Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Joe and Teresa Giudice, both 47, have filmed many private moments throughout their marriage. But one recent scene in particular was extremely hard for Joe to film, he revealed on Instagram on Feb. 23. And that’s because it was the “moment” he knew his 20-year marriage with Teresa was over. “My ‘AHA moment!’ That was my moment of insight. I felt rejected. This is the first time while filming a scene, I had severe anxiety and grief,” Joe said about a scene that’ll be shown during the Feb. 26 season finale of RHONJ, during which Teresa tells Joe that she doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in the same bed as him.
The moment happened during Teresa and Joe’s first reunion in Italy in November, after he was released from ICE, following four years of being apart. While sharing the clip on social media, Joe continued, “I was 🔒up for four years, any human would have a psychological impact of prison life. This was the moment, I knew deep in my heart she was being difficult with me for a reason. My wife has never said no to sleeping with me. I had to walk away. I don’t have resentment against her(her emotions are justified). it was off guard should have been private. I realized I must be responsible for only my kids that’s what matters. I want to provide, encourage, embrace them with my love in limited time together.”
The clip, which was first shared by Bravo on Feb. 21, shows Joe and Teresa dealing with life before his final deportation appeal, while he’s living on another continent, away from his four daughters Gia, 19, Gabriella, 16, Milania, 15, and Audriana, 11. We must also note that this scene was filmed before the couple announced their separation. In January, Teresa told PEOPLE, “I’ve known for like a long time [that we’d separate]. Just because we’ve been apart for so long. Like, we’ve been apart for a really long time. It’s just been a build-up…but I do wish him well and I just want him to be happy.”
New episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey air Wednesdays at 8pm on Bravo.