The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice’s husband, Luis Ruelas, dropped his plea to have his ex-fiancée, Vanessa Reiser, thrown in jail, Luxury Handbag Shopping can exclusively report.
On October 21, Ruelas, 50, who was in a relationship with Reiser from 2018 to 2020, filed court docs informing the court he was no longer pursuing legal action against her.
In a separate letter to the judge, Reiser’s lawyer confirmed the case was being dismissed.
The legal drama started in 2020 when Ruelas sued Reiser, demanding she return money and an engagement ring. Reiser filed a counterclaim, which accused Ruelas of being controlling during their romance and that he caused harm to her business.
The exes reached a settlement, which included not disparaging the other publicly, shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
In October 2024, Ruelas filed court docs accusing Reiser of violating the deal by trash-talking him on social media and defaming him.
In one filing, Ruelas said Reiser followed his stepdaughter Gia Giudice on Instagram, “and makes her presence known there too, causing uncomfortable feelings and emotions for a young girl.”
Ruelas told the court that Reiser’s actions caused him, Teresa, 53, and their kids “daily emotional distress.”
In his petition, Ruelas included declarations from various parties to back up his claims. One declaration was signed by Teresa and Luis’ former enemy and RHONJ alum Jackie Goldschneider.
Goldschneider, 49, told the court that Reiser reached out to her to talk.
“[Reiser] often made derogatory statements about [Ruelas] to me during our interactions,” Goldschneider said. “[Reiser] and I spoke multiple times via text message and phone, where she identified herself as [Ruelas’] ex-fiancée and frequently made negative remarks about him.”
Goldschneider added, “Although I was initially sympathetic to [Reiser’s] situation, she exploited my vulnerability and kindness and sought to leverage our interactions to criticize [Ruelas].”
Goldschneider said, “Based on my observations and interactions with Ms. Reiser, I believe that her actions and statements are in direct violation of the terms of the Consent Order between her and Mr. Ruelas. Her conduct, as it pertained to me, had been consistent and aimed at disparaging Mr. Ruelas.”
In his filing, Ruelas said his ex-fiancée also appeared on a 2023 podcast where she called him a narcissist. He claimed he lost out on a six-figure salary with a publicly traded company due to Reiser’s false claims about him.
“The impact of Reiser’s statements has been deeply damaging, affecting my personal life, my relationship with my wife and children and my professional reputation,” Ruelas said.
Ruelas asked for Reiser to be found in contempt and serve jail time.
Reiser denied all of Ruelas’ allegations that she violated the terms of their 2020 deal. She claimed statements she made to third parties were misrepresented by Ruelas or the third party.
In her response, Reiser admitted to meeting with Goldschneider.
She said, “[Goldschneider] hated [Ruelas] and his wife because his wife wrongfully and viciously accused [Goldschneider’s] husband of having an affair. But now, when [Goldschneider] needs a friend to keep her on the show, she had buddied up with Teresa.”
In her filings, Reiser claimed she never violated the deal with any of her conversations or social media posts.
She claimed Ruelas offered no real proof that she followed Gia, 24, on Instagram. Reiser said that if Gia, who was 18 at the time, felt “uncomfortable” by someone online “she could simply block that person.”
She said, “What cannot be done, is allow [Ruelas] to attribute his wife’s adult daughter now, that she feels uncomfortable, from a 2021 post, of which on its face there is no nexus to me, and use [the] same as evidence in court.”
The fight is now officially over.
