Gia Giudice Says She'll 'Always Have My Family’s Back’ amid Legal Drama but Also Wants to Be Seen as 'an Individual'-quang

Growing up on 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey', Gia tells PEOPLE she's had to develop "tough skin," but she's now ready to show fans a new side of her with a new podcast and Bravo show: "I am driving the bus, I'm in control"

Gia Giudice hopes people can get to know her authentic self.

With the ups and downs of her family’s personal life documented on the past 14 seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Gia, 24, is creating a new narrative for herself.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, she opens up about starting her iHeartRadio podcast, Casual Chaos, and starring in the upcoming Bravo reality series Next Gen NYC. 

“In a way, I'm one of the main characters now — I am driving the bus, I'm in control,” she explains. “So it's really cool to be on my own and in my own light.”

Her mom, Teresa Giudice, has been a cast member on RHONJ since its debut in 2009, when Gia was just 8 years old. Since then, cameras have followed her family’s ups and downs, including her parents’ 2014 criminal convictions and subsequent incarcerations, her dad Joe Giudice’s 2019 deportation and the complicated relationship between Teresa, her brother and his wife, Joe and Melissa Gorga.

“I think it's definitely a lot,” Gia says of everything she and her family have been through. “It is my family, but at the end of the day, I am an individual. I obviously take care of everything that's going on in my life, but overall, my entire family is very responsible.”

Last month, news broke that Teresa and her husband Luis Ruelas were hit with $3 million in tax liens, which sparked discourse about the family’s history with legal issues. While Gia wants to embrace her individuality, she tells PEOPLE that nothing is more important to her than her family.

“Like I said on my podcast, everything is getting taken care of,” she notes of the tax debt. “But at the end of the day, I will always defend my family whether people like it or not, and you're either going to love me or hate me for it. As much as I am stepping out on my own, I will always have my family's back. And that's all I was doing, and that's all I'll keep doing.”

She adds: “My whole family's in the public eye, so whatever goes on with my family, [I’m] associated with it. It's just how it goes. So even though it might not be me, I will still get the wrath of it in the comments, and my sisters will. So it kind of affects the whole family, which is unfortunate, but you just have to build tough skin. People are going to love to hate you, hate to love you.”

Gia Giudice (left) and Teresa Giudice attend the "Mafia Mamma" New York screening on April 11, 2023 in New York City.

Over the years, Gia says she has learned to filter her comments on social media and brush off the negativity. She also doesn’t plan to shy away from hard topics, hoping her personality shines through at the end of the day.

“I'm excited for people to get to know my fun, lighthearted self,” she shares. “And I just want them to feel like they're in a conversation with me while listening to my podcast. I want them to feel how casual and easy I am, and I also want them to really feel like they can relate to me.”

“I'm super excited to talk about topics like divorce, and talk about how I manage my parents' divorce and maybe see if that can help others, or how I dealt with my parents' incarceration if any of my viewers are dealing with their parents, family members or friends going through incarceration,” she continues. “I'm super excited to really dive deep.”

Next Gen NYC premieres Tuesday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. The Real Housewives of New Jersey can be streamed on Peacock.