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John Fuda and Rachel Fuda‘s 16-year-old son, Jaiden Fuda, is speaking out against his birth mother, Brittany Malsch, after the incarcerated former bartender shaded the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast members in a series of interviews from jail.
After Brittany accused John, 34, of banning her from visits with their son and claimed Rachel, 32, used her adoption of Jaiden as a “pathetic storyline” on RHONJ, Jaiden admitted she is “like a stranger” and denied her allegations against his parents.
“I’m annoyed by [Brittany Malsch] making this public. My parents made a strong effort not to talk about her shortcomings or bash her,” Jaiden told Page Six on July 4. “I have no feelings of anger or animosity toward her; she’s like a stranger to me.”
According to Jaiden, both John and Rachel “have repeatedly asked” him if he would like to go see Brittany, who is serving time at a halfway house for crimes including burglary, money laundering, and drug possession, but he hasn’t wanted to.
“I say ‘no,’” Jaiden revealed. “I wish her well and hope she stops trying to reach out to me while bashing my mom and dad.”
In his own interview with Page Six, John reacted to Brittany’s harsh comments about him and Rachel, likening her public statements to a “smear campaign” and claiming it has “really affected” Jaiden.
“We have not responded in order to avoid giving the story clout, but against Rachel and my wishes, our son Jaiden decided he would respond and add a comment,” John explained.
As for Jaiden’s adoption, it was confirmed during a May episode of RHONJ that Rachel had officially adopted him — an episode Brittany labeled as “boring as hell.”
“If I had nothing to do with this situation, I would be watching the show thinking how lame she is — completely disregarding Jaiden’s personal life and feelings and taking shots at me to make her look like a knight in shining armor of a stepmom,” Brittany told The U.S. Sun.
In response, John has suspected Brittany’s ill comments have been made in an effort to gain fame.
“My ex-girlfriend has been coming out of the wood work recently. I am honestly disappointed in Brittany for looking to take advantage of publicity instead of thinking of Jaiden’s wellbeing,” he explained. “I allowed occasionally supervised visits so Jaiden could try to have a relationship with her. I’d always hoped she could straighten herself out.”
According to John, who married Rachel, the mother of his two young daughters, Gianella and Giuliana, in 2017, he “tried to give [Brittany] a fair opportunity to see her child” in 2015, but she would either “not show up” or, “on the rare occasions she would, she was under the influence of substances.”
“As a modern-day father, I stepped up to the plate at 19 years old, and had my son with me every step of the way,” John shared, giving a nod to the fact that he’s had custody of Jaiden since 2011. “I was lucky enough to find Rachel, 23 at the time, who cared enough to give herself to be a mother for him.”
No word yet on if the Fudas will return for the upcoming 14th season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.