RHONJ Why did Luis Reales make the “Warrior Camp” apology video?

Around June/July 2021 a strange video surfaced on Reddit of Teresa Giudice’s now-fiancé Luis Reales. The dramatic video features Luis shirtless on a beach surrounded by seven other dudes, most of whom are also shirtless.

Luis is shouting an apology at, presumably, an ex and telling them he loves them and their family. He’s also being directed from an off-camera voice to really dig deep into his emotions as he does multiple takes. When Teresa’s costars saw the video posted on Reddit, they immediately freaked out. They saw it as creepy, and a huge red flag. What was going on with this video and why did Luis Reales make it?

The video was posted on Reddit with the title “It’s getting weird…I’m concerned, Teresa.” Her RHONJ costars and fans were also worried when they saw the 1 and a half minute video.

What did Luis say in the video?

“I’m coming home to see you, to get engaged and bring our family together and finally get married and have a life together,” Luis says at the start of the video.

“I’ve been here for a week, these are my brothers. These are my bond. He’s my brother, this is my coach Kevin. These are guys that are very familiar of my life. I love you. And I love our family together. I love our children. And I hope you receive this message well. Thank you. I love you.”

His coach, Kevin, who is off-camera, asks him to speak from his heart. “I love you. I’m sorry I made mistakes and held myself back and held my truth inside and worried about other people around me. … I’m sorry I put you through pain. Thank you for being patient with me and seeing the man that you saw in me.”

Below is a version of the video uploaded onto YouTube. It’s a few seconds shorter than the one leaked to Reddit.

Why did Luis make the video?

Luis made the video while attending a retreat called known as a “warrior camp.” These types of camps for men usually use military-style training and other types of therapy techniques to help men through depression and addiction issues. Joe Gorga says that Luis even recommended the camp to him when they first met, but when the video came out Joe realized he wasn’t interested in this type of camp.

While it’s unknown exactly why Luis attended the camp and used it to make an apology video, but in April 2021 Page Six unearthed information about Luis’ string of failed relationships.

One ex-fiancée, Vanessa Reiser, filed a lawsuit against Luis in 2020 that accused him of emotionally punishing her if she didn’t have sex with him four times a day. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

A source told the outlet that another woman, ex-girlfriend Paula Sanchez (who he started dating in 2011 after he separated from his ex-wife Marissa DiMartino,) claims that they were constantly getting into fights about having more sex. At first, Paula was “love-bombed” by Luis with extreme compliments, gifts, and trips to Las Vegas. This type of behavior is very similar to what we’re seeing him do with Teresa Giudice.

Love-bombing can seem nice, but it’s often an over-the-top performance used to lure someone into a relationship. It’s often a display of compliments, affection, and gift-giving that doesn’t last long term. In the worst-case scenarios, love-bombing can be part of an abuse cycle where the partner switches from love-bombing to abuse, and then back to love-bombing to make sure the partner stays.

Other than their fights about sex, however, Paula thought their relationship was fairly solid, but Luis left Paula unexpectedly in 2018 after even years together. She couldn’t get in contact with Luis to get an explanation, but instead received a message from his lawyer: “Do yourself a favor, stay away, just stay away.”

Eventually, Paula found out via social media that Luis had left her because he had been cheating on her with Vanessa Reiser.

What did the castmembers think about the video?

During the Season 12 premiere, the video is introduced with an edit of the cast members’ voices reacting to the video while shocked tweets pop up on the screen.

It then cuts to Margaret Josephs talking about the video with her husband Joe Benigno. She thinks Teresa “romanticizes” her life, so she might find a way to romanticize the video. Joe, however, doesn’t think anyone could romanticize this particular video.

During a meal with Tiki and Traci Barber, Melissa and Joe Gorga also discussed the video. Joe Gorga loved Luis when he first met him and saw him being nice to his sister, but he has since changed his tune after all of this stuff has come out about him.

Traci Barber pointed out to Joe that there are “two sides to every story,” which she knows firsthand because a lot of stories came out about her and Tiki when they first got together.

Even RHONY’s Bethenny Frankel is concerned about Teresa’s relationship with Luis. Just this past week the SkinnyGirl founder tweeted (while tagging Andy Cohen) that she “may jump through my phone if Teresa Giudice doesn’t sign a prenup.”

Bethenny was reacting to an episode of WWHL where Teresa told Andy that she currently didn’t have plans for a prenup.

What does Teresa think of Luis’ Warrior Camp video?

Later, at Teresa’s summer party, Margaret confronted Teresa about the video. (Margaret also made some waves at this party by outing Jennifer Aydin’s husband’s infidelity.)

“I think Luis has to address the video,” Margaret tells Teresa. “That’s part of his past. He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation about anything,” Teresa says. She goes on to say that she thinks Luis is “an amazing man,” and that she goes by how Luis is in the “present and future.” She ends by threatening that things are “not going to be good” unless both she and Luis get respect from the group.

Should Teresa trust Luis?

Page Six also published a photo of a Tinder profile pic of Luis that looks like it was taken in Teresa Guidice’s kitchen. Instead of using “Luis,” the profile is under the name “Nick.”

Another red flag for Luis is a 2018 assault charge. Luis flew into a rage over a car that had braked for a squirrel in Allendale, NJ. He gave the driver the finger as he passed, but then stopped, got out of his car, and hit the other driver on the head. He was charged with simple assault, pled guilty to disturbing the peace, and received a $325 fine.