Teresa Giudice

The Real Housewives of New Jersey is a reality television program on the Bravo network which originally followed the lives of five women in and around the upscale Franklin Lakes, New Jersey community. It is the network's fourth installation of The Real Housewives of... series, following The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Real Housewives of New York City and The Real Housewives of Atlanta. This series is notable for being the highest rated out of the entire franchise.

The show's first season premiered on May 12, 2009. The five housewives featured on the program were Teresa Giudice, Jacqueline Laurita, Caroline Manzo, Dina Manzo, and Danielle Staub. For the first time in the franchise, the series follows housewives who are related to one another: sisters Caroline and Dina are married to brothers Albert and Tommy Manzo, and Jacqueline Laurita is married to Caroline and Dina's brother, Chris Laurita. Also, minor characters Kim Granatell and Kim DePaola are related by marriage: Kim G was formerly married to Kim D's stepbrother, as revealed by Kim G on the Season 2 reunion show.

The series began airing in the UK on Channel 4 on Tuesday 1 September 2009 at 10:35pm. and finished on November 3, 2009

The show premiered its second season on May 3, 2010. Dina Manzo left the show after the seventh episode of the second season. On August 31, 2010 Bravo officially renewed the series for a third season. On August 23, 2010, it was announced that Danielle Staub was not returning to the show. On September 2, 2010 rumors began that Teresa's sister-in-law Melissa Gorga has been added as the replacement for Dina Manzo but a rep from the show stated, "We’ve announced the show is coming back, but haven’t made any announcements about casting yet."