Tragic Details About Gia Giudice's Life
Gia Giudice, born January 8, 2001, is the eldest daughter of Teresa and Joe Giudice of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" fame. Much of Gia's life has played out in public, with fans getting front-row seats thanks to her appearances on the show. First featured as a child, she is now an adult and fully embracing life in the limelight.
Because of her parents' fame and her own ambitious nature, Gia has enjoyed many opportunities. However, not everything in her life has been easy, as growing up in the spotlight comes with its challenges. "My girls had to grow up quick because of everything we've been through," Teresa said at BravoCon in 2022 (via People). "As a mom, you never know if you've done a good job or not. But watching my girls, they're pretty amazing."
People can also be unkind, and, over the years, Gia has received nasty comments about her appearance and her life, yet she takes it in stride. "I don't really search for the negative. So I think that's the easiest thing. If I'm not searching for it, I don't see it," she told People in a 2023 interview, noting the ups and downs of fame. Gia Giudice has experienced more than most her age and has learned to handle the good with the bad.
She grew up in the spotlight
Gia Giudice was raised in front of the cameras for "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Fans have seen the good and the bad moments, such as, for example, the time Gia publicly criticized her mother's parenting in a 2017 episode. "While you were away, dad — he was very strict. Like, he really was," Gia told her mother, Teresa Giudice (via People). "When you came home, you don't discipline much because I feel like you're like scared we're going to hate you." In the same conversation, Gia urged Teresa to give them boundaries.
Living her life in the limelight was challenging, as it opened her family up to criticism. "In this limelight with all the negativity. It can really take the best of you," Gia said in a 2023 interview with People. The year prior, in an interview with "In The Know," Gia shared how TV editing can make her family look a certain way. "Every season, they also have their favorite, so it's like the villain the person they're attacking the person that looks the best on the show," she said. "So I've seen that formation where it's been like my mom the one that everyone is against or the next season she's the one that looks great..." She also said she makes sure to "say exactly what [she wants] to say" on camera, or her words can be misconstrued.
People ridiculed a song she wrote as a kid
In a 2011 episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Gia Giudice sang the song "Waking up in the morning," and this became the topic of much conversation. The song, written at a difficult time in her life, was a way for her to process her emotions. "Waking up in the morning, thinking about so many things, I just wish things would get better," Giudice shared on the show (via YouTube). "I'm trying to get rid of them, but nothing seems to stay the same."
Critics made fun of her song, with comments including "I would never laugh at a sad child, but this is an exception" and "She's 19 now and probably still waking up in the morning thinking about so many things ... like the fact that this is a meme now!" And it's a meme that hasn't gone away. In 2021, Will Smith recorded himself dancing to the song in a video he shared to Instagram. "I love Will Smith, and I thought it was really cool that he did that," Giudice told E! News in response to the clip.
In 2014, she again made headlines for her music, this time for her dance moves with her group, 3KT. At the time, she was 13, and some felt the choreography was inappropriate. "Aren't these dance moves a little too provocative for little girls their age? " a user commented on Instagram.
Gia Giudice's parents went to prison
In 2013, Teresa and Joe Giudice were convicted on fraud charges. Teresa entered prison on January 5, 2015, to serve her 15-month sentence, leaving Joe alone with their children. She ended up spending 11 months of her prison sentence. In March 2016, husband Joe entered prison to serve his 41-month sentence. Parenting alone was challenging for Teresa, who shared a glimpse into this difficult time in their lives at BravoCon (via People) in 2019.
"It's difficult," Teresa said of parenting her daughters alone. "Joe and I were really strict with Gia growing up but then when the whole legal thing happened, I got a little soft 'cause I was all by myself. Not that I spoil them, but whatever they want, I get for them. I try to make up for the pain of Joe not being there."
This also marked an emotional time for Gia Giudice, although she tried to remain strong and pragmatic. "Anything can happen to any family, and it could be worse," Gia told ET in 2015. "At least no one's sick — that's honestly how I think of it. They're coming home. My mom's coming home. My dad's going to come home. Knock on wood, no one's sick, no one's dying."
Her father, Joe Giudice, was deported
Life didn't return to normal for Gia Giudice and her siblings after the completion of Joe Giudice's prison sentence. Joe, an Italian citizen, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his prison stint and deported in 2019. This was a difficult time for the family, which Gia reflected on with People. "I think the hardest part is obviously my dad isn't here. My family has been through a lot," she said.
Teresa Giudice got emotional on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" in 2023 (via People). "Joe, I'm gonna keep praying every day that I hope one day you can come back here," she told him over the phone. The silver lining for Joe is he made a home in the Bahamas after moving there in 2021. Gia has visited her father, and the proud papa has documented some of her trips on Instagram. This includes a video montage and a sweet picture with the caption, "Nothing like family."
Despite the physical distance, Gia and Joe remain incredibly close. "Me and my dad are best friends," she told E! News in December 2023. "We talk all the time. I always say I'm his little therapist; we talk about everything together." She also commented on how they use technology to communicate. "WhatsApp is our best friend. FaceTime is, too. But we honestly see him as often as we can," Gia told People in 2023. "We do our best, and he's doing amazing."
Gia Giudice struggled after her parents' divorce
Gia Giudice faced more heartbreak in December 2019 when her parents, Teresa Giudice and Joe Giudice, announced their decision to split after 20 years of marriage. Despite both moving on with their lives, Teresa and Joe remain amicable. "Joe and Teresa are in an amazing place and are very supportive of one another," a tipster told People. "They still have love for each other, they just aren't in love with each other."
Going from having both parents together to being with only one at a time was an adjustment for Gia. "I give single parents the most amount of credit," Gia told People in 2023. "My dad did have that time to do it alone [while Teresa was in prison] ... so now when we go to The Bahamas, he does it on his own again. So as weird as it may seem, and as bittersweet as it is, everything kind of does happen for a reason. But listen, we're all standing strong."
Unsurprisingly, the divorce was difficult for Gia and her siblings, and so they received professional help to deal with the transition. Teresa said on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" (via People) that Gia and her sister, Milania, had "deep issues about it." She continued, "So Gia started seeing a therapist and as soon as Milania comes home she's gonna start. And I started seeing a therapist too."
Her mother's new relationship brought challenges for her
Teresa Giudice found love again with Luis "Louie" Ruelas, and, in August 2022, they married. Ruelas has since become an important part of the family, and Gia Giudice has positively commented on the relationship, telling People in 2023, "Of course my stepdad [Luis "Louie" Ruelas] is absolutely amazing." She also praised her mom for walking down the aisle alone. "There's not many women that could say they walked down the aisle alone," Gia told Page Six in 2023. "And also, the nerves of walking down the aisle alone, like, I would've been freaking out!"
But it was difficult for Gia to see her mom move on, as she revealed in an episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" in 2022 (via People). "Do I think my mom might be moving too fast? Yeah. Any relationship you're gonna be in the honeymoon stage for the beginning. It's very easy to only see the good when you're in la la land," she said.
Seeing her mom's affection for Ruelas was something else Gia had to process. "There are a lot of sexual scenes, like that bathtub scene that's made me uncomfortable, but she's [my mom] a rockstar so it's all good," Gia said of an episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" in a chat at BravoCon in 2022 (via The U.S. Sun).
She experienced the fallout of her mom's feud
Teresa Giudice is a big personality, as fans of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" have seen. This has resulted in her having several feuds, including one with Jackie Goldschneider in Season 11 in 2021. In retaliation to Teresa's commenting on the rumors of Jackie's husband's alleged affair, Jackie warned of the dangers of making a false statement by saying, "Gia snorts coke in the bathroom at parties," per The Hollywood Gossip.
Jackie tried to explain herself to Us Weekly, saying, "I wasn't starting a rumor about Gia. I was giving an analogy. I think that, like, almost everyone will say that that's an analogy, and the truth is that there's no one else in Teresa's life that I can make her understand."
Comments like these can be damaging and had repercussions for Gia, who spoke her mind in a chat on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" (via ET). "I was, like, completely disgusted by it. I never thought my name would ever be brought up," she said. "Especially just, like, being on the show for so long, no Housewife has ever disrespected me. And for me to ever — for one person to ever use my name in a poor manner, I was like, in shock." She also claimed that the comments caused problems for her with her sorority and that she had reached out to Jackie to discuss the matter further.
She's grieved the loss of many close family members
Gia Giudice has shared her highs and lows on social media, using it to mourn her loved ones publicly. In 2014, she grieved the death of her grandfather, Frank Giudice, on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, writing, "This is not really happening right now, this is not real.." Then, in 2020, she would lose her maternal grandfather, Giacinto Gorga (three years after her maternal grandmother, Antonia Gorga, died in 2017).
Gia made a tribute to her grandfather on Instagram in April 2020. Posting several photos of him, she got emotional in the caption. "He really did light up every room he walked into with that smile of his [smile]," she wrote. "Today, I lost my best friend but gained a beautiful guardian angel that will look over me forever.. thank you for being my rock and best friend throughout my entire life." She took comfort in knowing that her grandfather would be reunited with her grandmother and asked him to "give Nonna a big hug for me as you celebrate life with her."
In 2022, the star also mourned the death of her beloved paternal great-grandmother. Her father shared the news on Instagram, writing, "Just lost my Grandmother 87 and my Uncle Pasquale 94 in one day very sad night." Gia updated fans on her loss via her Instagram Story (via The U.S. Sun), with a video of her great-grandmother and the message, "We love you Nonna."
She has a strained relationship with her aunt and uncle
Teresa Giudice's tiffs have played out on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." She has a complicated relationship with her brother, Joe Gorga, and sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga. Gia Giudice also has a strained relationship with her relatives, and things between them boiled over in 2023.
It all started when Joe reconnected with Gia's father, Joe Giudice, and, in February 2023, he posted a video on Instagram of himself and Gia's dad embracing and smiling. His decision, however, was met with anger. "This is honestly comical knowing you were with him for not even 5 minutes, and we're able to have somebody take a video of the interaction meanwhile, all you have done is talked so poorly about my father," Gia commented on her uncle's Instagram post to E! News. "You are such a[n] opportunist to take advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity to see my father and use it for a post."
In 2023, Gia shared an update on her relationship with her aunt and uncle in a chat with her mom for her podcast. She noted how Melissa had blocked her on social media as backlash from the incident. "It was just weird; one day, I guess, somebody told me she posted something about me, so I went to go look, and I was like, 'I'm blocked on everything,' so I'm blocked from everything from her," she said.
Gia has faced unkind comments on social media
Gia Giudice is a strong young woman who has faced much backlash because of her life in the spotlight. Active on social media, Gia has 920,000 followers on Instagram. There, she shares glimpses into her life, including her relationship with boyfriend Christian Carmichael. In a sweet photo of herself and Carmichael on Instagram from November 2023, she received mostly positive feedback, but there was a sprinkle of negative comments.
"Plastic just like mom ... real people your age struggle to make ends meet," one user wrote. "But mommy's fame gave you a privileged life ... wonder if your man would be still with you if you were not famous?" Giudice is no stranger to nastiness and has discussed handling the backlash in an interview with People in 2023; luckily, she has a positive attitude. "I think you have to look for the negativity, in a way. I really don't check my comments that often, and if I do, I'll go through my comments and I'll just delete them," she said. "They don't really affect me very much."
She received criticism for getting plastic surgery
In 2020, Gia Giudice admitted to getting a nose job and, on Instagram, thanked her surgeon. "Yes, I got a nose job. Yes, I'm swollen. Thank you so much @drtobiasnyc. I'm absolutely in love with it," she wrote (via Page Six).
Before undergoing the procedure, her mother, Teresa Giudice, was asked whether she would allow her teenagers to get work done. "I'm all about plastic surgery but not [for] teenagers," Teresa told Life & Style in 2019. "No, I wouldn't let Gia do anything for a while," she answered. "I mean I guess you know, after your 20s, if you want to do something like after 21 ... You got to make sure your body's fully grown."
Some may think Gia's life in the spotlight impacted her decision to have plastic surgery, but her comments to People in 2023 suggest that others don't influence her decisions. "I've been an adult now for almost five years since I was 18. So I've always gotten this image of like, 'Oh, you're a child.' And I think this is what has just made me grow so strong mentally," she said. "... I've just never let the outside noise affect me and affect my family." That's definitely a healthy mindset to have!