Teresa Giudice: The Heartbreaking Moment That Made Her Realize She’s ‘Better Off’ Without Joe

View gallery

The Real Housewives of New Jersey fans finally got to see the moment Teresa Giudice ended her marriage to Joe Giudice in Italy, and now, a source tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY what made the reality star realize it was over. Though Teresa only announced she wanted to separate in December, our insider reveals that Teresa’s been conflicted about their marriage since her mother, Antonia Gorga, 66, died in 2017; Teresa’s beloved mother passed away due to pneumonia complications. “When Teresa’s mom died, she really realized how angry she was with Joe because she was away and missed a solid year of her [mother’s] life. She started looking at life differently.” the source said, referring to Teresa’s 11-month prison sentence for fraud. Teresa was released from prison in December 2015, and soon after, Joe began his 41-month sentence for bankruptcy fraud and failure to file income tax returns.

After being released in March 2019, Joe entered an ICE detention facility. He moved to Italy in October, where he is currently awaiting the outcome of his deportation appeal. Teresa said publicly before his release that she would not move to Italy with their four daughters — Gia, Gabriella, Milania, and Audriana — but didn’t go so far as to say they would separate. On RHONJ’s February 26 episode, she told Joe that they couldn’t be together anymore while visiting him in Italy with the girls — at least for now. “Teresa and Joe still have no plans for divorce anytime soon, for the sake of their daughters,” the source made sure to mention. “They want to make this as easy on their daughters as possible.”

While the couple, who were married for 20 years, have been living their lives separately, they’re “moving forward as best as they can.” Despite their difficulties, Teresa is doing everything she can to help Joe, who she told in the episode she wants to be “happy,” with his deportation case. “Teresa and Joe have both realized they’re happier and better off not together, and even their daughters agree,” the source told us. “But they will always remain a united front for their girls, no matter what.”

HollywoodLife reached out to Teresa Giudice’s rep for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.