Teresa Giudice 'Threatened' House of Villains Castmates: 'When I'm Pushed to be a Villain, I Become 1' (Exclusive)

Best known for flipping a table on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice will go up against some of reality TV’s biggest personalities on the new season of House of Villains.

“When I'm pushed to be a villain, I become one,” Giudice, 42, tells PEOPLE.

Certain castmates in particular, like Wes Bergmann and Safaree, especially pushed her towards villainhood. “Hanging out with these two in a house, I became more villainous being around them,” she says of the Challenge slum and the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star.

Giudice saw Bergmann, 40, as a threat in the game because of his history as a three-time Challenge champ.

“He definitely knows how to play the game, and he's definitely strategic,” Giudice says. “At first, I was like, ‘I'm not going to vibe with this guy,’ because I like friendly people. He wasn't friendly at first. It took him a little while to warm up, but then I have to say, he became a Housewife.”

The Bravo star says that in the end, she “learned a lot” from Bergmann and his competition background — because going in, Giudice’s strategy was to threaten her castmates.

“I only threatened certain people that I knew I had to. It went by the vibe,” Giudice says. “That was my strategy.”

The rest of the reality stars competing on season 2 include Jessie Godderz (Big Brother), Richard Hatch (Survivor), Victoria Larson (The Bachelor), Larissa Lima (90 Day Fiancé), Kandy Muse (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Camilla Poindexter (Bad Girls Club) and Tiffany “New York” Pollard (Flavor of Love).

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

The trailer for season 2 shows Giudice facing off with Pollard, who also competed on season 1.

“Welcome to New York, New Jersey!” Pollard, 42, says to the mom of three.

Giudice snaps back, “Kiss my ass!”

Pollard tells PEOPLE it felt “amazing” to verbally spar with Giudice. “If I'm going to go against any other community, it's going to be Jersey,” Pollard says. “I mean, New York meets New Jersey. Jersey, meet New York.”

The I Love New York star believes Giudice “was going to be able to take it,” hence why she got into it her.

“She's a veteran. She's been in the business a very long time. And it was fun clashing with her,” Pollard says. “She's a good sport.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

House of Villains’ two-night premiere begins Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo, E!, SYFY and USA. The premiere continues on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 10 p.m. ET on E!