Famecrawler
Teresa Guidice: Does It Pay To Be One of the Real Housewives?
They are living the high life—hot cars, fancy clothes, mindblowigly extravagant birthday parties for their kids. Their days are filled with little more than parties and leisure, with all the time in the world to sit around, bickering and tweeting, getting drunk and flipping tables. They seem not to have a care in the world.
That’s the appeal of the ‘Real Housewives’ franchise, an inside look into the lives of the rich, fabulous, and completely ridiculous. But with news that The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giuduice has filed for bankruptcy, owing more than $9 million and claiming an income of less than $80,000 a year, one wonders: is she is less one of the “Housewives” and more a regular old housewife?
And furthermore, her downfall raises some unsettling questions: how rich are these women, really? How much are they actually making on the show? And is the tradeoff of being on the show worth it for them—or their kids?
Apparently, Bravo pays the the New Jersey Housewives $3,333 per episode for each episode. That’s a set contract for the next three years, or however long the franchise continues. The first season was 10 episodes; so that’s about $33,000, before taxes. It isn’t that much money. Certainly, you aren’t going to support four kids in a $1.8 million house in New Jersey on it. The New York Housewives have a better deal, since they renegotiated their contract. Each New York housewife gets $10,000 per episode.
A few of them seem to be questioning whether it is worth it. For some it certainly was. Bethenny Frankel has come away from the Real Housewives series as a far bigger success than she would have been without it. Teresa Giudice is hoping for a similar payout, I’d expect. Many of them are pursing cross-marketing opportunities; Alex McCord and Jill Zarin with their books, the Countess with her single. But how much will that net them? Probably not much. A book has to sell an awful lot of copies to put any real money in an author’s pocket. And none of them wrote their books as sole authors.
On the flip side, they’ve all exposed themselves and their children to a boatload of ridicule and in some cases, a fair amount of scorn. For 30 grand? Worth it? What do you think?
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5 Comments
[...] would you feel if your mother sold out your privacy for a mere $3,333 an [...]
Real Housewives of New Jersey Sell Out Their Children's Privacy for Peanuts | Strollerderby commented on Jun 09 10 at 10:01 amzee commented on Jun 08 10 at 9:44 pmYou’d have to pay me quite a bit more than that to expose my life on national television. I can’t believe how cheaply these women are selling themselves for. Pathetic.
Melissa2009 commented on Jun 09 10 at 12:58 amI agree, they’re not making neeeeaaaaarrrrllllllyyyy enough for this. NY is paid more because? NY is too Jerry Springer-ish Whiskey Tango.
Nicole commented on Jun 09 10 at 12:28 pmThey are being paid with fame – or rather infamy? – America’s currently most craved currency. And why not? There seems to be little consequence for their irresponsible behavior with a team of PR personnel spinning it? I cannot wait to hear what the Giudices’ and Gosslins’ children have to say about this in ten years.
Monique commented on Aug 03 10 at 12:04 amI think Teresa is stupid flaunting her money on the show, and now reporting that she only makes 79,000 a year!!! And im gettin tired of yall sayin how there stupid for putting there life on here…if you were givin the oppertunity to have a camera guy video tape you for 3 days outta a week and pay u 3,000 per day!!! wat anyone of you’d take it! thats free money.Just for living your life and becoming an reality Star. ANd for the (411) I like daniel!
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