After keeping her relationship with Luis “Louie” Ruelas mostly behind-the-scenes during season 11 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice’s fiancé will be front and center during season 12 of the Bravo series.
Teresa’s costars wasted no time talking about Louie on the Tuesday, February 1, premiere, bringing up a resurfaced video of the businessman. In the clip that surfaced on social media in July 2021, Louie addressed one of his exes on the beach.
“I’m coming home to see you, get engaged and bring our family together and finally get married and have a life together. I’ve been here for a week,” said a shirtless Louie — surrounded by other shirtless men, whom he referred to as his “brothers.” He also referred to one of the men as “coach Kevin,” implying he’s been at a retreat of sorts.
He continued: “I love our children and I hope you receive this message well. Thank you, I love you. Thank you for your time. I hope that this hits your heart. … And I hope to come home to have the opportunity to talk to you, and share with you my experience with my life.”
After he is encouraged to speak from the heart instead of his “f—king brain,” Louie yelled, “I love you. I’m sorry I made mistakes and held myself back and held my truth inside and worried about other people around me. … I’m sorry I put you through pain. Thank you for being patient with me and seeing the man that you saw in me.”
Teresa and Louie started dating in July 2020, less than one year after she announced her split from Joe Giudice. He popped the question in October 2021, nearly one year after they went public. This isn’t the first time that he has made headlines for his past since their romance began. During the season 11 reunion, Teresa was asked about allegations that Louie mistreated past girlfriends and “demanded” sex from his past partners.
“Obviously, you can’t believe everything you read. I have found my match. … Next question,” Teresa replied at the time, noting that his exes are “so thirsty” and coming out with allegations because of her role on RHONJ.
More recently, the longtime Bravo star defended Louie against allegations that he was using Teresa for fame.
“I know people make all these judgments and say all these things on social media regarding him. Like he wants to be on TV. He so does not want to be on TV. It’s so not his thing. If anything, he’s supporting me, but it’s really not his thing. And the craziest things that they say, like, he planned to meet me that day. No, he didn’t even know who I was, and he’s never been at the Jersey Shore, that was his first time. And it’s crazy,” she told Entertainment Tonight in November 2021. “I wish people would just leave us alone. Anybody that’s negative, just please leave us alone. Because first of all, they’re never going to destroy our happiness, just leave it at that. It’s never going to happen. And I’m a very strong, strong individual. If everyone doesn’t know that, I am. And if they knock me down, I’ll get right back up.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for Teresa’s costars opinions on the video: