Teresa Giudice’s ex Anthony Delorenzo can’t be tamed. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star revealed on the Wednesday, January 29, episode that the pool contractor sent her a shirtless mirror selfie — months before her split from Joe Giudice.
Teresa, 47, passed around her phone to show off the photo to her costars Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider while having dinner. She admitted that she thinks Delorenzo is good-looking but insisted they are just friends.
“Did he send that to you?” Gorga, 40, asked her sister-in-law. “This is making me uncomfortable for some reason. Teresa, put the phone away!”
The Love Italian Style author later explained that because she is “so used to seeing [Teresa] married and with Joe, to even see her talk about another guy or flirt … [is] just kind of weird.”
Delorenzo, who is a father of two young boys, has made several cameos on season 10 of the Bravo reality series as he builds a pool in the backyard of Teresa’s home. The pair briefly dated as teenagers, years before the Standing Strong author married Joe, 47, in October 1999.
Teresa and Delorenzo were spotted getting cozy in December 2019 after having breakfast in New Jersey. However, her attorney, James Leonard, denied that there was anything romantic going on between them.
Us Weekly confirmed earlier that month that Teresa and Joe — who share daughters Gia, 19, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 10 — had called it quits after 20 years of marriage.
“Teresa and Joe have separated, but have no plans to divorce yet. Teresa and Joe talked about their future when she and the girls were in Italy [in November] and decided it was best for them to separate,” a source told Us. “Neither of them wanted to be in a long-distance relationship. Joe has been dating in Italy, Teresa is busy taking care of their girls right now. They harbor no ill will toward each other and will continue to coparent their kids.”
The estranged couple have not lived together since March 2016, when Joe began his 41-month prison sentence for fraud. Teresa, meanwhile, served 11 months behind bars in 2015 for the same crime.
The former construction business owner was released from prison in March 2019 and transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. He moved to his native Italy in October while awaiting a final decision in his deportation case. (He was still in ICE custody when Wednesday’s episode was filmed.)
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
