Teresa Giudice and Joe Giudice.Photo: Bravo
Teresa Giudicebelieves she may not have served any jail time had she not been a public figure.
While appearing on a panel atBravoCon2022 on Friday, theReal Housewives of New Jerseystar recounted her11-month jail sentencefor fraud charges relating to her ex-husband,Joe Giudice’sbankruptcy fraud.
Teresa — who has maintained that she didn’t know about Joe’s fraud — shared her thoughts on her jail time, and why she thinks things would’ve played out differently if she wasn’t on the Bravo show.
Teresa and Joe Giudice.Steve Mack/FilmMagic
Teresa noted that she didn’t expect to be found complicit. “Joe was telling them, ‘She has nothing to do with it.’ He told me, ‘Damn, they want you more than they want me!’ And he was the one who did it.”
“I was just going through the motions,” she added. “I really thought nothing was going to happen and when I was in court and when the judge said I was going to jail, I was like, ‘What!?’ I said to my lawyer, ‘What did she just say? Am I going to jail?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ I was shocked.”
Teresa still has strong emotions about the prison time, which saw her behind bars for nearly a year before hernow-ex-husband, Joe,served 41 monthsand was later deported.
“It was the most devastating thing in my entire life. Just [think of] leaving your four daughters. My heart is just beating just talking about it,” she said.
RELATED VIDEO:Joe GiudiceSays He Knew His Marriage Was Over When Teresa Refused to Share Bed with Him
In terms of what advice she has for other Housewives who are facing legal issues, she quipped, “Make sure your husband’s filing taxes.”
“The government came knocking on my door. They were like, ‘Is your husband home?’ And right away I gave him an attitude because I thought everything was perfect. He was like, ‘Your husband hasn’t filed taxes in 10 years.’ I was like, ‘What?'” she recalled.
“So be on top of everything,” Teresa added. “Talk to the accountant, make sure you’re filing tax forms. I used to ask, ‘Don’t I need to sign taxes?’ And he’d be like, ‘Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it.'”
Teresa and Joe, 50,finalized their divorcein 2020 after 20 years of marriage. Joe now lives in the Bahamas, as the Italian native was deported from America following his fraud sentence. They share four daughters:Audriana, 13,Milania, 16,Gabriella, 18, andGia, 21.
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In August 2022, Teresa gotremarried to Luis Ruelas.
source: people.com
