After years of denying that she turned Teresa Giudice and her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, to the FBI for their legal woes, Caroline Manzo is adding a new layer to the controversy.
“I know who did. P.S., I was there,” the Real Housewives of New Jersey alum, 61, said at Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast taping at The Loft in New York City on Thursday, May 18, before she and daughter Lauren Manzo revealed they would never out that person.
Teresa, 51, and Joe, 50, were indicted on multiple counts of tax fraud in 2013. The Standing Strong author and the Italy native — who share four daughters — both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 11 months and three years in prison, respectively. After Joe’s release in March 2019, he was deported to Italy and the pair ultimately split. Their divorce was finalized in September 2020.
Teresa — who has since moved on with Luis “Louie” Ruelas, whom she wed in August 2022 — had suggested at the time that she thought Caroline was the person who initially turned her into the feds.
“It’s just so sad, I guess because she’s lived that crooked life,” the Dancing With the Stars alum said during a 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen after Caroline predicted the pair would end up behind bars. “Like, I’ve never lived that crooked life and I guess she has and who she comes from, and where she came from.”
She continued: “How could she predict that? Could she have anything to do with what happened to Joe and I? Is she a rat?”
Caroline also spoke to Us Weekly at the time, where she weighed in about the status of Teresa and Joe’s marriage amid his deportation.
“I think that if there are people that get joy in [the relationship drama], shame on you,” the Manzo’d with Children alum — who left RHONJ after 2013’s season 5 — exclusively told Us in November 2019. “There are four beautiful, beautiful babies [whose] lives [are] forever changed because of that and you can’t discount and dismiss that. … Joe belongs home with his girls. If the marriage is broken, the marriage is broken. That doesn’t make them any less of a person. It means s–t happens, you know?”
Caroline did ultimately shoulder the blame for turning the Guidices in, telling Page Six on Thursday that she wanted to “protect” the individuals who “didn’t deserve the collateral damage.”
The “Food, Love and Chaos” podcast host added: “It’s not even about being a rat. There’s this thing called collateral damage. So, when you say something, who’s going to hurt? Who is this going to hurt by saying this truth? You can believe whatever you like about me. I know I never did — I could never do that. But if blaming me makes you feel better, OK, then your reality. It’s not going to change my day.”
