Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Caroline Manzo shut down speculation that she had something to do with her former friend and co-star Teresa Giudice going to jail — but revealed that she knows who did.
While speaking on Page Six‘s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast on Thursday night’s (May 18) Mother’s Day edition, the reality star opened up about Teresa’s prison stint. The bestselling author and her ex-husband Joe Giudice were convicted of fraud in 2015. She spent 11 months behind bars, while he did three years in prison before getting deported to Italy in 2019.
“I was always there for her. When she was going to jail, I held her hand,” Caroline said, before her daughter Lauren Manzo chimed in, “And she also didn’t call the FBI.”
Caroline added, “I did not. And I know who did. And I will never say it … P.S. I was there. I will never say who it was. I saw what was going down. I grabbed my kids. I took the fall.”
In 2019, Teresa appeared on Watch What Happens Live, where she suggested to host Andy Cohen that Caroline — who previously predicted that Joe would go to jail — may have been the “rat” who told on them to the feds.
The Manzo’d With Children star, however, was unfazed by the allegations.
“You can believe whatever you’d like about me. I know I never did — I could never do that, OK?” Caroline insisted. “But if blaming me makes you feel better than your reality? Cool. Because it’s not gonna change my day.”
She continued, “I took the blame to protect people that didn’t deserve the collateral damage and the fallout once it comes out.”
Caroline has not appeared on RHONJ since Season 5 — and aside from some BravoCon run-ins and a 2020 Super Bowl commercial, she and Teresa have been estranged from one another.
“She’s not in my friend circle, I don’t associate with her; I never see her, so it doesn’t even make sense [for her to come back to the show]. She doesn’t hang out with any of us [or] any of our friends,” Teresa said on Danny Pellegrino’s Everything Iconic podcast in November 2022.
While she may not be coming back to her roots, Caroline will make a brief return to reality television when Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 4 drops on Peacock. However, she ultimately left early due to an explosive spat with costar Brandi Glanville, who reportedly touched her inappropriately.