Getting metaphorically stabbed in the back is a Real Housewives TV trope as old as time. For Danielle Staub, however, it was quite literal, according to claims put forth in the new tell-all Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives From the People Who Lived It. Written by PEOPLE reporter Dave Quinn, the book features interviews with cast, producers, and network executives to provide the ultimate oral history of the Bravo franchise. Among the many assertions? Teresa Giudice reportedly once stabbed Danielle with a fork.
According to Danielle, 59, it occurred during a big fight in Season 2 of Real Housewives of New Jersey in 2010. While at a fashion show for Kim DePaola’s boutique Posche, tensions escalated when Danielle called Jacqueline Laurita’s daughter Ashley a name, later leading to a confrontation with Teresa, 49, in which Danielle made a dig about about Teresa’s finances after she called her a “bitch.”
Danielle said the fight turned physical after Teresa “stabbed” her and Ashlee pulled her hair. “Teresa took a fork to my back! I had a fork stabbed and dragged down my back! So I stopped running,” Danielle claimed in Not All Diamonds & Rosé. “One of the security guys was holding onto my arm. I remember saying, ‘Let go of me. You’re holding me back.’ This was like Jerry Springer on steroids. Like, these women were dangerous.”
She added, “It came as a shock to me that I was allowed to be treated this way.” HollywoodLife has reached out to Teresa’s rep for comment on the allegations, and will update this accordingly when we hear back. Of course, the altercation didn’t make the final cut of the episode. Executive producer Andy Cohen explained why in the tell-all.
“We don’t like it when it gets physical,” he said in the book. “We tend to cut away from it. We’ll show that something happens, but we kind of do flashes on the screen. It was not in keeping with what we want the Housewives to be.” Danielle pressed charges against Ashley for the hair pulling in 2010. The teen was found guilty and paid a fine of $189. While she also filed complaints against Teresa, Danielle ultimately dropped the complaints.
Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives From the People Who Lived It is available for purchase now.