Did Fame Push 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' Star Into Bankruptcy?‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe, who owe creditors nearly $11 million are feeling victimized by their fame, according to an unnamed friend.

“If she wasn’t on the show, this all would be much easier,” a friend of Teresa’s tells a news publication. “Everything would be settled by now, but because she is now famous everyone is using the situation to get press for themselves and humiliate her and her family. It’s honestly got to the point where she’s not sure if she wants to come back for another season.”

Well fame may be responsible for the Giudice bankruptcy; but not in the way that the friend suggests.  While it’s true that there may be many who are attempting to profit from the Giudice infamous bankruptcy case, it is probably the fame that was at least partially responsible for pushing the Giudices to accumulate the type of debt that lead to their bankruptcy filing.  All debtors experience the pressure to “perform” financially in the sense that they feel they must have the best car, the nicest house and the trendiest clothes.  This pressure can often lead to the type of spending behavior that leads to bankruptcy; but when a person is famous that pressure can double or even triple.  A matter of fact, fame can lead to the type of hyper-inflated feeling of financial invincibility that lead the Giudices to spend $60,000 on curtains, wall hangings, mirrors, frames, tables and chairs just days after filing bankruptcy. For most of us “ordinary folks” there are people around us who will say “Who do you think you are, Donald Trump?”  But who is willing to say the same to a famous individual when they are spending themselves into bankruptcy?  That’s why it is so easy for celebrities to waste millions and end up in bankruptcy court if they don’t have sound personal finance skills necessary to manage their budget whether big or small.