The Definitive Guide to Teresa Giudice's Never-Ending Family Drama

As seen on The Real Housewives of New Jersey for the past eight seasons and counting...

By Billy Nilles Nov 07, 2018 6:30 PMTags
Watch: Melissa Gorga Teases "RHONJ" Season 9 With New Ladies

Where Teresa Giudice goes, family drama seems to inevitably follow.

During her tenure on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, heading into its ninth season tonight, the Bravolebrity has spent a good chunk of that time embroiled in feuds that cut deeper than your usual Real Housewives spat because they tend to involve her blood relatives (or those who've married into the family). And this new season looks to be no different. 

While sister-in-law Melissa Gorga has assured E! News that the fighting between the two this season won't be "knock-down, drag-out fights," the trailer for season nine does show the two going at it. "I really don't know if you're ever really gonna like, love me like your real sister," Melissa tells her at one point. So much for those past few seasons of relative peace. 

It's with that in mind that we present to you the definitive guide to Tre's family drama. After all, there's a lot of history here. Someone's got to keep track of it all. You're welcome.

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Season One

Since day one, RHONJ has always been about the family drama. Only, as we were getting to know Tre, hubby Joe Giudice and their three daughters (their fourth Audriana wouldn't enter the world until later that year, with her birth depicted in season two), the family drama was contained to co-star sisters Caroline and Dina Manzo and their sister-in-law Jacqueline Laurita and their messy relationship with Danielle Staub. This brief inaugural season did introduce us, however, to Tre's legendary temper courtesy of the infamous table flip heard ‘round the world. It was in that moment that all Bravoholics realized that Tre just might be the real star of this thing.

Season Two

Again, in the show's second season, the drama was fairly contained to Danielle's attempts at pissing the Manzos off as much as possible, causing Dina to flee the series mid-season and Teresa to chase her through the country club at the Posche fashion show. And while they weren't part of the show yet, we got our first hint that all was not well in Tre's relationship with her family during the reunion special when Danielle accused her of failing to acknowledge her youngest nephew. It immediately touched a nerve, causing Tre to leap off the couch, shout "Do not bring up my family, you f—king b---h" in Danielle's face as host Andy Cohen tried to hold her back to no avail. Watching the face of Bravo flung like a rag doll as Tre Hulk-ed out might've been the only somewhat amusing moment in that otherwise dark exchange.

Season Three

When Melissa and Tre's cousin Kathy Wakile were added to the cast to replace Dina and the similarly outgoing Danielle, we quickly learned just how tense family relations were. In the premiere, during a Christening held for Melissa and Joe's son Joey—aka the one that Danielle accused Tre of not acknowledging—a brawl broke out when Joe refused to accept his sister's congratulations. As the season devolved into a Melissa and Kathy vs. Tre thing, with Teresa increasingly attempting to keep Caroline and Jacqueline on her side, we learned that this petty feud between sisters-in-law included hurt feelings over a strangely worded card (Melissa's to Tre on their "re-done" house) and cookies (Melissa's sprinkle cookies, which Tre threw in the trash and told her to never bring to her house on Christmas again).  A trip to Punta Cana saw Tre and Kathy come to blows on the beach and by the reunion, Jacqueline was nowhere to be found and Caroline had firmly switched teams, leaving Tre to twist in the wind on her own.

Season Four

The feuding spilled over into season four thanks to Tre's digs at her family in her second cookbook Fabulicious. And when she called Melissa a "gold digger" while talking to her brother, she was left stunned when word got back to her sister-in-law and she wasn't pleased. (Tre's confusion over a husband telling his wife something that was said about her was an, um, interesting moment.) While Tre was public enemy No. 1 with the ladies all season, she also found herself in a strange situation during a group trip to Napa saw her hubby Joe refer to her as his "b---h wife" during a phone call that was never really explained. By the end of the season, despite an apparent detente, Melissa and Tre were on opposing sides yet again when Posche owner Kim D. brought around some lackey to drum up a rumor that Melissa used to work for him as a dancer at his gentlemen's club and Tre did nothing to stop it.

Season Five

Years of hostility between Tre, Melissa and Kathy came to a head during a trip to Lake George when Melissa got down on her knees to beg Teresa to stop hurting her brother, Joe Gorga called his sister "scum," and Joe Giudice retaliated by attacking his brother-in-law in a brawl that still leaves a bitter taste in our mouth every time we think about it. Some things just don't belong on TV and this family completely in tatters is one of them. But then something wild happened and all parties agreed to some family therapy that seemed to finally help cool all these rash tempers. At the same time, legal trouble began swirling around Teresa and Joe. While these episodes were airing, the Giudices were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications, and bankruptcy fraud in a 39-count indictment. They would plead not guilty in federal court on August 14, 2013. And suddenly, all the pettiness of the past few years seemed incredibly small when compared to what the future held for these two.

Season Six

With the threat of jail time looming over everyone's heads, though especially Tre, Joe and their children, family squabbles were set aside in favor of new cast drama. Caroline was out, while Kathy and Jacqueline only made guest appearances. And as Tre faced down attempts at engaging her in some sort of fireworks from newcomers Teresa Aprea, Nicole Napolitano, and Amber Marchese, she had bigger fish to fry. And at her side throughout the season was Melissa and her brother Joe. It was truly a new day in Jersey.

Season Seven

After a two-year hiatus during which Teresa completed her 15-month sentence at Danbury Federal Correction, the show returned with Jacqueline back in the mix alongside new cast members Siggy Flicker and Dolores Catania. As we watched Teresa slowly re-adjust to life at home, she has to rebuild her relationship with Melissa, who she didn't allow to visit her while she was away. Surprisingly, it wasn't hard for the two to get back on track, especially when they found themselves with a common foe in Jacqueline. During a sit-down with Kathy and her sister Rosie Pierri, however, Tre had no desire to move forward and told them she was "cutting the cancer" out of her life. Harsh. As hubby Joe Giudice had to surrender for his 41-month sentence, Tre leaned on her brother like never before. And by the end of the season, she and Melissa were a united front, while their relationship with Jacqueline was non-existent.

Season Eight

With Joe Giudice still away and the death of their mother Antonia still fresh, season eight began with Tre and Joe leaning on each other, eventually going into business with one another, opening a family restaurant in honor of their beloved father Giacinto. The restaurant brought a little tension back into Tre and Melissa's relationship, especially since Joe Gorga didn't exactly consult his wife before buying the place and she didn't really feel like working there. They quickly closed ranks, however, when Siggy and Dolores became a common enemy after consorting with Kim D., who'd begun spreading rumors that Tre was cheating on Joe while he was away. 

What does season nine hold in store for Teresa? With the promise of more fights between her and Melissa and a newcomer, Jackie Goldschneider, whom she accuses of coming between her and her family—not to mention the looming threat of Joe Giudice's deportation—the easy answer is: plenty. Stay tuned!

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)