Teresa Giudice told police her daughter Milania had fentanyl in her system during their explosive confrontation at Tampa International Airport last Wednesday.
The “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star, 52, made the claim while riding an elevator with Milania, 19, and older sister Gia Giudice, 24, according to police bodycam footage. The footage captures the tense exchange between the reality TV family as officers responded to the disturbance.
“Cause I was laced, I go to college,” Milania fired back at her mother, though the footage does not make clear whether Teresa was alleging the drug was in her daughter’s system at that moment or from a prior incident.
The bodycam video shows Milania repeatedly escalating the situation while her mother and sister attempted to de-escalate. “This is what we do now,” Milania yelled multiple times at Teresa, who remained comparatively calm alongside Gia as both tried to persuade her to cooperate with authorities.
At another point in the footage, Milania informed her parents that she had posted video of their argument to her social media accounts. Teresa responded with resignation, telling her daughter, “I don’t care anymore.”
The matriarch’s concern surfaced again in a direct plea to Milania. “I want to save. Your life,” Teresa told her, the bodycam capturing the emotional moment between mother and daughter.
The airport clash marks another public chapter in the Giudice family’s turbulent history, which has played out across multiple seasons of the Bravo franchise and through various legal and personal crises. Teresa served nearly a year in federal prison in 2015 for fraud charges, while her ex-husband Joe Giudice was deported to Italy following his own prison sentence. The family dynamics have remained a central storyline, with viewers watching the four daughters grow up amid the scrutiny.
The Tampa incident drew fresh attention to the ongoing tensions between Teresa and her youngest daughter, whose behavior has increasingly become a source of conflict. Milania’s decision to broadcast the encounter on social media herself signals the complex dynamics at play, with the younger generation controlling their own narratives outside the structured environment of reality television production.
The bodycam footage offers an unfiltered glimpse beyond the edited confines of the show, capturing raw exchanges that echo previous volatile moments between cast members of the New Jersey franchise. Law enforcement’s presence at the scene underscores the seriousness of the disturbance, though no charges or further legal consequences were immediately reported from the encounter.
Bravo has not announced any changes to upcoming “RHONJ” production schedules in light of the incident.