Caroline Manzo is looking back at her time on The Real Housewives of New Jersey as she opens up about her fallout with Teresa Giudice.
Manzo began to reveal where she stood with Teresa prior to filming season one of RHONJ. “I knew her very, very casually,” Caroline said on Life After Bravo special, according to a report by Reality Blurb.
But Caroline claims things between the two became tense once it “became a competition” for Teresa and once Teresa began accusing her of being a bully.
“I’m not a bully. I’m telling you what you need to hear. I’m trying to help you,” she explained. “Teresa loved to say, ‘Oh Caroline, you’re old.’ Yeah, I am. I’m not dead. With that age comes a sort of knowledge. I’m not bullying you. I’m trying to be a big sister to a degree. It was taken completely the wrong way.”
Manzo and Guidice reunited when they filmed a Super Bowl commercial for Sabra Hummus, which aired in 2020.
“I made it a point to reach out prior to filming so we could go and put our best foot forward because this is an amazing opportunity,” Caroline recalled.
Caroline claimed she asked Teresa over the phone, “What did I ever do to you? Can you tell me what I ever did to you?’”
“[And she said], ‘Well, you didn’t have my back with [Melissa Gorga],’” Caroline explained.
Manzo shared she doesn’t understand why the two are still at odds since Giudice and Melissa are closer than ever. “She’s very close with Melissa now so why do you still have beef? Why are you still so angry? Why are you still holding that grudge?” Caroline wondered.
Carline also revealed why she decided to quit the show after five seasons. She said she knew it was time to leave when “the burden became too heavy in my personal life.”
“You can’t work with something that doesn’t reflect your beliefs and the show became something that just didn’t reflect my beliefs of who I was as a person,” she said on Life After Bravo special, according to a report by Reality Blurb. “It’s not about the money. It’s not about the fame. It’s about your moral compass and how you live.”
Manzo, however, admits she has no regrets about doing the show. “It completely changed our world,” she admitted. “I often wonder where my kids would be,” she continued. “I think [Lauren Manzo] would be very much on the same track. She always had a passion for hair and makeup. She’s really good at selling, at marketing and all that. She’s doing very well for herself and she’s very happy.”
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal