It’s no secret that Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice has had her fair share of legal troubles that have affected her income. In fact, it's resulted in a loss of...pretty much all of it. Despite raking in the big bucks from her cookbooks, memoirs, and TV ventures, the 47-year-old Bravolebrity is millions of dollars in debt (yikes). But that doesn’t stop her from making those non-Jersey women jealous.
So what exactly is Teresa’s net worth?
Technically, Teresa’s net worth hovers around -$11 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Yep, you read that right—the reality TV star is a whopping $11 million in debt. Teresa and husband Joe filed for bankruptcy in 2009, but quickly rescinded.
Then, in 2013, they were found to have committed mail and wire fraud and also hid important assets in that initial bankruptcy case. Teresa went to prison for 15 months, and Joe served 41 months when his wife was released, per E! News.
Backing up a bit: Teresa made thousands from her public pain.
Before she went to prison, Teresa was a New York Times best-selling author. She co-authored four cookbooks of Italian recipes handed down by her mother: Skinny Italian, Fabulicious!: Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook, Fabulicious!: Fast & Fit, and Fabulicious: On The Grill.
When the 2013 legal proceedings took place, it was revealed that Teresa took home a fat paycheck from Skinny Italian—a $250,000 advance and $30,000 in royalties, according to Earn The Necklace.
Considering how much her literary debut was worth, Teresa likely made a killing off her post-prison memoir, Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again. The sales aren’t publicly available, but, according to Bravo, the 2016 book coauthored by K.C. Baker debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times best-sellers list. (Now that’s a comeback, girl!)
A year later, Teresa released a solo memoir, Standing Strong, that documents life as a single mother and her struggles after serving time. In that book, she blames her husband for their financial struggles.
But Teresa will receive a pay bump this season, thanks in part to Joe.
Season 10 of RHONJ features prominent story arcs for Teresa, whose drama didn’t end when she got out of prison (it wouldn’t be good reality TV if it did). Joe lived in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center since his release in March, which coincided with filming, People reported. He was then sent back to Italy, where he will continue to appeal his deportation.
All of that drama, paired with Teresa’s rumored romance with Blake Schreck and seemingly inevitable divorce, the Housewife will make $62,000 an episode, according to Radar Online. For those keeping score at home, that's more than $1.1 million for the 18-episode season. (FYI: Denise Richards made about the same on her first season of RHOBH.) On the greener side, at least all that screen time will help with the aforementioned debt.
Btw, here's the latest info on Teresa and Joe's deportation case:
For context, Teresa made about $1 million for season nine. But back in 2009, when she filed for bankruptcy, Teresa revealed she made slightly more than $3,000 a month from Bravo, and that increased to $7,000 a month shortly after, Radar Online reported. The season right before she went to prison earned her $700,000, which increased to $1 million the season right after prison (not saying crime pays, buuuuut...).
Teresa was also on The Celebrity Apprentice.
The reality-TV personality turned into a bonafide star when she appeared on season five of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2012 (a simpler time). Placing fifth in the televised business competition, Teresa raised $60,000 for The NephCure Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to find a cure for kidney diseases Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and Nephrotic Syndrome.
And her business ventures don’t end there.
Like many other members of the Housewives franchise, Teresa had her hand in several side hustles. It all started with a line of sparkling wines called Fabellini. The flavored prosecco business dissolved when Teresa’s distributor and partners cut ties during her legal troubles, per All About The Tea. Her line of Fabulicious Gelato bars also stopped circulating during the court drama.
After her stint in prison, Teresa, her brother Joe, and sister-in-law/RHONJ star Melissa Gorga went into business together. The trio opened Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza in 2017, but it closed less than a year later due to management issues, per Us Weekly. Worth noting: There are talks about opening a new restaurant if they find a bigger place.
Among all Teresa's hardships, there is some positive—she still has her mansion.
The Giudices were supposed to lose their house in the initial bankruptcy filing, but they managed to hold onto it. (Unfortunately, the beach house Teresa bought for $347,000 in 2005 was sold by the bank for a measly $100, NJ.com reported.)
Teresa's 10,044 square-foot mansion in Towaco, New Jersey, features six bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as an entry that will take your breath away. The couple listed it for a little less than $4 million in 2013 before taking it off the market, but Zillow values the property at only $1.3 million.
Take a tour of Teresa's crazy-healthy fridge (in her super-chic kitch):
Even though Teresa is still in some deep, deep debt, several more seasons of RHONJ and a couple more best-sellers could be just what she needs to get her back in the black.
