More exclusive Real Housewives of New Jersey news to report today!

As we reported days ago, Caroline Manzo finally admitted there is indeed a rift between her and sister Dina Manzo in a preview clip for the show’s reunion. Even worse, Caroline blamed Teresa Giudice for straining her relationship with Dina.

But what’s even more surprising is the fact that Dina continues to be BFF with Caroline’s new enemy Teresa while shunning her own sister.

And today, we now have exclusive details on the real deal when it comes to Dina and Tre’s friendship. According to our RHONJ insider, the friendship between Dina and Teresa is pretty much fake as the only time the two hang out together is when there are cameras around. Our source states the two are simply using each other for different reasons — more so Dina than Teresa.

“Dina’s Party (Dina’s HGTV show) isn’t getting such rave reviews. It sure isn’t a hit show. So, she is desperate to stay relevant. Teresa was seen filming with her. That is why they remain friends,” says the insider. “Dina who claims she hates all the BS hangs out with the biggest trouble maker of all. But, Dina is no dummy. She does it to stay on the map. Dina also uses Teresa to make appearances because she knows she gets a larger crowd at her Ladybug events.”

“Teresa and Dina’s friendship was totally played up for the show. They never see each other. The only time they do is when they are using each other for business,” reveals our source adding that Dina “knows Teresa is a trouble maker and doesn’t agree with what she does.”

As for what caused the rift between Dina and Caroline, our source states it all started when Caroline refused to quit the RHONJ. “Caroline and Dina have had a strained relationship since Dina left the show. When Dina left she wanted Caroline to leave as well. It really is a mess. This show has screwed up so many relationships.”

Our source also insists Dina left the show not so much because of Danielle Staub but because of her husband Tommy Manzo — who never appeared on camera. “Dina’s husband Tommy told Dina she HAD to leave the show. She had no choice in the matter.”

The insider adds that Dina is “NOT happy” that Teresa revealed her feud with Caroline on the reunion show. However, “Dina won’t dare stay mad at Teresa since she hopes she chooses Project Ladybug as her charity on Celebrity Apprentice. It is one big circle of using people.”

Indeed, Teresa began filming Celebrity Apprentice a few days ago. No word yet on whether or not she chose Dina’s Project Ladybug as her charity.

As for Dina, she started receiving some backlash from RHONJ fans who feel she is taking Teresa’s side over her sister Caroline’s. She then took to twitter to defend herself.

“Eww getting some MEAN tweets. I didn’t take sides, don’t assume~didn’t even know they were not getting along until recently~I’m not involved,” tweeted Dina.

She later added: “If I get one more tweet about this I may scream. TERESA HAD NO IMPACT ON MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ANYONE. Give it a rest tweeple it’s annoying.”

While Dina and Teresa are phony BFFs, it’s still incredibly hard to believe she had no idea Teresa and Caroline were feuding as they have been for a while now. Sounds like she is using that to excuse her choice to continue to hang around Teresa (not that she needs to to end her friendship with Teresa over Caroline). The two were pictured above recently during Teresa launch party for her Fabellini wine on October 7th. Our insider tells us Dina was only at the party for about an hour.

Moving on to tonight’s RHONJ reunion part 1 in what Bravo promises is the most explosive RHONJ reunion yet! It airs at 10/9c and a preview clip is below!

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON TERESA & DINA’ S FAKE FRIENDSHIP? DO YOU BELIEVE SHE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT TRE AND CAROLINE’S FEUD? THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT’S REUNION?

It must be something in the New Jersey water as it appears Teresa Giudice is not the only Real Housewives of New Jersey star experiencing a major family feud.

Reality Tea can now report that sisters Caroline Manzo and Dina Manzo don’t appear to be on good terms. Whispers of a drift first began to arise as the two sisters have yet to be photographed together in months. In fact, the last picture we could find of them together dates back to last September.

The whispers grew louder as Caroline and the NJ Housewives hosted a premiere party at the Brownstone weeks ago, with Teresa hosting a separate party for herself. Dina chose to attend Teresa’s party. Dina also hosted an event for her Lady Bug charity on May 23 at The Brownstone (Dina’s husband Tommy Manzo is a co-owner with Caroline’s husband Albert Manzo), and while Teresa attended Dina’s event and was photographed with her, Caroline who was at the event with daughter Lauren, did not appear in any press photos (wireimages/gettyimages) with Dina.

And in Teresa’s Bravo blog this week, she alludes to Caroline having a feud with a sibling though she doesn’t mention Dina by name. Excerpts below -

“There are many parts of our lives that you don’t see. This episode you didn’t see my girls at all! You don’t see a lot of other people that are in all of our lives. You dont see Caroline’s other brothers and sisters and their family dynamic, for better or worse… Everyone keeps asking about my friendship with Caroline and Jacqueline. There is no feud. We all love each other. But as Caroline pointed out this week, we aren’t each other’s only friends. Jacqueline and I are very close, Dina and I are too. Caroline, while I’ve known her for years, is their big sister. I love her and I respect her, but she was never part of our group outside of family functions… I’m not the type of person to tell you how to live your life, because who am I to judge? I’m not perfect, and if I gave you advice on how to fix your problem when I have the same problem I can’t fix, it just doesn’t seem right.“

We did a little more digging and came across a recent post by the Reality Crack House blog this week in which a NJ Housewives insider reveals that the two sisters are indeed no longer on good terms. “They don’t speak, they haven’t for a while,” said the insider.

The final nail in the coffin? As of our last check yesterday (Wednesday) night, the two sisters are no longer following each other on twitter. Dina no longer follows Caroline, and a look at Caroline’s list of the 241 people she follows does not include her baby sister Dina. The two were in fact following each other at one point.

Teresa does seem to make a valid point (no hell has yet to freeze over) as it does appear a bit hypocritical for Caroline to be overly assertive in advising Teresa on her family feud with brother Joe Gorga, when she seems to have the same exact issue with her own younger sister. No word yet on what caused the rift between the two sisters.

Photo credit – WENN.

TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED CAROLINE & DINA ARE NOT TALKING? DO YOU THINK CAROLINE IS HYPOCRITICAL FOR ADVISING TERESA ON HER FAMILY FEUD?

UPDATE – Caroline tweeted the photo below of her and Dina from the Lady Bug event with the caption,”I hate viscous people. Sorry to disappoint.” No word yet on why she no longer follows Dina on twitter despite following Teresa, Jacqueline and even newbie Melissa.

It seems Jacqueline Laurita, star of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, wants absolutely nothing to do with a lawsuit against her former co-star Danielle Staub.

Following the leak or release of Caroline Manzo’s deposition, in a defamation lawsuit brought against Danielle by her ex-husband Kevin Maher, TMZ is reporting today that Jacqueline desperately wants to avoid testifying.

As for her reason, Jacqueline tells TMZ “I don’t want to go back to that dark place.” She added, “I didn’t even know I was on the list … it’s not really a list I want to be on … can I be taken OFF the list?”

As we previously reported, Kevin is suing Daniele for $5 million, citing that she spread horrific lies about him in the press and in her memoir. In addition to Caroline, Jacqueline was also added to the witness list to testify about Danielle’s “dishonest reputation.”

RadarOnline also reported a week ago that Danielle offered Kevin a settlement deal, but he ultimately rejected it.

“I really don’t want to go back to that dark place. Every time I’ve moved on the tide tries to pull me back in. I’m enjoying the sun. Let me be,” said Jacqueline, who is set to take the stand in February 2011.

In other NJ news, Dina Manzo tweeted a rare picture of she and her husband Tommy Manzo, who has never appeared on the Bravo show. That photo is below -

Weeks after making a surprise exit on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, 40-year-old Dina Manzo is finally breaking her silence on why her fellow castmate, Danielle Staub, caused her to leave the show.

The NYDailyNews is reporting that in a new interview with Life&Style magazine, out this week, Dina reveals the real reason she walked away from the hit show was because Danielle tried to have her daughter taken away. This would also explain the big meltdown Caroline Manzo had during last year’s reunion when she declared she would never forgive Danielle for what she did to Dina.

If you recall, Danielle claimed earlier this year that Dina forged her ex-husband’s signature in order to have her daughter Lexi appear on the first season of the Bravo show. Dina however denies Danielle’s claims, saying both she and her ex-husband gave permission.

“My ex husband was well aware of Lexi’s involvement in the show,” Dina told the mag. “She would often call him with details after a day of shooting.”

However once the show aired and her ex saw the content, he decided he wanted Lexi off the air. It was this moment, according to Dina, that Danielle began to spread malicious lies in an attempt to turn Lexi’s dad against her.

“She told my ex’s family that I’d actually forged his signature on the contracts, which I did not,” Dina said. “She knew she could work on his emotions, so she supplied him with every phone number of everybody he’d need to follow through with a lawsuit – contacts at Bravo, our production crew and her attorneys.”

Fortunately for Dina, her ex did not believe Danielle’s story and never tried to sue her. “She thought more would come of it, like I could lose custody,” Dina explained. “She just wanted to hurt me.”

Dina also denies Danielle’s other allegation that her husband, Tommy Manzo, has left her for a girlfriend. “Tommy lives right here with me and is happy as a clam,” she said. “Things are better than ever.”

In other NJ news, Danielle hit the premiere of the ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice‘ in New York City yesterday night. Danielle brought along her two children and her faux girlfriend Lori Michaels.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF DANIELLE, LORI AND HER KIDS -

Danielle Staub with daughters and singer/songwriter Lori Michaels

If there’s one thing we have all grown accustomed to when it comes to Bravo housewives, it is their penchant fondness for the good life and excessive, borderline obnoxious, bragging of their “lavish lifestyles.”

Not exempt are the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and thanks to the good folks at Jezebel.com, the financial history of each of the ladies has now been uncovered.

For example, did you know three civil suits were filed against Danielle Staub and her ex-husband Thomas Staub, including federal and state tax liens? Yeah, neither did we. This might explain why a 47-year-old mother of two would make a sex tape and sell it to the highest bidder. All allegedly of course.

Below is more information about each housewife’s financial history -

Caroline Manzo – Caroline’s husband Albert Manzo has been involved in over 30 judgments and liens (one brought on by a family member) since the early ’90s up until two years ago . Throughout the ’90s and into 2000, there were several judgments against Caroline for nonpayment of hospital and doctors’ bills, as well another judgment involving “Church Chronicle Publishing.”

• A state tax lien for $10,546.17 was filed against Albert Manzo in 2000.
• A judgment in favor of the Federal Mortgage Association for $148,000 also against Al.
• A few judgments in favor of the First Bank of USA and North Jersey Federal Credit for a combined total of over $10,000.

Dina Manzo – Jezebel reports out of all the housewives, Dina is the only one who has a clean slate when it comes to her financial history. Her husband, Tommy Manzo, is however a different story. Dina married Tommy (the brother of Caroline’s husband) in 2006 in a lavish wedding that reportedly cost $1.5 million. The wedding was featured on VH1′s My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding. You can watch that here.

• Tommy was sued by American Express for $12,599 in 2007
• He was also sued by the Bank of America for an undisclosed amount.

Jacqueline Laurita - Similar to Dina, Jacqueline also seems to have a clean financial slate. However as we reported this week, the company of Jacqueline’s husband, Chris Laurita, filed for bankrupty last year. The company, Signature Apparel Group LLC, was behind the Rocawear and Eve’s Fetish clothing brands. The financial issues found on the Lauritas were for the years 1988 and 1990.

• United Jersey bank successfully won a judgment against Chris for over $18,000 in 1988.
• American Express also successfully won a judgment against Chris for almost $3000 in 1990.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE LADIES’ FINANCIAL HISTORIES!

Danielle Staub – Danielle has been very vocal about her financial troubles on the show despite carrying designer bags, wearing $500 leggings from Neiman Marcus, getting Botox and lip injections, and having (her fourth) breast augmentation. Jezebel also shuts down Danielle’s claim that she was the first woman in New Jersey to own an American Express black card, something she bragged about in season one of the show.

• A federal tax lien was placed against Danielle in March 2006 for $111,161 by the IRS.
• Also in 2006, a civil suit was filed against Danielle by an attorney for an undisclosed amount, most likely stemming from nonpayment of legal bills.
• In February 2007, a different federal tax lien was placed against Danielle— filed in a new county—and her ex-husband, Thomas Staub for $130,577 by the IRS.

Teresa Giudice – Thanks to the uncovering of her 2009 bankruptcy filing, most of Teresa’s financial troubles have now been made very public. The only new information uncovered about the Giudices comes via PEOPLE magazine’s cover story on the couple which accused Joe Giudice of being a slumlord. Jezebel confirms this and shows court documents that go back well over 10 years showing the Giudices have been sued by numerous tenants and a heating company. A small sampling of nearly 20 civil cases were uncovered.

TELL US: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE NJ HOUSEWIVES?

The biggest question of the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey was where is Dina’s husband? In a show that follows these women and their families, it raised a big question mark that Tommy Manzo made zero appearances on the show.

Dina has claimed that her husband decided he did not want to be on TV, which is strange considering the fact that he appeared on VH1′s My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding not too long ago. Their episode can be viewed below. The highlights on their episode included -

1. They invited over 600 people to their nuptials.
2. Dina admitted Tommy had cheated on her numerous times during their 5 year relationship.
3. Tommy saying he was marrying Dina because it was the right thing to do.
4. They supposedly ended up spending $1,150,000 on their wedding.
5. Dina admits Tommy was dating someone else for a year during their relationship, basically two timing her.

Interesting. A skinnier Caroline Manzo also makes appearances during this episode. Others have speculated Tommy did not want to do the show because he was unhappy with the way he came off on the VH1 show.

Tommy, 44, co-owns the Brownstone along with Caroline’s husband, Al Manzo.

We have been reporting the rumors circulating that Tommy and Dina are separated, and that the separation is allegedly his reason for not being on the show. A source alleged Tommy had moved into an apartment near the brownstone with a younger girlfriend.

More pictures of Tommy are below-

New Jersey Residents – Do you know the real deal with Dina and Tommy? Feel free to share in the comments.

Photos courtesy of Thefablife.

Seems like Danielle Staub failed to come completely clean on her past during the finale of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Danielle only admitted to being arrested, changing her name, and being a past stripper. What she failed to admit was that she also used to be a prostitute/high paid escort.

The Gawker got their hands on the court documents involving Danielle’s 1986 arrest, and it definitely sheds more light on her past.

The documents revealed the following -

1)  In 1986, Staub went by the name Beverly Merrill, but her working name as a high-end prostitute was “Angela Minelli.” She was living in Miami, and one of her clients was Daniel Claudio Aguilar, a cocaine dealer for the Medellín cartel.

2)  Danielle wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time as she claimed. She was heavily involved with the kidnapping which came as a result of a cocaine deal gone wrong, which Danielle also had a big part in. Danielle’s job was to help test the cocaine that was being sold for $48,000.

3) During the kidnapping, Danielle helped make phone calls to the victim’s family demanding a ransom.

4) Danielle was picked up/arrested with six kilos of cocaine and $16,000 in cash.

5) After her arrest, Danielle turned on her boyfriend/kidnapper known as Aguilar, and helped in convicting him.

6) During the trial, Aguilar’s lawyers tried to undermine Danielle’s credibility by repeatedly pointing out that she was a prostitute who worked for an escort service and coke addict.

7) Danielle’s ex husband and author of the Book – Cop Without A Badge, Kevin Maher, has critized her for appearing on reality citing the fact that Aguilar might want to carry out his revenge on her. Aguilar was released from prison in 1994.

I guess being a past prostitute/escort isn’t something anyone would want to admit to, but why go on a reality show knowing you have all these skeletons in your closet? If you are going to come clean, you might as well come all the way clean.

In other news, the big rumor that refuses to go away is that Dina’s husband, Tommy Manzo, has left her and moved in with a younger girlfriend. Sources say Tommy is living with his girlfriend in an apartment close to the Brownstone where he works at. I guess time will tell whether or not Dina is truly separated from her husband.