Teresa and Joe Giudice were the OG couple of Real Housewives of New Jersey, but their marriage fell apart last December.
After months of arguing over the phone, the two finally made their separation official. The Giudices were married for 20 years and shared four children- Gia, 19, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10.
Problems were a long time coming
Marital troubles for the Giudices began in 2014 when they were convicted of mail, wire, bank, and bankruptcy fraud. Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in prison, which she served in 2015 (she was released early).
Joe was sentenced to 41 months and served his sentence after Teresa’s release, which the judge allowed so that one parent could be home consistently with the couple’s daughters.
For obvious reasons, the couple’s long separation put a strain on their marriage.
After Joe was deported to Italy following his prison sentence, the Giudices were in a very bad place romantically. Ultimately, the couple decided to separate last December, which did not come as a surprise to anyone close to them.
After Joe’s deportation, Teresa brought her four daughters to visit him in Italy. The girls were thrilled to see their father, but Teresa seemed a bit cold towards Joe, refusing to let him stay in the hotel with her.
Joe, however, seems to still be pursuing Teresa. He’s been very flirty on Instagram, but Teresa hasn’t reciprocated.
Teresa opens up to Andy Cohen
In a preview clip for the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion, airing Wednesday, host Andy Cohen addresses Teresa’s relationship with Joe directly.
“Were you attracted to him when you saw him?” Cohen asks Teresa. She responded with a definitive shake of her head and confirmed that they did not have sex while in Italy.
According to Teresa, Joe didn’t take her rejection well. Dolores Catania posited that Joe probably found it “emasculating,” while Teresa’s sister-in-law Melissa Gorga explained that Joe’s “ego was shot.”
Teresa said that her youngest daughter, Audriana, slept with her every night and jokingly called her “a good c*ckblocker.”
Teresa said that everything changed when she lost her mother Antonia in 2017. “I just became very resentful. That’s I think when it died out.”
Teresa’s brother Joe Gorga chimed in, saying that he thinks that Teresa’s conviction, which he blames on her husband, took a toll on their mother. “How much stress do you think my mother went under when my sister went away? Right? Just think about that.”
Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.