You may know Gia Giudice as the breakout star of Bravo’s Next Gen NYC, the host of the rising podcast Casual Chaos and, of course, the daughter of The Real Housewives of New Jersey icon Teresa Giudice. But behind the scenes, she just pulled off something far more demanding than anything reality TV has ever thrown at her. Giudice just became the youngest winner in the history of FOX’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a title earned not through drama or confessionals but through one of the most grueling military-style training programs ever televised.
This wasn’t a reality competition in the traditional sense—it was a full-scale endurance gauntlet led by former Special Forces operatives. Gia pushed her body through freezing water submersions, tactical combat simulations, severe sleep deprivation, punishing physical drills and relentless psychological pressure. She outlasted Olympians, professional athletes and elite competitors, proving that her mental toughness and resilience are on par with some of the strongest performers to ever attempt the course.
Fresh off this milestone and deep into filming Next Gen, Giudice is in her busiest era yet. Between her Amazon Live streams, nonstop content schedule and podcast recordings, she still manages to carve out pockets of self-care and a beauty routine her followers swear by. “Every day is different, I’m not going to lie,” she says when we ask how she balances work, rest and wellness. “I would say a typical work week…especially while filming Next Gen, looks like a filming schedule of Tuesday to Saturday. We really only have off Sundays and Mondays, but they will throw in a Monday every once in a while. When we’re filming, it’s pretty consistent.”
Outside of shooting, the pace doesn’t slow. “I work heavily with Amazon Live. We have that at least once a week, and I record for my podcast twice a week. Then, when you throw in random events and filming content, the days can vary.” Even with the chaos, she prioritizes movement where she can. “I always like to throw in a workout or at least go on a walk if I can’t get that in. And right now, I am working on my sleep a little more because it has definitely started to catch up with me. You need that sleep!”
Unwinding doesn’t exactly mean unplugging. “I’m pretty active!” she says of her evening routine. “It’s hard for me to check out because my time in bed is my time to edit my content. I’ll film it throughout the day, but then when I’m lying down in bed, I’ll do all that good stuff for social.”
Her beauty routine, however, stays consistent even when her schedule doesn’t. “When it comes to makeup, I’m a big Make Up For Ever girl. I love their products. I also love Tower 28 concealer. It’s very light coverage, but it does the job. All of the Gucci products are amazing, too. Those have been pretty consistent in my makeup routine for a really long time.” Skin care is where she’s been discovering new favorites. “I love Caudalie’s products. Those are my go-tos. I also just discovered SkinBetter and Hydrinity—the products are really amazing.”
Professional treatments are also part of her rhythm. “I’m pretty consistent with facials,” she shares. “I’ll do a Hydrafacial every four weeks. I always like to dermaplane my skin, and it has agreed with my skin, although I know some people are against it. It honestly makes your skin feel like a baby’s butt. It’s so nice. Then, your makeup goes on so better. I like it a lot.”
When we circle back to the mindset that got her through Special Forces, the 24-year-old credits an inner voice she’s relied on her whole life. “I’ve just always had that ‘push-through’ mentality,” she says. “Throughout each day, it was like, ‘Okay, I got through day one. Okay, I just got over day two. Now, I’m on day seven. Ride it out.’ It was this mental game of me talking to myself and pushing myself through.” She also leaned heavily on the people around her. “Even though it was an individually based course, all of the castmates were pushing each other. We were constantly motivating each other. That’s my type of motivation—when someone is screaming at me, saying, ‘Let’s go!’ Their way of motivating me and pushing me through is what I like. It’s what I’m used to. I was like, ‘Oh, I grew up like this. This is perfect.’”
As for what’s next, Giudice says she’s staying in sprint mode until the holidays. “The next three weeks are pretty much go, go, go because we’re at the tail end of wrapping Season 2 for Next Gen,” she says. “I would say Christmas into the New Year, I can relax. I’m excited because I haven’t seen my dad in a bit. I would like to plan a little trip to see him in January or sometime very soon. I am definitely excited for that.”
