PHOTOSTeresa & Joe Giudice Talk Prison Sentence On WWHL: ‘I’m More Scared For My Wife Than Me’
Jan. 28 2015, Updated 2:40 p.m. ET
Teresa and Joe Giudice arrived to court on Tuesday, Oct. 2 for sentencing regarding their 39-count indictment for fraud and tax evasion. Despite accepting a guilty plea deal, Joe was sentenced to 41 months, while Teresa – whom many thought would only get house arrest and probation – received 15 months. Now, the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars talk to Watch What Happens Live’s Andy Cohen in their first interview since the sentencing. Here, check out the 8 most explosive moments from the one-on-one special.
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Viewers were unable to see Joe and Teresa’s reactions inside the courtroom as their sentences were being read. Joe explained that he felt like he, “Got hit in the head with a bat.” He then commented on the sentencing, “I think it was a little high. I didn’t think I was going to get that much.” Teresa responded, “I was so nervous yesterday that I was shaking. At one point I couldn’t even move my fingers. My nerves were shot… It was very unexpected.”
During the sentencing, Teresa explained to the judge that it’s time for her to wake up. When Andy asked how she is going to wake up, she said, “I do need to read things before I sign them… I’m a trustworthy person and sometimes I take what other people say and I believe them, I trust them and I can’t do that anymore.”
Watching Teresa for years on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, viewers can easily see the close bond she shares with her four daughters – Gia, 13, Gabriella, 9, Milania, 8, Audirana, 5. When Andy asked if the thought of going to prison depresses her, she responded, “I’m frightened, scared. What depresses me is not being there for my daughters… I can’t even imagine not being there. I’m their mom, they need me. It’s not the same with a father.”
What shocked everyone the most was seeing Teresa and Joe accept a plea deal after standing by their innocence for months. So why did they do it? “If you win 40 counts and you lose one you could get 10 years… They said the plea deal is the best way to go,” Teresa said. Joe also thought that accepting the plea deal would exonerate his wife. “I expected me. I wasn’t expecting her. I even took all blame... she had no part in my businesses.”
So what exactly did Teresa know about the illegal deals her husband was making? “This was a long time ago. This was before Housewives and whatever Joe told me to sign I signed,” Teresa explained. When Andy asked Joe if he knew the papers he was giving Teresa to sign were illegal Joe responded, “I was taking out false loans. They were handing me the paperwork, whatever those forms were. She had better credit so we used her. She never came to a closing.” When Andy asked exactly what was illegal, Joe said, “There were illegal things as far as tax returns and stuff like that. Yes.”
Teresa explained to Andy that the night of the sentencing a house full of friends and family supported her. “Just walking in, I couldn’t wait to see my daughters. That was the first thing I wanted to see was my daughters and my parents.”
Gia, Teresa and Joe’s oldest daughter, is the only child who knows what is actually going on. Teresa told Andy, “She was like, ‘It’s going to be okay.' She was being strong for me, I could tell. She was like, ‘Mommy, don’t worry about it I’ll be there. I’ll help daddy with the girls,' she was like, 'that will make me a better mom’… It broke my heart when she said that. She said the one person she’s worried about is me.”
When Andy asked if the couple is scared to go to prison, Joe explained that he would have been happier if Teresa wasn’t going to jail: “I’m more scared for my wife than me… I don’t want her to go to jail. She don’t deserve to go.” Teresa said, “I just want to make sure my daughters are okay… I just want to talk to my daughters everyday, I want him to bring my daughters to me.”
