Entertainment

What Other 'Housewives' Are Saying About Teresa

by Lindsay Mannering

When Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Joe Giudice and Teresa Giudice were indicted with 39 counts of fraud, Bravo fans the nation over were as surprised as much as they weren't. Like, of course these idiots were involved in some shady business, but even though the charges of bank fraud and mortgage fraud added up pretty nicely to anyone who's watched Teresa brag about all her money, then pretend not to have any once April 15 rolls around, it was still mildly startling slash mildly reassuring to hear that she faces up to 30 years in prison. No one was more taken aback by the news, though, than her fellow Housewives. Some cast members have spoken up about the ordeal and, as expected, their comments range from sympathy to mercilessness. (Go get 'er, Bethenny!)

On Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live Sunday, fellow Jersey Housewife Caroline Manzo stayed neutral on the topic, which, let's be clear, is an absolute first. The so-called matriarch of the cast gets involved in everything, everything, and now that there's the biggest scandal ever, she stays quiet? Such a bummer. Even though we kind of loathe Caroline and her self-righteousness, we would've loved to hear her say something along the lines of "told ya so". Instead, all she could muster was:

I can’t even wrap my head around it. I think for me, and the Manzo family, our position is just going to be, stay quiet, because it is just too big and too serious for the peanut gallery.

Couldn't disagree more with that stance, but ... moving on.

Naturally, dumped Real Housewives of New York cast member Jill Zarin took the Giudice indictment as an opportunity to get her name in the press. The Housewife who just won't go away told People:

I feel really bad because I really like Teresa. She is a sweet girl and a good mother. I only want the best for her and her family. I want Teresa to know I'm there for her. I feel like [we're] Housewives and that we should all support each other in times of need like this.

Um, gross. Jill's statement just goes to show that she'll hitch a ride on any shooting star, no matter if that star's headed to prison for serious, federal crimes.

Real Housewife of Miami star Lea Black took to Twitter to show her support for Teresa. Er, mostly her support. She wrote: "Sending strength @Teresa_Giudice asking everyone to support you and your family and not pile on – love to your girls and sending blessings.” Aw, how nice. But when Lea got some push back from followers on her blind support for someone who probably deserves what they have coming, she recoiled a bit, and tweeted:

Frankly, we've been thinking of/worried about the kids for years, and clearly, Gia's the brains of the operation and has been just biding her time until she can take over the whole brood. And yeah, the younger girls will be 100 percent better in her hands, and her hands only.

Now, onto the realness. Thank god for Bethenny Frankel (in this situation, anyway.) Sure, she may have lied about that whole lost-at-sea episode and yeah, she's super annoying on that talk show of hers, but she's the only one who's really saying what we're all thinking about the Giudices. During a press tour promoting said awful talk show, she said:

Do I feel sorry for them? No, I don't. Not so much, because it broke the law. You broke the law and you went on television. That's not really that smart. My first thought today was, 'Oh, if they weren't on reality TV, none of this would probably ever be exposed.' And it's just funny how certain people are [like a] moth to a flame. It's almost like — not that you want to get caught — but people who love to be in the spotlight often have a lot of skeletons in their closet.

"Not really that smart" sums up the Giudices pretty nicely, don't you think?

Dina Manzo, who's been a Teresa sympathizer for years, hasn't said anything ... but she did post this picture a few days ago of her daughter Lex with three of the four Giudices girls. Gia is conveniently missing from the shot, obviously because she's busy meeting with lawyers and filing for emancipation and adoption rights.

And Jacqueline Laurita, Teresa's former best friend and current nemesis, has so far taken the high road. That said, we know that some backhanded vitriol can't be too far behind. She'll definitely release it at the reunion, right?

So far, no other Jersey cast members, including Teresa's brother Joe Gorga, his wife Melissa, and Teresa's cousin Kathy Wakile, have said a peep. They've remained closed-lipped, and closed-Twittered, on the subject. In fact, they're tweeting as if nothing is wrong. But hey, maybe denial runs deep in the Gorga bloodline. After all, Teresa just shared this on Instagram:

Nothing like a relaxing day at the shore to forget that you could be locked up behind bars for the better part of a decade.

There's good news, though. We'll hopefully get to hear all the Jersey Housewives' opinions when they tape the Season 5 reunion. In Touch reports that yep, Teresa will be there (but Bravo has yet to confirm).