Teresa Giudice Opens Up About 11-Month Prison Stint, Joe Giudice and the Shocking Truth About Their Marriage

Teresa Giudice is getting candid about her time behind bars and the end of her marriage to Joe Giudice.

On the September 24 episode of “The Viall Files,” the Real Housewives of New Jersey star reflected on her prison experience and revealed whether she made any friends while serving her sentence. Despite some tense moments, Giudice said she stayed mostly positive.

“Everyone was really nice to me,” she shared.

“I mean, listen, there was a few girls that would give me a dirty look. And I was like, ‘Really, you don’t want to do that.’ You know? I’m like, ‘I’m really pissed off that I’m here and you don’t — like, don’t even come near me,’” she added.

“I really just kept to myself… And I still talk to, as a matter of fact, I had lunch with two of the girls that I was in there with,” Giudice noted, revealing she keeps in touch with three women from her time in jail. “I was friendly with everyone. Everyone was so nice to me. And I hate to always talk about this, that just to say it, ‘cause it’s, I don’t want it to define me.”

Giudice served 11 months of a 15-month sentence after pleading guilty to multiple counts of mail and wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud. She had previously discussed her legal issues on her daughter Gia Giudice’s podcast, “Casual Chaos.”

“When it all happened, I didn’t know. I thought it was all a joke. For me anyway,” Teresa recalled. “With your father, obviously I knew. For the government to come knocking on your door, there was something going on.”

“I was never arrested, never handcuffed, never shackled,” she added. “Thank you, God. At least that was one good thing.”

Joe Giudice, who served his own sentence, was later deported to Italy. He has since sought a pardon from former President Donald Trump to be allowed back in the U.S. to see his children, but no decision has been announced.

Teresa also opened up about the state of their marriage. When asked by host Nick Viall if their marriage would have ended regardless of Joe’s deportation, she confirmed divorce was inevitable.

“’Cause you know what, you change as you get older,” Teresa explained. “And then, so maybe what you accepted when I was 27, I wouldn’t accept that when I was 37. So you change and I was very involved with my kids. I was all about my kids. I did everything. Joe didn’t do anything.”

Despite the split, Giudice praised her ex as a “good husband” and “good dad.” Joe echoed the sentiment on Casual Chaos, telling his daughter, “Well, listen, I’ll always be your mom’s friend, no matter what. You know what I mean? So it doesn’t matter. I mean, I’ll always be the same with her no matter what.”