Teresa Giudice Recalls an Iconic RHONJ Moment During Her DWTS Season 31 Debut

When Teresa Giudice twirled her way onto Dancing With the Stars for the first time, she really turned the tables on her competition. Dancing around the ballroom to a cover of Rihanna’s “We Found Love” on Monday, September 19, Teresa re-created an iconic The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 1 moment that should have won her the Mirrorball Trophy on the spot.

In the middle of her debut tango with pro partner Pasha Pashkov, yes, Teresa flipped a table, harking back to her explosive argument with RHONJ alum Danielle Staub in 2009. Even Pasha had seen the famed episode, as he revealed to her during a pre-performance video package. Teresa’s reply? “I used to — used to — have a short fuse,” she said, adding that she “started working with a therapist on how not to get triggered.”

Teresa spoke with Extra about that moment. “I did that for my fans,” Teresa said. “Because I know they love the whole table-flip thing, this time I did it with a smile… The first time I didn’t do it with a smile.”

       
That piece of Housewives history wasn’t quite enough to win over the DWTS Season 31 judges though, as Teresa and Pasha scored 20 out of 40 points and landed in the night’s bottom two. Luckily, the panel voted to save the RHONJ cast member to dance another week. “I wasn’t nervous. I did my best… I have no dance experience, so each week I know if I stay in, if my fans vote for me… I am just going to get better,” she added when speaking to Extra.

It might have helped that Teresa had her own cheering section in the DWTS ballroom, including The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Kenya Moore. Sharing an Instagram Live clip from the pre-show audience warm-ups, Kenya, who competed on the long-running reality series last season, wrote in a caption that she was “supporting [her] girl” and encouraged her followers to “vote now for Teresa.”

The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Ashley Darby also showed support, commenting, “Yassss!!!! Represent for us babe!” on Kenya’s post.

It only made sense for Kenya to show up in person, since she was the one who encouraged Teresa to sign up for DWTS in the first place. In a September 8 interview with Page Six, the RHONJ ’Wife revealed that she called her The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 1 castmate for advice after receiving the DWTS offer.

“She’s like, ‘Definitely, you should do it, you’re going to love it,’” Teresa, who referred to Kenya as her “girl for life,” recalled. “She’s like, ‘Get ready.’ But I’m a hard worker so… I’m ready to put in all the hard work that I need to.”

Of course, two of Teresa’s daughters, Gia and Milania, were also in Los Angeles to cheer on their mom. In her Instagram Stories, Gia shared a pre-show video in the ballroom, telling her followers to “get ready,” while also sharing voting instructions. After the judges ultimately saved Teresa, the 21-year-old posted a photo of her mom and Pasha, encouraging fans to “keep the votes up for next week to keep this amazing couple on!!”

Now, we can only hope there are no sprinkle cookies in her dressing room next week.

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Peacock and the Bravo app.