Joe Giudice Reveals Teresa Giudice’s Season 1 RHONJ Salary

Teresa Giudice’s ex-husband, Joe Giudice, is opening up about their family’s early days on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Joe appeared on Monday’s Aug. 18 installment of his daughter Gia Giudice’s Casual Chaos podcast and detailed how Teresa came to join the series. The former couple share four daughters: Gia, Gabriella, Milania and Audriana.

He confessed the Real Housewives franchise was not as popular as it is today, considering only The Real Housewives of Orange County had debuted at that time. Teresa interviewed for a spot on RHONJ while their home was under construction and immediately captured producers’ attention, Joe recalled.

“They would not leave us alone,” he said. “They were calling every day for a year.”

By the time their home was complete, Teresa was filming for the show. Season 1 of RHONJ debuted on Bravo on May 12, 2009. (The show is currently on hiatus after season 14 wrapped in August 2024.)

Still, Joe admitted that Teresa being a cast member cost him more money than she was making with the series.

“Once we signed, it was kind of like a big blur after that,” he said. “I think the first year we had that big party in my great room. I think that show cost me $150,000 the first year.”

Gia, now 24, pointed out that while the show is about glitz and glam, stars typically don’t get paid lots of money in their first season. She added that it may cost more money to keep up the Housewives lifestyle than what a cast member makes when they first join the show.

“We got paid nothing the first season,” Joe said, agreeing with Gia’s take. “I’ll even say, it was like $25,000. It was ridiculous. But, whatever … ”

“You’re putting in more money than you’re actually getting out of it. Then obviously you grow and make your way and make your name…” the Next Gen NYC star added.

Teresa and Joe tied the knot in October 1999 and began showcasing the ups and downs of their family’s lives on reality television 10 years later. RHONJ also documented the now-exes’ legal issues, which began in July 2013 when they were indicted on federal fraud charges.

They pleaded guilty to mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud in October 2014. Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and Joe was given 41 months. Teresa was released in December 2015 after serving 11 months. Joe began his sentence in March 2016 and was released three years later. He was ordered to be deported to Italy, where he was born, as he never obtained American citizenship despite living in the United States since he was a child.

Joe recently asked President Donald Trump for a pardon, which would allow him to return to the U.S. to be with his and Teresa’s four daughters.

The two announced their separation in 2019, and their divorce was finalized in 2020, PEOPLE confirmed at the time. Teresa has since remarried Luis Ruelas. The pair celebrated their third wedding anniversary earlier this month.