Tragic Details About Teresa Giudice

Teresa Giudice's life continues to evolve and it seems to be our impossible task to try and keep up with her. "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star married Luis Ruelas in August 2022 and the event was as major as we've come to expect from her. Her hair, which deserved a ceremony in and of itself, cost $10,000, per Page Six. Yes, you read that right. Bethenny Frankel of "The Real Housewives of New York City" felt it captured Teresa's vibe to a T. "She got her hair done from her Jersey hairstylist and she's the same Teresa that walked in with the cash to pay for the furniture, so yes, I am here for it, I want more," Frankel said of the new Mrs. Ruelas on a "Just B" podcast episode called "Teresa Hair-ver After."

While the Bravo icon went for all the bells and whistles when it came to her hairdo, she kept the legal side of things relatively simple. Teresa opted out of a prenup with Ruelas, sharing that signing one with her first husband, Joe Giudice, left a bad taste in her mouth. Nevertheless, Teresa stays on decent terms with her ex-husband, something that's no doubt necessary as they co-parent their four daughters. Things are looking up for our New Jersey prima donna, but it hasn't always been $10,000 hairdos. She's faced some tough and traumatic things but continues to shine and we've gotta respect a gal who won't stay down.

Teresa Giudice and ex-husband, Joe Giudice, faced a litany of money-related legal issues. The New York Post reported in 2010 that the couple was $11 million in debt, which included $104,000 in credit card debt, $85,600 in home renovations, and a vague $5.8 million debt for Joe's various investments. Several of their homes foreclosed and they filed for bankruptcy. In their filing, Teresa and Joe claimed their respective salaries plus money from family brought in $16,000 a month. They also claimed to spend $400 a month on clothing for their family when there was Bravo documentation of Teresa spending thousands of dollars per shopping trip.

However, it appeared that this bankruptcy filing didn't match up with reality. In July 2013, Teresa and Joe were hit with multiple fraud charges, as reported by E! News. As the outlet noted, they were indicted for hiding income when filing for bankruptcy, as well as for committing mail, wire, and bank fraud. Joe was also accused of failing to file taxes for four years. 

In March 2014, they pled guilty to fraud. "Today, I took responsibility for a series of mistakes I made several years ago," Teresa declared in a statement, per a later publication by E! News. "I have said throughout that I respect the legal process and thus I intend to address the court directly at sentencing."

After Teresa Giudice served her prison sentence, then-husband, Joe Giudice, served his 41 month prison sentence, beginning in March 2016, at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in New Jersey. While Joe was in prison, a judge decided that he would be deported to Italy following his sentence, and while he tried to appeal this decision, his efforts proved unsuccessful. In 2019, he was sent to Italy. 

The news was deeply distressing to Joe and Teresa, but especially to their four daughters: Gia, Gabriella, Milania, and Audriana Giudice. On top of all of this, Teresa lost both her mom and dad during these three years. On October 25, 2021, Teresa spoke on the podcast "Knockin' Doorz Down" about how challenging it was to parent alone but, more importantly, how unthinkable the experience was for her kids. "Listen, I have two of my daughters that do see therapists," she began, "and I'm not embarrassed of it. You know, listen, they went through something really traumatic at a young age." Teresa referenced her own time in prison then added, "Joe went away, then their grandfather passed away then their other grandmother passed away and then my dad passed away." She also stressed how close her daughters were to all of their grandparents, noting it was all such an overwhelming amount of loss in only a few years. "So it's a lot to deal with," Teresa said of her daughters' experiences.

With as public a life as Teresa Giudice has, people are bound to have opinions about what she does. While this goes with the territory, Teresa has faced what might seem a little too much mom-shaming. In 2018, for daughter Audriana Giudice's ninth birthday, Teresa was heavily criticized because Audriana was wearing makeup and sporting a crop top. Teresa has since deleted the post but iHeart captured screenshots of the critical response. "Nice outfit for a nine year old!" someone wrote, adding a frowning emoji. "She's so cute," someone wrote of Audriana, "but why the makeup and sexy outfit?? The rest of the children at the party look like children except for her." Another person commented, "How old is she turning that it's ok to show her belly?????" 

Teresa then got roasted for providing a larger cake for Audriana than there was for cousin, Gino, who was celebrating his 11th birthday at the joint party. "Is the larger cake for Audriana necessary," someone asked. "It makes you look petty. How does Gino feel?"

But this critique of Teresa extended even to the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" when in April 2022, she faced criticism from costars for allowing her daughter, Gia Giudice, to appear on the show during some drama-fueled scenes. Margaret Josephs told Page Six that it was inappropriate. "I think that's absolutely insane," Josephs said. "Teresa could defend herself and none of Teresa's friends are ever going to argue with her daughter."