Before mom and Boujie Kidz business owner Danielle Cabral joined the cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 13, she got her start in reality TV somewhere else: MTV’s True Life.

Back in 2006, long before she married Nathan Cabral and when she was known as Danielle DiPietro, the Season 13 addition was one of three women to be featured on True Life: I’m a Staten Island Girl.

Danielle, who was pursuing her dream of becoming an actress at the time, showcased her Staten Island lifestyle on the MTV episode. The True Life cameras returned in 2008 for a follow-up episode. 

Though her time on the docuseries was memorable — and she secured several acting roles afterward — Danielle said her True Life experience made her feel “nervous” and “afraid” to appear on RHONJ for one very key reason. 

As Danielle said on the March 14 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, her family was “embarrassed” by her original stint on the MTV docuseries.

“I got a lot of heat for that show. A ton,” Danielle said, adding that the heat came from her Staten Island neighbors as well. “Yeah, they were not happy about it. Even during filming, it was very hard. They were not nice. They weren’t nice, so I was very nervous going into this [RHONJ] of all things.”

Danielle explained why she thinks she got so much flak for appearing on the show.

“It wasn’t so much of what I did, it was the kind of rep we gave Staten Island,” she said. “Because it was before Jersey Shore, it was before shows came out, and people were like, ‘Oh my god, Staten Island, who are these people?!’ And they had a problem with it.”

Though Danielle had some hesitations about joining RHONJ thanks to her past experience with True Life, she told Andy Cohen that she’s been enjoying her time on the Jersey show thus far.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” she said on WWHL. Danielle went on to share that the thing that “surprised” her the most about RHONJ is “how real everything is.”

“It was a lot to take in,” she added.

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo Tuesdays at 9/8c and the next day on Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo app.

Watch WWHL on Bravo Sundays through Thursdays and the next day on Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo app.