Last season on Real Housewives of New Jersey, viewers saw Teresa Giudice and her daughters adjusting to life while patriarch Joe was serving time in jail. Meanwhile, Teresa’s father moved into their house and stepped in as a male figure. On season 9 of the show, Teresa and her kids continue to carry on with life, as Joe is away, but flashing forward to today, they have a lot more on their plates. Joe Giudice now faces deportation to Italy after he gets out of jail.
Though Joe Giudice and his parents came to the United States when he was just a baby, he apparently never legally became a citizen. So, he has been ordered to be deported to Italy, though he has lived in America for his whole life.
Teresa told USA Today that she has told her oldest three daughters about their father’s deportation and they are understandably devastated. She has not yet told her youngest child. Teresa’s children are daughters, Gia, 17, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 12, and Audriana, 9. On RHONJ, it appeared that Milania was taking her father’s prison stint the hardest, often saying she missed him. With the deportation news hitting the family, it must be very difficult to digest.
While speaking with USA Today, Teresa also said, “It’s sad, families shouldn’t be broken up this way. Especially when it’s a nonviolent, it’s a white-collar crime. He’s paying for his mistakes.” She continued, “Children need both parents. It’s hard … They’re very, very, very upset. They adore their father … Everything that I’ve been through, adults can handle it, but children, it’s hard for them. Just looking at them the way they’re handling it, it amazes me. It shows me that I am doing a good job because they’re great.” Teresa said that her daughters know she is going to fight the deportation and that she is doing everything she can.
On Good Morning America, Teresa also said, “Adults can handle anything, but it’s hard for children to go through this. They’re asking themselves, ‘Why is this happening to me? I want my daddy to come home.’” In a statement to People, Teresa talked about the strain that Joe’s jail sentence has had on the kids, aside from the deportation. Teresa lamented, “He left when Adriana was 6. She’s 9 now. Yeah. It’s two and a half years. I mean, it’s going to be three years. He’s lost three years with his children.”
The Giudice’s sister-in-law and fellow RHONJ co-star, Melissa Gorga, spoke to Page Six about how the family is dealing with the deportation news. Gorga said that “I was home when I heard the news about Joe and listen, it’s a very private, personal issue. I think that they’re dealing with it. It’s not over yet so everybody’s just praying and hoping that it turns around.” Joe Giudice has the right to appeal the ruling, so hopefully, he will not have to move away from his wife and children.
As the deportation looms, according to People, Teresa said that her husband remains positive about the situation. Meanwhile, she says that she is “taking it day by day”. Joe Giudice is set to be released from jail in the Spring of 2019.
