RHONJ's John Fuda Releases Statement After Teresa Giudice Calls Him 'Biggest Drug Dealer' in Premiere

After basically closing the door on a relationship of any kind with her sister-in-law Melissa Gorga and her brother Joe, Teresa proved you don't have to be family by blood or bond for her to yell at you on national television.

When she and Rachel got into it while defending their husbands over fallout from last season's explosive reunion, Teresa threw out a bombshell allegation of her own: "Your husband is the biggest drug dealer in Bergen County. So don't come for my husband, because I will come for your husband."

This public blasting led to an immediate public response from John, who posted a very official document to his Instagram in response to "RHONJ Castmates' attempt to disparage his character)."

Acknowledging that he has a past, the statement reads that despite efforts to "dredge" it up to "discredit him and undermine his reputation," John "remains steadfast in his commitment to integrity, honesty, and personal growth."

"While I am not proud of every aspect of my history, I have worked tirelessly to overcome challenges and strive for a better future. I refuse to be defined by my past mistakes," John says in the lengthy statement.

"I am grateful for the support of my friends, family, and fans who see me for who I am today -- a person dedicated to growth, kindness, and authenticity," he continued. "I will continue to rise above negativity and remain true to myself."

The statement goes on to emphasize that people deserve a chance to "evolve and move forward from their past, free from judgment and condemnation." The top comment with the most replies reads, "Does Theresa (sic) remember she went to jail? We do."

Tension between Teresa and the rest of the cast reached a boiling point at the reunion, in large part because of her husband Luis Ruelas' antics hiring a private investigator to look into the Fudas and other cast members, as well as allegedly calling Margaret Josephs' son at work to threaten him and otherwise crossing all kinds of lines.

Meanwhile, Teresa went into this premiere convinced that the women had a "plan to go against Luis and I" at the reunion. Her evidence was Danielle Cabral telling her that Jen Fessler said to people across from them, "You guys didn't execute the plan correctly."

How accurate was this intel? Well, it's already what Teresa was told that one person heard another person say to another group of people ... so that's a pretty rock solid game of telephone there, going through layers of hearsay before hitting her ears.

Nevertheless, Dolores Catania encouraged Teresa to bring it up the next time the women were together. Rachel, meanwhile, was planning a surprise party for Jen Fessler in hopes she and her husband could confront Luis about the whole P.I. thing.

"I don't need an audience," Luis said at the pre-party dinner with Teresa, Dolores and her boyfriend Paul. Luis had called John to talk before the party, but John countered they could just talk at the party. But Luis ultimately didn't show up because, per Teresa, he "was away on business."

When John said that he thinks that's just an excuse so Luis doesn't have to deal with the P.I. thing, Paul tried to defend Luis' stance by arguing, "You want to meet somebody in person, a party's not the place to talk to them."

This didn't sit well with John, though, who decided this meant Paul had taken sides ... and not his!

Dolores pulled Paul away to shut down that escalating discussion, but the tension continued to rise as Teresa decided to confront Rachel about her husband's past.

Teresa told Rachel she didn't want to talk about it now before talking about it now, telling Rachel that her husband went for Luis "trying to ruin his reputation." She then called Luis a "gentleman" for trying to clear the air with John before this party.

"What do you know about gentlemen?" Rachel replied, which was all the ammunition Teresa needed. She'd told Jennifer Aydin on the way to the party about online rumors she'd seen about John being a drug dealer and was locked and loaded, ready to fire them off at the party. She just needed an excuse.

"You know what your husband said to my husband? 'I have tremendous respect for your wife because we both went to jail,'" Teresa said, before bringing up the rumors John has denied.

"I heard that your husband is the biggest drug dealer in Bergen County," she said. "So don't come for my husband, because I will come for your husband."

When Rachel brought John in on the conversation, Teresa told him she heard it from his ex and "it's out on social media." To this he responded, "You don't know s--t. Don't go down this route." The episode ended with John calling her a "has been" as she left the party.

He then got the final word (for now) with his statement about the "drug dealer" claim where he neither confirmed nor denied the specifics of the allegation, but said he's made a commitment to move on from his past.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey brings the drama every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.