Luis Ruelas has issued an apology for remarks he made about Margaret Josephs and her son on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” season 14 finale.
Heavy/Peacock Luis Ruelas, Margaret Josephs
Posting to his Instagram story on August 6, 2024, the husband of Teresa Giudice apologized for bringing up Josephs’ son during an on-camera discussion he had with his wife before she headed to a cast luncheon filmed at Rails Steakhouse.
“The finale was very tough for me to watch, and I want to address it with you all,” Ruelas, 52, wrote to his 157,000 followers. “After watching the finale, I was disappointed in my actions in bringing up Margaret Josephs [sic] son,” Ruelas wrote.
Ruelas explained that the reason he brought up Josephs’ son was because he been “falsely accused” of threatening him. The allegations were made during the RHONJ season 13 reunion. “My child was called and threatened at work by Luis,” Josephs alleged during the 2023 reunion. “And we have the phone records. It was very freaky. He was called by name, threatened ‘I’m the guy you gotta worry about.’”
Giudice denied that Ruelas contacted Josephs’ son but did confirm it was Ruelas’ phone number on the call records Josephs brought as a receipt.
Ruelas continued to deny the allegation in his message posted in August 20024.
“The reason [her son] was even brought up was because …for the last year Margaret kept putting this narrative out there that I called her son at work, and I have had to deal with it knowing I am being lied on,” he explained on Instagram. “Still, I know better not to bring someone’s child up and it is something I deeply regret so I do want to apologize and acknowledge that I was wrong,” Ruelas added.
Ruelas added that the “toxicity on the show” has affected his entire family. “We are dealing with a lot of frustrating things behind the scenes, and it has been very hard for our entire family and our children who have been really impacted by all that’s happened at the hands of certain people. Two wrongs don’t make a right and I deeply regret saying what I said,” he wrote in his message.
Luis Ruelas Said He Hopes Margaret & Her Son ‘Suffer’
In a shocking scene in the RHONJ finale, titled “After All is Said and Done,” Ruelas ranted about Josephs in a conversation with Giudice. After asking his wife how she planned to handle seeing Josephs at the finale luncheon, he offered her a suggestion. “Tell her to stay away from our family,” he said.
“And you know what?” he continued. “I hope Margaret and her family suffer. You know, I hope her [expletive] son suffers the way I suffered, the way other people in our family have suffered with a woman like that.”
“She is a disgusting, vile human being. …She’s a real piece of garbage,” he added.
Giudice and her husband had long accused Josephs of communicating with Ruelas’ ex, Vanessa Reiser, to spread negative stories about him. But during the luncheon, Josephs revealed it was actually Giudice’s close friend Jackie Goldschneider who was in contact with Reiser.
Speaking on the “Reality Checked With Kiki Monique” podcast on August 5, 2024, Josephs said she felt “vindicated’ now that the truth was out.
Margaret Josephs Has Been Fiercely Protective Of Her Son
Josephs’ son has never appeared on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and lives a private life. She gave birth to her only biological child during her marriage to her first husband, Jan Josephs, whom she was married to from 1994 to 2013, per People. Josephs’ son was born in 1996, according to Distractify. Josephs also helped raise her husband’s children.
Following Jan Josephs’ sudden death in 2022, the RHONJ star told BravoTV.com that she leaned on her son. “I think it just put my whole life in perspective,” she shared. “I spent a lot of time with my son.”
While she rarely talks publicly about her biological son, in 2021, Josephs wrote on Twitter, “I have a biological son that everyone on the cast knows about and we are very close. So please stop with the sweeping false statements about my ‘real children,’ my stepchildren are also my children I raised them.”