Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice is opening up about the early years of her time on the series. Part of the massively successful Real Housewives franchise, RHONJ is one of the longest running series, currently airing its 13th season. Teresa has been a part of the cast since the very beginning and has stirred up her share of drama over the years, from flipping tables to serving time in prison. Though Teresa’s life is featured on RHONJ, she tends to keep to herself unless she’s truly been provoked.
Teresa has come a long way since fans first met her on the inaugural season of RHONJ. At the beginning of the series, Teresa was married to her now ex-husband Joe Giudice. The pair share four daughters. After some genuinely heartbreaking drama for the family, Teresa and Joe divorced in 2020 after a year of separation. Soon thereafter, Teresa was able to find love again with Luis Ruelas, who she married in 2022 after a whirlwind romance. Now, as one of the mainstays of RHONJ and the host of her own podcast, Namaste B$tches, Teresa shares her stories with the world in hopes that she can make an impact.
Teresa opens up about her RHONJ Season 1 salary
In a recent episode of her podcast that featured her RHONJ co-star Dolores Catania and her boyfriend Paulie Connell, Teresa got candid about the salary she was making early on during the filming of RHONJ. According to Teresa and Dolores, they were offered just $25,000 for the first season of the series. That’s small fry compared to what the stars of RHONJ make today. Teresa explained that she spent nearly all the money she earned on a single party, as cast members had to pay for major events where the show would be filming huge moments out of their own pockets in the early days.
Teresa shared, “When we started, we had to pay for everything. Sometimes you could get things here or there, like they give you a discount, or if they do it pro bono, then you advertise them or something like that – but nothing’s for free.”
Now, the Real Housewives franchise is a well-oiled machine with huge budgets for parties and events, but early on, things were a lot less stable for the series. According to Bravo, the average Real Housewives star earns $500,000 per season, though some earn upwards of $1 million. Teresa reportedly earns $1.1 million per season, earning her spot as one of the highest paid Real Housewives in the franchise.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK IS A FAIR AMOUNT TO PAY REAL HOUSEWIVES CAST PER SEASON? DOES THE SALARY SEEM FAIR FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE?
