The Real Housewives Blog

Monday, August 5, 2013

A Lame Slade Smiley Calls Vicki Gunvalson ‘Tupperware Face,’ She Cries

A guy who repeatedly picks fights with women (as much as we saw Vicki's daughter Briana go after her ex-boyfriend Brooke's behavior towards her mom, where's Brianna and her prick of a husband when it comes to Slade?) and calls them names is just weak in my book. Shame on Gretchen for being stupid enough to keep giving Slade a pass:

The Real Housewives have been known to sling a few insults, but the latest, lowest dig comes from one of the male cast members: In one recent episode, Real Housewife of Orange County Gretchen Rossi’s fiancé Slade Smiley called Vicki Gunvalson “Tupperware face,” and said she looks like a man … or a muppet. Now, in a promo clip for an upcoming episode, Vicki strikes back.

“Number one, you have been making fun of me for my looks,” Vicki tells Slade in the clip. “I am proud of who I am, what I look like. I did get a tweaking. I’m not Mrs. Tupperware. I’m not plastic. The fact of the matter is when you make fun of a woman’s looks, it’s disrespectful and I found it very hurtful.”

She continues, “…At the end of the day, I think I’m better, beautiful, just like my home. I renovated my home. I renovated my life to be the best that I can be and I’m going to keep striving to be the best that I can be.”

In fact, trying to prove her good intentions, Vicki then hands Slade the first bottle of her new vodka as a gift. But he’s not done talking smack.

“You make just as many accusations,” he tells Vicki. “You make them about my character.”

And in the clip’s most shocking moment, Slade spits, “Don’t keep putting yourself in the woman category all the time. I don’t attack women. You should put away your penis, quit being a dick, and maybe someone would treat you like a woman.”

Sources Claim Teresa Giudice's Lavish Lifestyle Was All A Sham

NYDailyNews.com:

On TV they live large — in a 10,000-square-foot McMansion full of garish baubles and expensive toys in an ode to the bad taste and excessive spending that has made “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” a Bravo hit.

It’s the lifestyle Joe and Teresa Giudice — who grew up together as working-class Italian-American kids — always hungered for but could never truly afford, sources said, even when they convinced themselves and everyone around them they could.

The Giudices’ shaky facade of massive personal wealth — increasingly fragile since a 2009 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing — finally imploded in a spectacular way last week when they were hit with a 39-count criminal fraud indictment.

The federal charges range from allegations that the two conspired to forge W-2 forms, tax returns, pay stubs and other documents to trick banks into lending them money, to accusations of perjury and false statements in their bankruptcy proceedings.

If convicted, Teresa, 41, and her husband Joe, 43, could each face up to 50 years in prison.

Joe, an Italian citizen, is also charged with not filing taxes for four years and faces state charges of using his brother’s identity to obtain a false driver’s license after he lost his to a DWI.

In true Teresa style, the Giudices faced their latest financial disaster head-on and with cameras rolling, standing side-by-side Wednesday in a New Jersey court as they listened to the charges against them.

After the hearing, the two fled and holed up in the house of Joe’s parents — as his father mooned reporters who followed them.

The family kept a low profile for a few days, but Teresa remembered to feed her fans with a few upbeat pictures of her and her four young girls on a Hamptons beach Friday.

“Hanging at the beach with @lexmanzo girls having a great time with her,” Teresa tweeted, referring to the daughter of one of her friends.

“Hamptons visit with my girls,” she wrote in another tweet, with the hashtag #greatfriends and a picture of her looking relaxed and windswept next to Dina Manzo, a former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member, and another pal.

Despite Teresa’s brave face, the timing of the financial meltdown couldn’t have been worse for the mother of four, who after years of struggling had finally hit the sweet spot of cashing in on her fame.

The dark-haired, table-flipping, word-mangling stay-at-home mom somehow managed to parlay her lowbrow Italian schtick into a burgeoning brand, commanding advances of nearly $300,000 for her best-selling cookbooks and putting her name on a host of other products.

Her unpolished presentation and love of all things over-the-top and tacky seemed to hit a chord with many fans, who only chuckled when Teresa said things like “ingredientses” while touting her homemade Italian cooking.

Her recent role as the family breadwinner was not lost on “RHONJ” viewers, who’ve watched Joe Giudice struggle over four seasons since 2009 to keep his failing business ventures afloat while his wife suddenly developed a Midas touch.

“Without her, Joe would be living on the streets right now. He’d be homeless,” said one source with knowledge of the family.

Alexia Echevarria and Marysol Patton Indulge In Celebrity Gossip, Hot Miami Sun

DailyMail.co.uk:

The Real Housewives Of Miami stars aren't known for conservative style.

But on Sunday as Alexia Echevarria and Marysol Patton enjoyed a sunny day at a Miami beach, Alexia's traffic-stopping buxom swimsuit left her co-star Marysol looking overdressed in comparison.

The pair of reality stars were joined by Alexia's son Frankie and her husband Herman, before retreating for even more fun by the pool at Miami's The Setai.

Alexia opted for a particularly revealing white cut-out one piece, with a cut so low it threatened to reveal more than she probably intended.

The swimsuit was decorated with tassels around the neck, giving it a fun cowgirl feel.
The leggy blonde wrapped a red and white sarong around her waist and wore matching white sunglasses.

She tied her lengthy blonde tresses into a high ponytail, ensuring every bit of her tanned and toned upper body was on show.

Marysol chose a considerably more conservative swimsuit for the outing, which is unusual for her.

It was a black lacy number that reached all the way to her neck, so that not even a single hint of her chest was visible.

The 45-year-old covered up even further with a cream tasselled beach poncho, and shielded her eyes with dark sunglasses.

Adorably, Alexia clutched her son Frankie's hand as the crew strolled onto the beach, putting her motherly love on show.

Alexia sincerely made the beach look like her own catwalk as she stood out among the bunch, and continued to steal the show as the pair of vivacious women lay down to sunbathe.

Whilst Marysol buried her head in her phone, Alexia dissolved into fits of giggles, flashing giant smiles for the camera.

Later, Alexia uploaded an Instagram snap of the two of them at Miami's The Setai pool.

Continuing their fun in the sun, the ladies had moved on to a less sandy location and struck thoroughly choreographed poses to flaunt their bikini bodies.

Both women will be gearing up for the season premiere of The Real Housewives of Miami, which is set to air on August 12 on Bravo.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Danielle Staub Pays Fine Over Bankruptcy Fraud

TMZ.com:

While Teresa Giudice faces time behind bars for alleged bankruptcy fraud ... another 'Real Housewife' is making sure she doesn't suffer a similar fate ... by coughing up $35,000.

"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Danielle Staub filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy back in June 2012, claiming she was knee deep in debt ... approx. $500,000 to $1,000,000.

As part of the bankruptcy process Danielle had to disclose all her assets ... that way when creditors came to clean her out they'd know how much loot is available.

FYI -- this is the part where some people get in trouble because they try to hide cash and valuables ... hoping Uncle Sam and creditors won't notice.

According to legal docs, filed last month, Danielle was accused of doing just that. Rather than keep up the charade, DS agreed to fork over $35k to her creditors to help settle her debts ... and avoid any nasty consequences.

If she didn't settle ... Danielle might be in a similar boat to co-stars Teresa and Joe Giudice -- who are being federally indicted on 39 counts of fraud (including hiding assets during bankruptcy). They face 30 years in prison.

Good choice, Danielle.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Teresa Giudice Fraud Case Could Get Messy For Bravo, ‘Real Housewives’ Franchise

FOXNews.com:

Teresa Giudice and husband Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice may not be the only ones losing sleep over their latest trouble with the law: their costars on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” and the network itself could get wrapped up in their legal woes.

Because Bravo is an entertainment network -- and not a news agency -- it likely does not maintain any First Amendment privileges, meaning execs and personalities from the network may be called to court, New Jersey-based attorney Darren Del Sardo told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column.

“Employees filming for Bravo can certainly be called as witnesses to establish that the Giudices were perhaps making large purchases in cash during the time of the bankruptcy,” he explained. “The network could also be called as a witness to support an increase of anticipated income paid by Bravo to Teresa that was not disclosed in her bankruptcy filing. In addition, they could be asked questions regarding the Giudices' business operations that Bravo followed at the time of the filing.”

The reality television personalities have been charged in a 39-count indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications and bankruptcy fraud. They were released on Tuesday on $500,000 bond each. They are set to make a plea on August 14.

According to another legal expert, who wished to remain anonymous due to associations with the network, it’s a big problem that Bravo filmed the Giudices talking to their bankruptcy attorney last year.

“There is a chance that there is raw footage, which didn’t make the air that could be incriminating. Federal investigators will likely want all of what was shot to see what Bravo and others involved in the production knew, and how much did they know. The question of co-conspiracy, even unintentionally, could be raised,” the source said. “And filing for Chapter 7 is no light issue. It’s odd that they were able to continue living in that opulent mansion and living such a lavish lifestyle when they were in that kind of financial ruin. Who was paying for it? Were their show payments going directly to them or their trustee? Their bail was set particularly high which is unusual, and suggests that there is much more to come.”

Teresa opened up about her financial woes in one of her BravoTV.com blogs written during Season 4 last July, calling the bankruptcy filing process “a nightmare.”

“If you have (filed for bankruptcy), you know exactly what’s going on and why and how terrible it is. And it takes a long, long time,” she wrote. “As you saw in our lawyer meeting, we withdrew our petition for bankruptcy and are paying our creditors back.”

Teresa also hinted that their money problems were far from behind them.

“It’s…still…not…final. I’m so sorry I can’t talk about it in detail (again!), because it’s not done, but the day it is, I will write a book and tell you all about it, I promise!” she continued.

However, she now faces writing that tell-all from behind bars. The most serious charges Teresa and her husband face are bank fraud and loan application fraud, which carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Still, these issues are nothing new for the couple. Their financial woes have been featured throughout the popular reality television franchise.

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Officially Adds Beauty Queen Joyce Giraud To Its Cast

FOXNews.com:

Well, this should make things interesting.

It seems the newest cast member of Bravo's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" has finally been revealed, and it turns out she's a beauty queen.

TMZ cameras caught Joyce Giraud in an airport with the rest of the "Beverly Hills" cast, and the website is reporting that she has signed on for the next season of the series, in place of Adrienne Maloof, who left after a battle with Bravo last year.

Giraud won Miss Puerto Rico two times and was a finalist in the Miss Universe pageant in the late '90s.

It should be intriguing to see how the former beauty queen, who is likely used to dealing with lots of competitive, tough women, handles the drama of the Bravo show.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Lydia McLaughlin Doesn't Think Slade Slimey Is A 'Horrible Man'

Wetpaint.com:

Lydia McLaughlin is an amazing person.

In her latest blog post, Lydia tackles a difficult topic: Slade Smiley calling Vicki Gunvalson "Tupperware Face" on his radio talk show — and she definitely has some feelings about the controversial scene (video below).

"I had never heard 'Radio Slade' or any of the comedy bits about Vicki before she played them for us that day," Lydia said. "I don't think I can express to you how sad, awkward, and broken that moment was. To see Vicki's obvious pain from Slade's words was hard to stomach. We sat there listening to him ripping on her until I finally had to ask her to turn it off."

So what does Lydia think Slade's punishment should be? "Slade should have to sit in a room with Vicki while she listened to his words," she said. "Perhaps this would help him realize how powerful they are."

At the beginning of the blog, Lydia mentions how her feelings about things are always changing and have grown since the episode was taped. So it doesn't really come as a surprise that her feelings about the whole situation are mild, to say the least.

"That said, I don't think people are all bad or all good and I don't think Slade is some horrible man," she explained. "I believe he has been hurt, and so he is trying to hurt in return. That is what I meant when I said 'Hurt people hurt people' (the title of her blog post). That doesn't excuse his actions at all. I just hope when he watches this he can grow from it."

Bethenny Frankel Does Not Feel Sorry For Teresa Giudice

Of course, those paying attention know that Teresa and Bethenny have a bit of history feuding with each other. What with Bethenny once accusing Teresa of 'imitating' her mode to success outside of the 'Housewives' lane, while Teresa has publicly dissed Bethenny's Skinnygirl cocktails as well as her posing nude for PETA. However, no matter whose side you're on, one can only appreciate Bethenny's candor here (not that you'd expect anything less from Mrs. Hoppy):

Teresa Giuidce is out on bond after being indicted on 39 counts of fraud and tax evasion but her fellow reality star and former Housewife Bethenny Frankel said she doesn’t feel so badly for her because she thinks Teresa “broke the law.”

While Teresa held her head high and attended an event Wednesday night, Bethenny spoke about The Real Housewives of New Jersey star’s legal problems at the TCA event in Beverly Hills.

“Do I feel sorry for them? No, I don’t,” the former Real Housewives of New York City star said.

“Not so much, because it broke the law. You broke the law and you went on television. That’s not really that smart.”

Bethenny and her husband Jason Hoppy are locked in a vicious legal battle over custody of their young daughter Bryn as they go through their nasty divorce.

She has launched her own talk show and said the price of fame can be high.

“My first thought today was, ‘Oh, if they weren’t on reality TV, none of this would probably ever be exposed.’ And it’s just funny how certain people are [like a]moth to a flame,” she said.

Bethenny also said that there might be a correlation between people who crave attention and past problems.

“It’s almost like — not that you want to get caught — but people who love to be in the spotlight often have a lot of skeletons in their closet. It’s just an interesting thing.”

Teresa and Joe Giudice are facing up to 50 years in prison if they’re found guilty of the federal charges and Bethenny said she does feel sympathetic toward their four daughters.

“I feel badly for them because they have kids and their kids didn’t sign up for this,” she said.

Phaedra Parks Introduces Baby Boy Dylan To The World

USmagazine.com:

Phaedra Parks will have quite the story to tell her infant son Dylan about his arrival when he gets older! Three weeks earlier than expected -- on May 7, 2013 -- Parks, a lawyer and mom to 3-year-old son Ayden, got the surprise of her life when she went into labor during a work trip to Augusta, Ga. -- 150 miles from home! "I hadn't packed anything or even made arrangements for Ayden," the Secrets of the Southern Belle author, 40, admits to Us Weekly. "And I'm usually an Eagle Scout when it comes to being prepared!"

Eight hours later, on May 8 after an emergency C-section, Parks welcomed 7 pound, 9 ounce Dylan into the world with fitness trainer husband Apollo Nida, 34, by her side.

Waiting to officially name their infant in a traditional African naming ceremony, Parks tells Us the little one is being well taken care of at home by big brother Ayden. "Ayden pretends to ride his bike to the store for diapers and calls him 'my baby!'" Parks gushes. (Ahead of the naming ceremony, Parks jokes to Us that the family call Dylan "Mr. President.")

Parks herself is also soaking up as much time as she can with her new addition. "Right now, we're just enjoying every moment," she says, "because once the baby grows up, I can't put him in a time machine!"

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Kim Granatell Speaks Out On Teresa Giudice's Indictment, Warns Teresa To 'Stock Up On Toilet Paper'

Somebody is making no secret about enjoying the Giudice's latest scandal:

Teresa Giudice‘s indictment for a whopping 39 charges of financial fraud was no surprise to ex co-star Kim Granatell, who exclusively told RadarOnline.com that she knew from the day she met Teresa that “she was a fraud.”

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star and her husband Juicy Joe appeared in a federal court on Tuesday morning to face the charges of tax evasion and fraud and were released on $500,000 bond each.

Kim G, who gained fame for her sparring with the ladies on the show in seasons two and three , was gloating over Teresa’s legal woes, and offered her up some advice if she ends up behind bars.

“Make sure you stock up on toilet paper because in prison you only get one roll a week,” Kim warned Teresa via Celebrity Magnet Tom Murro.

Kim scolded the Giudice’s for their alleged crimes.

“Teresa and Joe are getting what they deserve if you have 39 count against you obviously knew you were breaking the law.”

Kim G, who loves to flaunt her own wealth, slammed the reality show stars.

“I guess their scamming days are over now Teresa has to lead a real life.”

Kim says that she has been waiting for this day to come for a long time for her Franklin Lakes neighbor.

“I knew from the day I met her that she was a fraud…living in that horrendous broken down house by the highway, near swamp land in high tension wires with a bad addition.”

Kim also laughed when talking about Teresa’s culinary empire.

“I knew that she had cookbooks, but I didn’t know she was actually cooking the books!

Look for Teresa’s new cookbook from cell block 8 called ‘Hidden Recipes.’”

Kim G said she plans to attend the trial if it happens.

“I’m picking out my outfit for Teresa’s court date will be wearing my diamonds and Birkin bag as I drive my Bentley there that no one will ever take from me.

“Every dog has their day and today is Teresa woof…woof.”

Real Housewives of Miami Preview: Adriana de Moura Reveals Serious Wedding Drama With Joanna Krupa

EOnline.com:

By now you’ve seen our exclusive promos for the new season of the Real Housewives of Miami, so you know it revolves heavily around both Adriana de Moura and Joanna Krupa planning their dream weddings and trying to out-fabulous each other. But even those promos couldn't possibly reveal the drama that went down while the girls were racing down the aisle.

In our exclusive interview with Adriana, she reveals that there was actually a causality of the wedding war.
"There was drama because we had one bridesmaid in common, Lisa Hochstein," she tells us. "And I was like, 'Don’t you go playing double agent!' At one point, because she was in my wedding, Joanna kicked her out of hers."

Didn't any of them see the classic (classic used loosely, of course) Katherine Heigl movie 27 Dresses? Lisa totally could've been in both weddings at the same time if she put her mind to it. But that's neither here nor there, because Adriana insists that Joanna and Lisa "worked it out."

Despite the wedding battle between to two Housewives, Adriana tells us that hatchet has been buried…and not in each other's backs.

"We started the season not on a perfect note, to say the least. But I realized I didn't really have a problem with her per se. It was more like I had been fighting with other people and she intervened," she says. "So we had a meeting where we decided to try to move on. I was planning a wedding, she was planning a wedding and there's enough stress that goes with that. You know, I don't really hold on to grudges. I can be really short-tempered, but once I blow, I calm down. And if I'm wrong, I apologize. I don't want to live my life with hatred."

And honest answer time: Who had the more fabulous wedding?

"Personally, I think I won," Adriana replies.

Fans will be able to make that decision for themselves when the new season of Real Housewives of Miami premieres Aug. 12 at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Real Housewives of Orange County Reunion Preview: Briana Curses Out Brooks, Gretchen Rossi Cries