Teresa Giudice is shedding more light on the moment that changed everything in her long-fraught relationship with brother Joe Gorga.
In a new clip from the “Undressed with Pol’ and Patrik” podcast — shared exclusively with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” — the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star opens up about how her eldest daughter, Gia Giudice, and their joint appearance on “Special Forces” sparked the long-awaited peace.
Giudice begins by shooting down chatter that the family’s surprising BravoCon 2025 reunion was orchestrated for publicity.
“We reunited way before BravoCon,” she tells hosts and celebrity designers Pol’ Atteu and Patrik Simpson. “I think it’s been, like, over a month or something. I can give you the exact date if I look at my phone, but it’s been a minute.
“Some people were saying, ‘Oh, it shouldn’t be done for the press.’ It wasn’t done for the press. It was done for us. And anyone that knows me knows the truth. I wouldn’t be doing it for press or TV.”
According to Teresa, the thaw between her and Joe began quietly — well before they surprised fans with a warm, public greeting on the BravoCon carpet, where Melissa Gorga also joined in the family moment that broke the internet.
While the reunion was emotional for everyone, it was especially meaningful for Gia, who had spent years navigating the fallout of her mother’s rift with her uncle.
“Gia, she’s so happy,” Teresa shares in the sneak peek. “My brother’s her godfather and they were really close and she even said, ‘I got my best friend back.’ She adored my brother.”
But Gia wasn’t just happy about the reconciliation — she unknowingly helped inspire it.
Teresa explains that, before filming the latest season of “Special Forces” together, she and Gia spent a few days in Marrakech. Those quiet moments became unexpectedly clarifying.
“And how it started, I went to ‘Special Forces’ and Gia was telling me … we had a few days before in Marrakech. She was like, ‘Mom, let the past go’ — with her dad [my ex-husband, Joe Giudice]. She was referring to her dad. Because I have a lot of resentment there. She was like, ‘Let the past go.’”
That conversation lingered. Teresa says that hearing her daughter encourage forgiveness pushed her to look at her own unresolved resentments — and whether she was living up to the example she wanted to set.
“As she was saying that to me … as a mom, you’re always wanting to teach your kids things in life and be a good example,” she continues.
“So as I’m thinking, I go, ‘I think I’m gonna let things go with my brother.’ I didn’t tell her then, but the milling, right before the milling, that’s why I [dropped] out is because I wanted to show her … first of all, I could never see her fight because then I would have jumped in. And then I didn’t want her to see me fight.”
The decision to withdraw from the challenge wasn’t about weakness — it was about choosing peace.
“And also, I wanted to show her I was done with the fighting,” Teresa adds. “That part, I wouldn’t have been able to handle well watching her get hit at all.”
While she exited early, Teresa says the experience was transformative — and witnessing Gia ultimately win this season of “Special Forces” made it all worth it.
“I’m so happy I got to do it,” she says. “And I’m so happy I got to do it with Gia.”
Their healing journey ultimately led to the family’s BravoCon reunion — one rooted not in TV drama, but in a mother choosing to model forgiveness, and a daughter encouraging her to lead with love.
Teresa’s full “Undressed with Pol’ and Patrik” podcast episode drops Wednesday at midnight.
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