Yahoo Lifestyle Teresa Giudice Names the One 'House of Villains' Star She Still Doesn't Talk To (Exclusive)
This week's edition of House of Villains Season 2 started off with quite the shocker. After a regular Banishment Ceremony that saw Supervillain of the Week Kandy Muse send Victoria Larson flipping through the trapdoor, host Joel McHale had a startling announcement for our villains: Episode 9 would kick off with yet another elimination. Only instead of the standard voting, the next player would be eliminated by way of a house ranking of the contestants from most villainous to least. Teresa Giudice, a.k.a. "Mother Teresa," was deemed not villainous enough to hang with the big bads, and she was thus unceremoniously chair-flipped out of the competition.
That ruthlessness is warranted: E! Network’s House of Villains brought together 10 of reality television's most infamous and polarizing personalities (including The Real Housewives of New Jersey star) in one Los Angeles mansion so that they could betray, backstab and banish their way to a $200,000 cash prize and the title of "America's Ultimate Supervillain."
And with iconic reality antiheroes like Survivor’s Richard Hatch, The Flavor of Love's Tiffany "New York" Pollard and The Challenge’s Wes Bergmann in the mix, Giudice surely had her work cut out for her in proving her villainous bona fides.
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Following that shocking double banishment, Teresa talked to Parade about making amends with Pollard, which fellow villain she doesn't keep in touch with, and if she regrets getting into a Bravo alliance with fellow Housewives star Larsa Pippen.
House of Villains Season 2 is here! Every week, Parade.com's Christina Izzo will bring you interviews with the villain most recently banished from the lair.
Trae Patton/E! Entertainment
Interview with Teresa Giudice from House of Villains Season 2
Christina Izzo: Let's get into it, because the past two episodes were jam-packed. At the end of last week's episode, Joel had you guys rank each other based on villainy. What was going through your head while that was happening? What did you think the twist would be?
Teresa Giudice: I was like, "Alright, whoever is at the [least villainous] end is probably going to be Supervillain of the Week." That's what I thought. I hadn't been Supervillain yet. I was trying to put myself at the end to be Supervillain. Really, who should have been at the end is Jessie [Godderz].
Knowing what you know now, would you have pushed harder against Jessie in that moment?
I wasn't going to start arguing with a man. And he was quiet the whole time—you didn't hear a peep out of him. But I like that Tiffany stook up for me. That made me happy that Tiffany was going at Jessie, I was like, "Go Tiffany!" I was so happy to hear that because, really, he should have been at the end.
Is there anything you would have changed about your strategy? Do you think being the "Mother Teresa" of the house hurt your game?
If I had to leave, I like the way I left. It was a good way to leave. I didn't want to start fighting with people. I wasn't going to start fighting with Jessie. Would I change anything? Not really. I was true to myself — it's the only way I know how to be. I'm Teresa, I'm a reality star, I really am authentic. What you see is what you get.
Much of last week's episode saw you stuck in the middle between voting to banish your fellow Bravo-lebrity, Real Housewives of Miami star Larsa Pippen, or your roommate, The Bachelor alum Victoria Larson. You had solid arguments for both: Larsa had betrayed you by nominating you for the Hit List, and Victoria had ratted you out to New York and sparked that big fight between you two. Looking back, do you think your decision to save Larsa was the right one?
That's what I forgot to say to Victoria. "You ratted me out to New York." I should have said that. But I was, again, true to myself. I knew Larsa [Pippen] longer; we're friends and we became even closer living together. I liked Victoria but I love Larsa. I gotta stick with my Bravo family. [When I was on the Hit List], Victoria said she knew Larsa [before she knew me], but she and Larsa didn't like each other, and that's why she picked me.
Take us back to your initial thoughts about the cast. Who were you immediately gelling with? Aside from Larsa, did you know any of your castmates before heading into the villains' lair?
No, I didn't know any of them! I got along great with Richard [Hatch], I didn't know I was going to get along so good with him. Me and him were always up early in the morning together so we would always talk. He kind of reminded me of my dad, it was so crazy. He loved me because he watched all of the [Real Housewives], he watched New Jersey especially. He knew my whole story and he loved me, so I loved how he understood me. He got me for who I was.
I got along with everyone: Camilla [Poindexter], Kandy Muse — me and Kandy Muse have the same hairstyle. Me and Safaree [Samuels] clicked because of the fashion, we both loved each other's fashions. And Wes [Bergmann] was quiet at first, because he was very [strategic], but then we bonded, which was really nice. And Tiffany, we got along. We were roommates!
But there was that big blowout between you two, a real New York vs. New Jersey feud.
She wanted to get a reaction out of Teresa, but it was a wah-wah. It didn't happen. I knew what she was doing. To get a reaction out of me, if we have a close friendship and someone tries to hurt me and I see that, then I'm very passionate and that reaction comes out of me. But if I see you're just trying to get a reaction out of me, it's not going to work. But Tiffany apologized to me and to my husband [Luis Ruelas] at the premiere party.
So things are on good terms between you and Tiffany now?
Yeah, I talk to everyone. The only one I really don't talk to is Jessie. We just, you know, didn't exchange numbers or anything. But I still talk to everyone else.
Speaking of your husband, how was Luis' reaction to your banishment? He had been sending you big bouquets of roses and leaving love letters for you to open through the whole show?
My husband was in L.A., so we got to be together. He was so happy to see me, so it was a nice surprise. [We had been filming] for over three weeks; it was a long time. He really missed me. He had sent me the flowers because he was missing me.
And then Kandy hilariously "sent" your crochet doll and the roses back to him.
I loved that moment. At least my doll wasn't thrown like everyone else's or eaten by the dogs. I loved the way Kandy Muse sent me off. That was really sweet. And I loved how everybody was sad after I left. It felt like somebody had passed away. It was so cute.
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
E!’s “House of Villains” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on E! and episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
