Teresa and Joe Giudice are standing by one another following their prison sentences. In part two of the couple’s interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, Teresa and Joe apologized and declared their love for one another. The couple also addressed why they failed to pay the court prior to their sentencing and how they’ll deal with Joe’s possible deportation. Below, Us Weekly rounds up other need-to-know highlights from the stars’ post-sentencing interview, which was taped a day after their Oct. 2 hearing. (Click here to learn what the couple shared in part one of the Bravo special, which reached 3.2 million viewers).
1. Why They Failed to List Assets and Pay the Court $200,000
After being lectured by Judge Salas when prosecutors pointed out they failed to list assets like several cars and ATVs in their pre-sentencing, Teresa explained to Cohen, “I wasn’t aware that we needed to put all that information down…I wish our accountant had come to our house and then filled out the paperwork …I would have never not put it down.” The couple also claimed they only have $25,000 worth of home furnishings. When asked by Cohen how that’s possible in a $3 million home, Joe said: “Four years later, if it was appraised at $50,000 or $60,000, it’s half right?” Joe added that no one wants a used bed at full price.
Teresa also explained her wedding ring and other jewelry items were mistakenly not listed. “I told my attorney you need to list my engagement ring, my wedding band [and] Joe has a Rolex and a wedding ring… but I wear a lot of costume jewelry because diamond earrings they could fall down the drain…[but] one of my attorneys [did] get up [in court] and said, ‘She did tell me that,’ to the judge.”
Cohen then asked the couple why they also failed to pay the court their $200,000 fee and Teresa honestly admitted: “We didn’t have the money.”
2. What They Will Do If Joe Gets Deported and Whether He Has a Drinking Problem
Joe, who was sentenced to 41 months after pleading guilty to multiple fraud charges, as previously reported, is not an American citizen and may also face deportation. When asked how he’s handling the possible outcome, he said: “I’m going to worry about that when the time comes,” and optimistically added, “[It’s] not such a bad thing, living in Italy.”
During the proceedings, Joe’s attorney argued that part of his sentence include time in a rehabilitation facility because he has a drinking problem. However, in the sit down, Joe seemed to shrug it off.
“Before we started the Real Housewives stuff, I think I used to drink only on the weekends,” he told Cohen when asked about his alleged problem. “Now I drink every day… just wine [though], I don’t drink anything else really.” Joe said he can “easily do” four bottles of wine with another person or “sometimes two” by himself. “I might have a little problem,” he finally admitted, but said that he will still be able to take care of himself and his daughters while Teresa serves her 15-month sentence. “I don’t have a problem to where all I think about is drinking, but at night, I’ll have a few [drinks after the kids are in bed].”
3. On Who Will Care For Their Four Daughters
After revealing that yes, she’s talked to her brother Joe Gorga following her sentence, Teresa said that her four daughters Gia, 13, Gabriella, 10, Milania, 8, and Audriana, 5, won’t be looked after by her brother and sister-in-law Melissa. “I want my husband to be there for my daughters. Joe has his mother and his sister [too if needed, but] I want him to be there for my daughters,” she said. “What breaks my heart is that I don’t want to be away from my dad [though] because he’s always in and out of the hospital…and that’s [what I need my brother for]. I said [to him], ‘The only thing you can do for me is see mommy and daddy every week’…and [then] I want Joe [Giudice] to be Mr. Mom.”
4. How Their Businesses Have Been Affected and What They’ll Do to Move Forward
Teresa, who has multiple ventures including cook books and hair products, admitted that the charges “have killed everything” business wise. Joe, for his part, said he won’t let the crime define him and that after serving his sentence, he will likely get back “in the rentals and into building as well.” Most importantly, he noted with future endeavors, “I’m just going to make sure everything is crossed and is dotted the right way… I just have to really look at everything.” The couple also said they have hired a new accountant.
5. On How Joe Feels Knowing His Actions Resulted in Teresa Going to Prison
Cohen saved the most hard-hitting question for last, asking Joe, “How does it feel knowing your actions resulted in your wife being a convicted felon and facing prison?”
Coming to Joe’s aid at first, Teresa said, “I don’t think he meant to hurt me in any way.” A remorseful Joe then told the host it “obviously doesn’t feel good… but what am I going to do? I did everything I could to get her out of it.”
Joe also took a moment to publicly apologize to his wife, telling her: “I want to apologize that I got you into this mess. I don’t even know what else to say. If I could take it all back, I would but I just can’t and I’m sorry you have to go through all this. I tried everything I could to convince the judge not [to convict you] but I have no control over that.” Teresa accepted her husband’s apology and kissed him, telling him, “I love you … you just have to be there for our daughters.”
Teresa, for her part, wanted to tell viewers: “I want to apologize to the people out there I let down and I want to say I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve done.”
