The relationship between The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teressa and Joe Giudice has been up in the air. Now that they’ve officially separated from their 20-year-long marriage, there is quite a bit to look back on. The couple has been through immense stress and finally decided to call it quits and
Teresa and Joe were married for 20 years after dating as childhood sweethearts. The couple has yet to move forward in their divorce process, but are currently separated. The beginning of the end was when Joe was locked up for three and a half years for trying to avoid paying taxes. He released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement back on October 11th and then flown immediately back to his home country, Italy, and has been adapting to his new life there. Towards the end of the year, Joe and his wife, Teresa sat down with a tell-all interview where they opened up about the state of their marriage to Andy Cohen. They were unsure of their marriage, but still willing to give it a shot. However, after the second half of The Real Housewives of New Jersey finale that featured the Giudice family reunion, it was clear that it was no longer butterflies and rainbows. After years of their marriage being in a state of limbo, Teresa and Joe agreed to go their separate ways.
The New Jersey couple first met down at the shore when they were teenagers. Teresa was the bell of the ball with all the boys chasing after her while Joe was interested in building a traditional life for himself. Before marrying, Joe forced Teresa to sign a prenuptial agreement which at the time did not upset Teresa as Joe had no money to his name. She later was told that he did not even want to enter into the marriage with her. The reality couple played their roles perfectly as Teresa quit her job to become a stay at home mom while Joe worked to be the breadwinner of the family. When Teresa and Joe first made their Real Housewife New Jersey debut, fans quickly pointed out that they ran their marriage like an oldfashioned Italian family with the gender roles made very much clear. Joe was often caught verbally putting Teresa down while the mother of four stayed quiet and obeyed her husband. But that all changed after it was revealed that Joe had been trying to cheat the US Government.
Not only did Joe try to cheat on his taxes, but Teresa claims he also cheated on her during the marriage. On this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa revealed that when her eldest daughter, Gia, was only three years old, she found a second cell phone that belonged to Joe. The housewife claimed that he had the phone number of his ex-girlfriend’s sister. When she confronted him, Joe defended himself by saying that he was only helping her through a tough time and the phone calls were innocent. Teresa told the other housewives that she had been the “perfect f*cking wife” to Joe and she didn’t deserve the alleged cheating.
After Teresa did her time and Joe went away, the Jersey girl changed. Teresa became much more outspoken and did not always choose to stand behind her husband. She was forced to be a working mother of four so her family could survive in the lifestyle they had all become accustomed to. She has starred in The Real Housewives of New Jersey, wrote books, sold makeup, and attended meet-and-greets all around the country to be able to pay back what the family-owned in back taxes.
Teresa also chose not to visit her husband in prison often as she held resentment towards him for putting her in the predicament. The reality star gradually learned her new normal could be standing on her own two feet, and she wore it well. Teresa thrived while Joe sat in his cell, essentially rotting away. Upon his release from jail, viewers watched as it was obvious the couple did not have feelings for one another anymore. Joe took an all-boys trip to Mexico where he was photographed with multiple women and Teresa met up with an old flame from high school, who then worked as her pool boy.
The Bravo personalities have remained amicable since their separation and have not yet submitted their legal paperwork for divorce as they both want to concentrate on their daughters. For Joe, he admitted via Instagram that he knew his marriage was over when Teresa did not want to share a bed on their family trip to Italy. The rejection painted a clear picture of her feelings telling him enough was enough. Teresa herself mentioned in recent episodes that she saw herself divorcing Joe as she admitted he had not been faithful during their marriage. In the end, a mix of traditional Italian ways and jail took a toll on the once strong family.
Next: RHONJ’s Joe Giudice Reveals When He Realized He Should Divorce Teresa
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on Bravo.
