The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Gia Giudice is sharing an update on younger sister Milania Giudice after her close friend Victoria Zardoya’s tragic death.
“Milania is at their house right now,” Gia, 25, told E! News in an interview published on Wednesday, August 5. “She is like another sister to them. We are just there for the family for everything, and they are always with us. They are family.”
Gia, who grew up with Zardoya alongside Milania, added that the late University of Tampa student was “like a little sister to me.”
“Please just have her family in your thoughts and prayers,” she concluded.
Zardoya died unexpectedly at age 20 on July 26, two days after a fall during a trip to Egmont Key, an island off the coast of Tampa Bay, Florida.
“She was visiting, she was flying in from New Jersey to come to Tampa. I was supposed to hang out with her that evening, and I was able to be there at the hospital,” Zardoya’s friend Molly Page Morris exclusively told Us days after the accident.
Victoria Silberbusch, who was also present for the incident, shared details on Zardoya’s death via Instagram “at the request of” her family.
“On July 24, 2026, what began as a fun, innocent day on the water with both old and new friends ended in an unimaginable and unexpected way,” Silberbusch wrote. “A beautiful 20-year-old woman named Victoria Zardoya, who had flown down to Florida for the weekend to visit friends, sustained fatal injuries due to a devastating fall while we were exploring the historic ruins at Fort Dade on Egmont Key.”
A spokesperson for the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to Us on Wednesday that Zardoya’s cause of death was “craniocerebral trauma,” while the manner of death was listed as an “accident.”
Craniocerebral trauma, or traumatic brain injury (TBI), is damage to the brain caused by an external force, commonly categorized into penetrating and nonpenetrating injuries. It results from events like falls, crashes or blows to the head, leading to physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Zardoya’s organs were donated following her death.
“They are packing up Victoria’s hospital room,” Milania, 20, said in a TikTok video on Friday, July 31. “She just went in, she’s saving eight people’s lives [via organ donation]. … I’m spreading awareness about Victoria.”
Milania continued, “I can’t really say much right now because this is, obviously, really new. I just can’t believe this is real, like, seriously just hug your loved ones.”
In the caption, she added, “We love you so much victoria we are sooooo proud of you my girl 🖤🖤🖤🖤.”
