‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’ stars Teresa and Joe Giudice separate after 20 years of marriage amid deportation battle
Teresa and Joe Giudice, stars of the reality TV show ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’, have split after 20 years of marriage. According to a source who spoke to Us Weekly, “Teresa and Joe have separated, but have no plans to divorce yet. Teresa and Joe talked about their future when she and the girls were in Italy and decided it was best for them to separate. Neither of them wanted to be in a long-distance relationship."
"Joe has been dating in Italy, Teresa is busy taking care of their girls right now. They harbor no ill will towards each other and will continue to co-parent their kids. The girls will be going to Italy in December, Teresa will be staying home,” the source added.
The couple were childhood sweethearts and got married in October 1999. They have four daughters: 18-year-old Gia, 15-year-old Gabriella, 13-year-old Milania, and ten-year-old Audriana.
In 2014, the couple was caught in a legal mess. They both pleaded guilty to 41 counts of fraud, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and three types of bankruptcy fraud. Teresa served 11 months in federal prison in 2015, while Joe served 41 months until March 2019.
Joe, per People magazine, was held in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Clinton County Correctional Center in Pennsylvania as he fought to appeal a judge’s deportation order. Despite the fact that he has lived in the United States since he was a child, he never obtained American citizenship.
Joe requested to go to Italy to await his third and final deportation appeal. He flew to Europe in October, where he’s currently awaiting the final decision in his deportation battle.
According to Us Weekly, in the midst of Joe’s deportation case, Teresa announced that the now-estranged couple would “go our separate ways” if he was forced to return to Italy. “I’m not doing a long-distance relationship,” she said on the ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Season 9 reunion in March. “It’s not going to work. I’d be like, ‘Bye, bye.’”
A source, speaking to E! News, reinforced this: “Teresa made the decision to leave Joe if he were to be deported nearly a year ago. Teresa doesn't see the point in a long-distance relationship, and as the breadwinner for her daughters, she needs to stay in the U.S. where all her financial opportunities are. She feels she has sacrificed more than enough for her marriage and she needs to do what's best for her family as a whole.”
The source added, “She is extremely loyal and even when she probably should have divorced him before, she didn't. Now it's like the decision might be made for her.”