Teresa Giudice from ‘House Of Villains’ discusses her unexpected elimination: “I Wasn’t Prepared to Go Yet”

Always expect a twist on E!’s House Of Villains! After The Bachelor‘s Victoria Larson’s banishment, host Joel McHale asked the remaining housemates to line up in order of most to least villainous with no further explanation. While RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kandy Muse and reality TV legend Tiffany “New York” Pollard battled it out for the title of “Most Villainous,” Teresa Giudice, the Real Housewives Of New Jersey OG, was left in the “Least Villainous” spot even though most of the cast thought Big Brother’s Jessie Godderz was more deserving. Giudice and her allies hoped that her being placed as the “Least Villainous” would earn her Supervillain of the Week, but they were dead wrong. McHale gleefully announced a double banishment, and Giudice was eliminated from the competition.

“That was a shocker,” said Giudice when asked about her surprising banishment. “I wasn’t ready to leave.” Though, Giudice was proud that she went out on her own terms and “stayed true to [her]self.” While Giudice’s temper—when provoked by her enemies—is the stuff of reality TV legend, Giudice in real life is known for her kind heart and maternal instincts. “It was important for me to leave in a classy and respectful way,” explained Giudice. “That’s who I really am, and I wanted everyone to see that.”

Her co-stars did test her patience. Giudice was pushed to the brink when New York made false allegations about her husband, Luis Ruelas. “Everyone comes at me,” said Giudice simply. “They want their fifteen minutes.” Fortunately, New York recognized her error and offered an apology to the couple, which they graciously accepted. “I wouldn’t want to be known for putting lies out there either,” said Giudice.

Luckily, Giudice had her fellow Bravolebrity, Real Housewives Of Miami‘s Larsa Pippen, to depend on, even though Pippen put her on the hit list once! “I don’t think I would have put her up,” said Giudice. Giudice, however, did note that “[Pippen] came from The Traitors.” “She knows how to play the game,” reasoned Giudice. “I just had to trust her.”

Giudice spoke to Decider over zoom to talk about her untimely exit, trying to broker peace between her housemates, and what her daughters think of the show.

DECIDER: Teresa, talk about a shocking elimination! Did you have any inkling that being the least villainous would send you home?

TERESA GIUDICE: No, I didn’t! That was a shocker, right?

It was! You accepted the surprise double banishment with grace, like the queen you are. Were you ready to leave at that point? Or was there just nothing else to do?

I wasn’t ready to leave, but if that was the way I had to go out, I didn’t mind because I stayed true to myself. Jessie should have been at the end of the line as “Least Villainous” instead of me, but I wasn’t going to start fighting with a man. There was also a chance that the last person in line was going to be Supervillain Of The Week. So that’s another reason why I accepted it. It was what it was, but I do appreciate that New York called Jessie out later for not initially taking that spot like he should have.

A lot of the housemates thought Jessie deserved to go home instead of you.

That was nice to see. Jessie was so quiet at the beginning. So was Wes [Bergmann], but that is because he is a gamer. I was much closer to Wes than I was with Jessie. Jessie told me he was a Taurus, but he is not a real Taurus. Tauruses are loyal, and he’s so not loyal [laughs]. It was important for me to leave in a classy and respectful way. That’s who I really am and I wanted everyone to see that.

Would you ever consider returning to the House Of Villains in a future season?

Definitely! I know how to play the game even better now, especially after what I went through.

You certainly made a splash during your time on the show! Your confrontation with New York will go down in House of Villains history, but she started it.

Everyone comes at me [laughs]. They want their fifteen minutes!

They say “heavy is the head that wears the crown” for a reason.

Exactly. Thank you.

Did you expect her words to get so personal? Is it possible to cross a line in House of Villains?

She must have done her homework and watched Real Housewives of New Jersey because she knew exactly what triggers me. It’s sad because I would never say anything about her fianceé. I don’t play that way. I don’t hit below the belt for no reason. If you think about it, her actions were malicious. We met for that first time on the show and had no history with each other. She came out of nowhere with lies about my husband. He had to deal with the fallout when she was just trying to get a reaction out of me. I didn’t give her what she wanted.

At least she admitted on the show that the allegations she made were 100% false.

Yeah, I’m glad she told the truth. She apologized to me and later apologized to my husband at the premiere party. I wouldn’t want to be known for putting lies out there either.

You played the game with honor. You even earned the nickname “Mother Teresa” among your cast mates. How fun was it to shoot those sequences in full Mother Teresa costume?

[Laughs] It was so fun. They really wanted me to do it. Everyone was like, “you’re so sweet” and I am! I’m glad they saw the real me. Of course, if you come for me, you’ll get a different side of Teresa, but that’s not who I am the majority of the time. They kept comparing me to Mother Teresa and I just embraced it. I loved it, costume and all.

You truly were trying to keep the peace in the house, especially when you tried to mediate a truce between Larsa and Victoria.

I tried so hard [laughs].

I know you did! Was it tough to be stuck in the middle with those two?

A little bit because I liked both of them. Larsa, I’ve known for a while, but I had just met Victoria. Even though I thought Victoria was really sweet, my loyalty was always with Larsa because of our history.

It was tough to watch Victoria lash out at you when you voted to banish her from the house instead of Larsa. Did you think she was going to take it so personally?

Yes and no. I didn’t really owe her anything because she repeated what I said about New York to New York. That is what caused New York to go after me and my husband. Victoria wasn’t being that great of a friend to me in that moment. Larsa wouldn’t have done that.

Given her previous betrayal, I was surprised that Victoria seemed so blindsided.

She said I promised to keep her safe. I never promised her that. If I had, you know that the producers would have included that footage in the episode. I don’t break promises. I’m a loyal person.

Speaking of loyalty, you forgave Larsa pretty quickly for putting you on the hit list. Was your friendship stronger after that brief hiccup?

Yes, definitely. She’s like, “I put you up because I knew you were going to be saved.” I’m like, “You’re lucky I was saved.” [Laughs] I don’t think I would have put her up because I just wouldn’t have done that. But listen, she came from The Traitors. She knows how to play the game. I just had to trust her.

I know you are all about loyalty and family so I have to ask: how did daughters react to your time on House of Villains? Did they watch?

They love it. As a matter of fact, we watched the episode when I got banished together. They were obsessed! They think it’s the coolest show ever. They hadn’t really been keeping up because they are busy with school and all their other activities, but we finally got to watch it as a family. They plan to go back and watch it from the beginning.

House of Villains airs Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT on E! and stream from the beginning on Peacock.