Strange Things About Teresa Guidice And Luis Ruelas' Marriage

You're never more than a few minutes away from some explosive drama in the "Real Housewives" franchise. And it's fair to say that Teresa Guidice, one of the breakout stars of its New Jersey spinoff, has been responsible for more than her fair share.

Since first gracing the franchise in 2009, the reality TV star has (deep breath) filed for bankruptcy, been arrested, charged and found guilty of multiple fraud counts, spent 11 months in prison, gone into the world of competitive bodybuilding, lost both her parents, appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" and divorced her husband of 20 years, Joe Guidice.

Of course, more recently, it's her relationship with second husband Luis Ruelas that has kept Teresa in the headlines. Indeed, to the surprise of no one, the pair's romance has caused controversy from the get-go. From secret meetings and saboteurs to pizza disputes and pajamas, here's a look at 14 of the strangest things about their marriage.

In 2022, rumors began to emerge that Luis Ruelas had been physically abusive toward his ex-fiancee. In fact, he was alleged to have beaten her in front of their kids. And inevitably, the family and friends of his wife Teresa Guidice were keen to find out whether there was any substance to the stories.

Ruelas addressed them head-on during one particular episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," telling a group of various husbands (via People), "Let me let you in on a little secret: the girl you're referring to, I heard a rumor that she stabbed her husband with a butcher knife ... while I was dating her, [I heard] a rumor about it ... I didn't want to believe it ... I was stupid. I don't know man, I wasn't strong."

Giudice's brother Joe Gorga appeared skeptical of the defense but told the cameras that he'd stay quiet about any concerns for the sake of his sister who's apparently far more convinced of Ruelas' claims. He then warned his brother-in-law, "Listen, there's a lot of s*** coming out, but I said to my sister, 'Does he treat you right?' She says yes. But you f*** up, I'm gonna find out about that, trust me."

In 2022, a mysterious and slightly rambling video clip emerged of a pre-"Real Housewives" Luis Ruelas asking for his then-girlfriend's hand in marriage on a beach while surrounded by a bunch of shirtless guys described as his brothers. "I love you and I love our family together. I love our children," he began. "And I hope you receive this message well."

Ruelas then apologized to the unknown woman for making mistakes and withholding the truth before one of his 'brothers' asks how he plans to repent for his sins. The future reality TV star replies, "I'm going to propose to you and get married. If that's okay with you." It's all very strange and for many viewers somewhat creepy. But the woman who Ruelas did end up walking down the aisle with didn't see the fuss.

While appearing on "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen, Teresa Guidice was asked about the bizarre clip which was rumored to have been leaked by the ex Ruelas was proposing to. She responded (Via ET), "If I don't care about it, no one else should care. That's it. He's dating me, not everyone else ... He's engaged to Teresa Giudice, yes!"

Just when you thought all the murky stories about Luis Ruelas' past had surfaced, another one came along in 2023. This time around, it concerned Vanessa Reiser, the ex-fiancee who filed a restraining order against the reality TV star after accusing him of stalking.

Reiser alleges that Ruelas appointed a private investigator to spy on her by posing as one of her therapy patients. According to MailOnline, questions such as "Do you still love Luis?" and "If [Ruelas] were to leave his wife and show any regret ... would you want to be with him?" were regular questions posed by the individual in question, raising Reiser's suspicions. The therapist had previously filed a lawsuit against Reiser for his behavior whenever she turned down his sexual demands.

Teresa Giudice, however, doesn't appear to be too concerned about such allegations. Speaking to Page Six, her attorney James Leonard Jr. said, "Teresa's primary concern in life is the safety and sanctity of her family. She has an amazing relationship with Louie's ex-wife, who is the mother of his children, just like Joe Giudice and Louie have an amazing relationship. That tells you everything you need to know. Ex-wives and ex-husbands matter, ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends stop mattering in high school."

In the final episode of the 13th season of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Luis Ruelas made a startling admission. He'd hired a private investigator to gather information about the rest of his and wife Teresa Guidice's reality TV castmates. But the plot thickened further during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" when Ruelas claimed that such talk was just a moment of madness.

When asked about why he'd make up such a lie by host Andy Cohen, Ruelas replied, "I was at the end of my rope. It was a long season. Frustrating, you know, trying to get married." Before he agreed with the host that it was an "amazing thing to come up with out of nowhere," Guidice chimed in to give her two cents' worth.

The star said, "Why would he waste his money? He did say it because he was frustrated. Did you see what they were putting him through? Do you know how much that would cost? How many people are on the cast to investigate each person? Do you think we'd want to waste our money on that? No. I'd rather him waste his money on me."

Having watched her 20-year marriage to Joe Guidice go sour, you might have expected Teresa Guidice to be a little more cautious when it came to getting wed for a second time. But during a 2022 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live," the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star revealed that she hadn't signed a prenup before walking down the aisle with Luis Ruelas.

Teresa told host Andy Cohen (via Us Weekly) that her husband would actually be the biggest loser if the pair ever had to share their finances right down the middle: "No. I mean, I would, you know, if he said so. I'm so very easy about that. He definitely has more than me. I would never take anything from him, I'm so not like that."

While guesting on a different episode of the Bravo talk show later that same year, Teresa was booed by the audience after claiming that her belief in true love deterred her from signing the kind of paperwork that she did for her first marriage. Leaping to her defense, Cohen reminded the baying mob that this was simply a personal decision.

You would expect that someone who has an aversion to the spotlight would avoid going anywhere near a member of the most dramatic reality TV franchise ever. But apparently, Luis Ruelas, a man often accused of marrying "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Guidice for the fame, doesn't enjoy being the center of attention.

During an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2022, Guidice claimed that the rumors about her future husband couldn't be further from the truth. She said (via ET), "You can't help who you fall in love with, unfortunately, and I'm grateful that he was supportive of what I do because I know a lot of the Housewives that are single — and I hear from them — as soon as they meet a guy and they hear that they're on a reality show, they don't want nothing to do with it. And they're like, 'All right, see you! Nice knowing you! See you!' It's hard."

Luckily, the publicity-shy Ruelas just happened to take to the "Real Housewives" cameras like a duck to water. Referring to his TV debut, Giudice gushed, "He's so smart, he's so well-spoken. So I think he did phenomenal. He was nervous, of course, but I think not even trying to be a natural, he is. I'm like, 'Babe, you're so good.'"

Luis Ruelas chose a novel way of trying to smooth things over with his brother-in-law. Indeed, in a 2023 episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Teresa Giudice's second husband told Joe Gorga that he regularly wore pajamas once owned by his late father.

"I'm a good man," Ruelas began his charm offensive. "I live with your four nieces; I wear your father's pajamas at night to make them feel safe and loving. Do you know that?" As you would expect, Gorga was taken aback by this out-of-nowhere admission. His wife Melissa also later revealed that she got the chills as Ruelas and her father-in-law had never even met.

It was a view shared by co-star Margaret Josephs who said in an aftershow clip, "It's one thing if your children want to wear the shirt, the sweatshirt of the grandparents, but someone who didn't know Nonno is wearing his pajamas? It's a little Twilight Zone-y strange." As ever, Giudice was quick to defend her husband, claiming, "It was brand-new pajamas that my dad did not wear. So that was it."

Almost making Will and Jada Pinkett Smith look tight-lipped, Teresa Guidice and Luis Ruelas have been more than happy to share the ins and outs of their early marriage. And no doubt much to the horror of their respective children, this includes intimate details about their sex life.

Indeed, the pair informed the press that they got under the covers five times a day — yes a day — during their honeymoon period, with Giudice claiming that any other newlyweds who don't have a similarly gargantuan libido are already in trouble. "If you don't do that, then that's not normal," the reality TV star told People. "That means you love the person you're with and want to be with ... I mean if not, then why be with that person?"

Even now they've settled back into everyday life, Guidice and Ruelas still somehow find the time to have sex three times daily, as the latter explained: "We live on six acres, big house, a lot of work that goes on. We'll fly past each other like ships in the night and be like, 'I'll see you tonight, I'm going to see all of you tonight. I'll meet up with you, I'll meet you later on.'"

Given the sheer amount of stories that have emerged about Luis Ruelas — from the allegations of physical violence against his ex-girlfriend to his bizarre shirtless proposal to the same woman — it's understandable that "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast was a little suspicious about his intentions toward Teresa Guidice. Unfortunately, the latter didn't exactly appreciate their concern.

After one particularly heated conversation about Ruelas in a 2022 episode of the reality TV franchise, Giudice told producers she believes the likes of Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider were deliberately trying to ruin her relationship. "They're not happy for us," she remarked (via People). "They want to sabotage us."

When told that Ruelas had become uncomfortable about being the topic of conversation, Giudice responded, "I told him not to come around if he feels like that. I told him like, 'You don't deserve this. You do not have to do anything.'" She later told the cameras, "Luis didn't sign up for this — to be antagonized, to be questioned. Anything. I'm in the public eye, not Luis. He's the love of my life. Like, I want to protect him."

Now you could look at this particular case as a commendable example of maturity from a man simply trying to ingratiate himself into his new extended family or a slightly controlling act that robbed his wife of any agency. Unsurprisingly, Teresa Giudice saw it as the latter.

While appearing on the "Whine Down" podcast, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star revealed that her second husband Luis Ruelas had once arranged a family get-together with her first, Joe Giudice, behind her back. She explained, "When he set it up, the dinner with my ex, he DM'ed him and I didn't even know about it. We were going to the Bahamas to pick up my youngest [child] ... and he DM'ed him. I'm like 'What?! What did you do?'"

Giudice admitted that she was initially apprehensive about this news, adding, "I'm freaking out. I'm like, 'You DMed my ex — for what?' And he's like, 'We're gonna have dinner with him.'" But she eventually decided that the move was an altruistic one: "He's like, 'Babe, don't you understand? I want to be good with Joe 'cause it'll make the girls feel comfortable.' I'm just saying, he's a gem. He really is."

You might think that Luis Ruelas could have put all the usual reality TV dramatics to one side on the day he walked down the aisle with Teresa Giudice. But "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast appear to be allergic to normal behavior and so on the morning of his wedding, the groom couldn't resist exploding with anger over some social media posts.

Ruelas became enraged after spotting that Guidice's brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law Melissa, both of whom had decided against showing up for the nuptials, had uploaded several antagonizing messages on social media. He barked (via MailOnline), "If these people put one more message on Instagram I swear to God, I'm going to f***ing bury them so bad. Oh my God, it's so f***ing maddening."

"Not coming to this wedding is really f***ed up," Ruelas continued. "And like him to be doing what he's doing, it's like f***ing crazy, man." Still, at least he managed to keep quiet to his oblivious bride-to-be as later explained in a confessional: "Joe and Melissa's behavior is disgusting but I'm not going to tell Teresa. Because she deserves to feel important. She deserves to have her day."

Another row between Joe Gorga and Luis Ruelas (and therefore also Teresa Guidice) began in 2022. And this time it was over the idea to start a pizza parlor. According to Gorga, he and sister Guidice had planned to open up Nonna's Pizza in honor of their late dad Giacanto who'd died two years earlier.

Explaining the concept on an episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Gorga claimed that after putting a significant amount of money in, Ruelas then essentially stole the idea for a restaurant rebranded Skinny Pizza. "When I find out, I call him and then Louie starts giving me some lip," he said (via People). "My sister, out of nowhere goes, 'Did you put the f***ing money up?' I go, 'What? You think I couldn't put $200,000 up?' I go, 'It was my f***ing idea!'"

Of course, Guidice gave a completely different version of events. She said, "My brother came up with this idea for this pizza oven, he was like, 'I want to do it with my sister,' and Louie was like, 'OK.' He put out 250K, but then he spoke to our attorney and was like, 'OK, what percentage should I give Joey?' And they came up with 5%, and my brother went nuts. He wanted 50 percent." In the end, neither Nonna's Pizza nor Skinny Pizza ever got off the ground, and according to Guidice, Ruelas lost $250,000 as a result.

Even the simple act of giving Christmas presents is never straightforward in the Luis Ruelas and Teresa Guidice household. In 2022, the former appeared to make his eldest stepdaughter's holidays with the gift of a Cartier bracelet. "I'm so, so in love with it and so grateful," Gia Giudice told her followers in a since-deleted Instagram video (via In Touch).

But several eagle-eyed individuals suggested that Luis may have either tried to pull the wool over Gia's eyes or been conned. One remarked, "I'm not Cartier expert. But I do know she's holding a Love Bracelet box, you can see the slot for the screw. So I don't know why there's a Juste Un Clou [bracelet] in it. I won't make any inferences beyond that because I don't know them but I've personally never seen Cartier make a mistake like that."

Another said, "Wondering why these girls wouldn't Google the real product before posting. It's obviously different. I [don't know why] that crossed my mind when I saw her post, but I knew this was the case." The furor was enough for Luis to get his lawyer involved in a statement given to Page Six, which argued that such claims weren't exactly in the festive spirit.

Turns out that Luis Ruelas might have known a little more about his wife Teresa Giudice than he first let on. On the podcast "Two Ts In A Pod," Tamra Judge revealed that during a meeting at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in 2022, the reality TV star appeared to be clued up on everything about the "Real Housewives" franchise, a statement backed up by a castmate.

Judge said "Shannon [Beador] told me that she met him at BravoCon and he's clearly a fan. He knew everything about her. Went down, 'How's this, this, this, this, this.' And I'd be like, 'Oh wow that's — that's interesting.' I mean, I'm not going to get mad because he's a fan because we love our fans but weird, kinda weird."

While appearing on the "Real Housewives of New Jersey After Show," Giudice acknowledged the fact that her husband's sibling Jennifer Ruelas was also a longtime fan: "... She came to one of my book signings a long time ago, so when Louie met me, he called Jennifer, because he's closest to Jennifer, and he said 'Guess who I met? Teresa Giudice.' And then Jennifer was like 'What?' You know, and she was like 'She's going to take care.' She said 'If you need to be with a girl, that's — she's the girl to be with."