sentenced to 15 months following the incident, though she was released in 2015 after 11 months. "...I don't honestly believe that you understand or respect the law. I need to send a message. In the eyes of the law, it doesn't matter who you are. There are consequences to pay," the judge told the Housewife at the time of her sentencing. As per Joe, the father of four was sentenced to 41 months in prison. He finished his sentence in three years and was immediately deported back to Italy in 2019. 

Teresa has said she had no idea of her former husband's fraud. The "RHONJ" star admitted that her celebrity status landed her a potentially harsher sentence. "I got used as an example. What's the saying? The good comes with the bad. Meaning, like, because I was on TV — if I was just a regular housewife, I probably wouldn't have went [sic] to jail," she said on "Bravo's Most Golden Moments Power Hour: Presented by Lay's" panel (per People.) Teresa also revealed that her husband tried to plead her innocence, albeit unsuccessfully, telling her, "Damn, they want you more than they want me!"

In addition to claims from "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast members that Louie Ruelas was snooping, his former fiancée Vanessa Reiser filed a restraining order against him. According to court documents obtained by PageSix, the motion came in June 2023 after she says one of her female patients began to ask intrusive questions about her and Ruelas's former relationship. Reiser works as a licensed therapist in New Jersey, specializing in narcissistic abuse. She began to suspect something was amiss after the patient, under a false name, began to ask questions like, "Do you still love Luis?" and "How was it with your abuser?"

Reiser dated Ruelas from 2018 to 2020 and later sued him following their split. "He demanded that I be available for sex whenever he wanted," Reiser said in the suit (which was later settled), according to the court documents. Reiser filed a lawsuit against the fake patient after she failed to make a payment for her sessions. Her attorney Douglas Anton was able to track down the patient's real identity and placed her on a list of individuals working for private investigator Bo Dietl. 

Anton told PageSix that he is unable to confirm that Ruelas hired the woman. "Right now [Reiser is] concerned that it was [Ruelas behind the woman's visits] – and again I'm going by the questions – he is unhappy in his current situation and wanted to see if Vanessa would ever pay him the time of day," he admitted.

Teresa Giudice is a lot of things — but a table-flipping Housewife is one that certainly stands out. The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star made franchise history as the only woman to ever get so angry that she went hulk-mode on a dinner setting. It all went down in Season 1 of the hit series when Giudice ended up in a fit of rage after she got into an argument with former Housewife Danielle Staub. "She was going after my girlfriend, so I had to stick up for my girlfriend," Giudice said on The Drew Barrymore Show. In this clip of the iconic moment, Straub is attempting to clear up rumors about her when she angrily tells Giudice to "Pay attention, please!" Giudice then goes on a screaming rant, claiming Staub was allegedly engaged 19 times and calling her a prostitute before flipping the table.

It's been over a decade since the incident, but it is still one of the most infamous moments in the Housewives franchise history.  Giudice looks back on the moment with a good sense of humor — like when she taught Drew Barrymore how to flip a table correctly in 2023. Season 13 showed the mother of four in a different light — preaching peace. She's even got her "Namaste B**ches" podcast to prove it. "I'm trying to work on myself, cause everyone thinks I'm this mean person from being on the show — I'm so not," she said on The Drew Barrymore Show.

It's not only flipping tables that Teresa Giudice is known for. The "RHONJ" star got heated during Season 10, and it ended with her throwing water at production. The incident began when back-and-forth chatter between the Housewives exposed Giudice. At the base of the matter were former Housewives Danielle Staub and Margaret Josephs, who had an ongoing feud together as cast mates. After years of tension, an explosive argument between the two ended with Josephs throwing a drink at Staub and Staub pulling Josephs' hair.

During the Season 10 Finale episode, Melissa Gorga brought up the feud to reveal that Giudice had encouraged Staub to pull Josephs' hair. Gorga said that Staub was unsure whether to get physical, but Giudice allegedly told her at the time, "Do it." The mother of four is visibly uncomfortable after the incident was brought up, and says, "I feel bad. I hope they don't use this," referring to production. "They are gonna use it," Gorga said to her sister-in-law. Giudice proceeds to give the cameras her middle finger, throw her drink, and storm off while slamming over a table of cups in her anger. 

Viewers are rarely offered a glimpse of the blurred lines between cast members and crew. Vice President of Current Production at Bravo, Pamela Gimenez, revealed to The Daily Dish that she felt the scene exposing Teresa was necessary. "I think we needed to show the bigger picture in order for the message to be relayed correctly to Teresa," adding it was important to "hold her accountable." 

Louis Ruelas may be facing legal troubles with his ex-lover, but that's not the only bind the reality star is in. The businessman's company, Digital Media Solutions, was also sued for harassment in May 2023, per Us Weekly. The suit was brought by Juanita Williams, who says she received multiple telemarketing calls from DMS and Choice Health Insurance despite placing herself on a no-contact list. She aims to receive $1500 per each unsolicited call, claiming Ruelas' company gave Choice Health Insurance her number. Ruelas has been the co-founder and executive vice president of DMS since its founding in 2012. As per the official company website, the business is the "leading provider of technology-enabled digital performance advertising solutions connecting consumers and advertisers."

Ruelas also came under fire in Season 13 of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" for hiring — and ghosting — Housewife Dolores Catania's former stepson. In part two of the Season 13 Reunion episode (per PageSix), Catania's ex-husband Frank claimed his son Frankie was working for Ruelas when he closed down the business and failed to inform Frankie. "He didn't tell Frankie," Frank told Joe Gorga. "Frankie was reaching out and called me and said, 'Dad, what do I do? I've been calling Louie and he won't respond.'"

Frank also admitted on the episode that Season 13 brought an entirely different level of uncalled-for drama. "There have been such angry, angry arguments in this show, and it has never, ever gotten to the point it has gotten to right now. And the only thing different is Luis."

Fans had a lot to say after getting to know Louie Ruelas on Season 13 of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey." In Season 13 Episode 8, the rollercoaster of a relationship between Ruelas, his wife, and her brother and sister-in-law took a turn for the worse. The drama began after Ruelas attempted to initiate a peaceful conversation between Teresa Giudice, Joe Gorga, and his wife Melissa. At the time, Joe and Melissa were upset with Teresa for failing to invite Melissa's family members to her and Ruelas's wedding. As to be expected, the conversation was anything but productive — and ended in Teresa storming off.

In Season 13 Episode 14 (per Decider), tensions over the wedding grew further. The drama boiled over when Teresa and Ruelas were informed that the Gorgas would not be showing up to their wedding rehearsal dinner. Ruelas referred to his brother-in-law as an "animal," admitting to Teresa that "I would like to talk to your brother as much as I'd like to talk to a rat in the street." 

Fans were less than thrilled about Ruelas's character. "Luis is doing everything in his power to ensure [that] Joe Gorga can't attend his sister's wedding so Luis can "win" and isolate her from her sibling. Luis is a narcissist and everything is about his ego," one fan tweeted. "Am I the only one who's thinking Louie is the true villain here #RHONJ," another user wrote.

If there's one thing viewers have learned throughout the years of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" is to steer clear of Teresa Giudice when she's angry. The outspoken Italian has been known to throw things in her past, but it was Andy Cohen who bore the brunt of her anger during the Season 2 reunion episode that aired in 2010. The drama started when Danielle Staub and Giudice got into a heated argument that led to a screaming match. Staub walked away from her castmate after she felt Giudice was getting too close to her. Giudice, attempting to get her point across to Staub, pushed Cohen in her rage as collateral damage. 

On an episode of "Watch What Happens Live," Giudice discussed the incident with Cohen and admitted she didn't remember pushing Cohen back in his chair. Despite backlash from fans, Giudice admitted: "I don't regret anything I do." As per Cohen, the incident put him on the map. In the tell-all Housewives memoir "Not All Diamonds & Rosé" by Dave Quinn (via Reality Tea) he revealed, "I was in shock. I didn't see the footage until I saw the first cut of the supertease and I thought it was hysterical. I watched it twenty times. I couldn't believe it. That summer when it aired, I was in the Hamptons, and when I went back to the city, everybody on the street knew who I was." Since then, Cohen has played peacemaker during tense reunion tapings for over a decade.

Louie Ruelas found himself in hot water in 2022 after an alleged physical assault from his past came to light. The alleged incident, which took place in 2012, ended with Ruelas pushing his ex-wife Marissa DiMartino into a metal pole. According to police reports obtained by PageSix, after Ruelas dropped off the two children he shares with his ex-wife, the two got into a tense discussion about money. "The dispute became heated and culminated with [Ruelas] pushing [DiMartino] into a metal support pole in the garage," the court documents read. DiMartino ultimately decided not to press charges following the incident. It isn't the only time the two were involved in a police dispute. In 2010, before their divorce, Ruelas's ex-wife filed a separate police report over a "verbal dispute" between the two. She ended up not pressing charges against Reulas and no arrests were made in either incident.

Andy Cohen asked if there was any truth to Ruelas's checkered past during the Season 12 reunion episode (per E! News.) "We were basically in toxic relationships," Ruelas responded. "When you're in toxic relationships, it felt emotionally abusive to me, but I'm not gonna label it that way." He also denied the claims that he was sex-obsessed according to his ex partners. "Two incidents have come up recently, and those were arguments with my wife over my children when we were getting divorced," he added. "[I] basically had arguments with [my] wife, she walks into the house and calls the police. That's the extent of it."