Free Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again by Teresa Giudice, K.C. Baker Page A

ran into her at a Christmas party at Dina’s older sister, Caroline Manzo’s house a few years later. We totally connected and felt like we had known each other forever. She was the first one to pop a bottle of champagne, grab my hand, and yank me onto the dance floor. We would always laugh our heads off over something silly—and called each other Lucy and Ethel. Jacqueline, Dina, and I were inseparable. We hung out at each other’s houses or would go out to dinner or for drinks with the girls or with our husbands. At the time, I truly loved Jacqueline like a sister, like Dina.
    That same year, a production company called Sirens Media was scouting locations and casting for a new Bravo show that was initially called Jersey Moms . Bravo had hit the jackpot in 2006 when it premiered a similar show, The Real Housewives of Orange County , about the day-to-day lives of five gorgeous women in Southern California who lived lavishly.
    Following the success of Orange County, Bravo immediately created two other Real Housewives series (because who wouldn’t?): one set in New York and the other in Atlanta. It goes without saying that these two locales pulled incredible ratings also—and the rest is history.
    Now they were looking to shoot their newest show in Franklin Lakes, an upscale Jersey town, which, like the other locations in the series, was the perfect setting. Like the women on the other shows, the ladies in Franklin Lakes lived in unbelievable houses, drove Range Rovers and Mercedes, loved to shop, and of course, looked good at all times.
    While the producers were looking for cast members for the new show, they stopped by the Chateau Salon in Franklin Lakes, where everyone got their hair done. They asked the Chateau’s owner, Victor Castro, if he could recommend any clients with over-the-top lifestyles—complete with the big house, the fancy cars, the bling, and the clothes—and who were interesting, glamorous, and gorgeous.
    Jacqueline and Dina were among those who immediately came to Victor’s mind, and so he recommended them. Predictably, Jacqueline loved the idea and said she wanted to do it. She always said her life was an open book. At first, Dina was on the fence about life in the limelight, but eventually she agreed to do the show. She told me she wanted to do it to get exposure for Project Ladybug, a nonprofit she founded to help children with life-threatening medical issues. Dina’s like that—openhearted and open-minded. I think it was the combination of the two, and the thought that she’d be able to help even more families and children, that really convinced her to do the show.
    Jacqueline told Dina about another regular at the salon, Danielle Staub, who she thought might be good for the show, too. I think Dina said something like, “Let’s get to know her first.” But Jacqueline went ahead and told the producers about her. They interviewed Danielle, who was newly divorced, and thought she would fit in well with the show they had in mind.
    When another friend of Jacqueline’s turned down an offer to do the show, she and Dina recommended Dina’s sister, Caroline. (Caroline and Dina married two brothers, Al and Tommy Manzo—now Dina’s ex-husband—who own the Brownstone, the catering hall that was the setting for many a blowup.)
    Dina also told the producers about me. They called and asked if they could come speak to me. I was shocked, to say the least. Since I was so busy raising three little ones, I never watched much TV and didn’t really know what a reality show was. The world of reality TV as we know it today was just starting to rev up, so I didn’t have much to use as a reference. I never read the tabloids or celebrity magazines because I was always so busy being a mom (and because my parents never had them lying around the house when I was growing up), so I didn’t know if they even wrote about reality TV stars. That didn’t even cross my mind. I didn’t watch any of the Real