When The Real Housewives of New Jersey returns for season 13 on February 7, fans will get to meet promising newbie Rachel Fuda. The 31-year-old joined the show as a close friend of Melissa Gorga‘s, which put her in an awkward situation with Teresa Giudice because of the years-long drama that’s gone on between the Gorgas and Giudices. So when Rachel appeared on the latest episode of HollywoodLife‘s Real Housewives podcast, Pay Attention Puh-Lease!, she gave EXCLUSIVE intel about her “unfortunate” friction with Teresa that fans will see play out on the new season.
“I don’t know if Teresa gave me a fair shot because I’m friends with Melissa,” Rachel told us. “I don’t necessarily blame her, because I don’t know if I would be welcoming me with open arms either,” she added. “But it’s unfortunate because I feel like I could have possibly connected with her on a deeper level.”
Rachel, who shares three children with her husband John Fuda, explained that she could’ve bonded with Teresa over the fact that her four daughters are around the same age as Rachel’s teenage son, Jaiden. But because of Rachel’s close friendship with Melissa, who is not even speaking to Teresa anymore, that was never going to happen.
“She wasn’t icing me out or anything like that,” Rachel clarified about Teresa, 50. “I just feel like we could’ve definitely had more conversation and gotten to know each other better had I been Jennifer Aydin‘s friend.”
As for the RHONJ cast as a whole, Rachel confirmed that it’s a “divided” group this season. That was evident last year at BravoCon which took place after the season finished filming. There were two separate panels at the NYC event for the Jersey ladies: one with Teresa, Jennifer, and Dolores Catania, and another with Melissa, Margaret Josephs, and Jackie Goldschneider.
“It’s divided. And it sucks,” said Rachel, who is one of three season 13 newbies, alongside Danielle Cabral and Jennifer Fessler. “We weren’t like that. It wasn’t like that. We’re cast and we’re doing this show together and we’re experiencing things together that other people don’t experience ever in life.”
Rachel also said on the podcast that the “polarized” dynamic between the cast happened instantly. “I’m like what the hell happened here guys? Where did everyone go? It’s like we’re over here, and they’re over there,” she said. “It sucks. It’s really sad.”
Season 13 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey premieres Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 9 pm ET on Bravo.