Teresa Giudice is putting on a brave face as her husband, Joe Giudice, faces a possible deportation to Italy, according to her brother, Joe Gorga.
“It’s very, very hard. You see, she puts up a good, strong front — she has to,” Gorga, 39, told Us Weekly. “She has to raise her children by herself, so she has to be strong. She can’t be weak. You know, you see this tough girl [on TV] all the time, but she’s weak.”
The Gorga Guide to Success author explained that the Real Housewives of New Jersey star, 46, has been trying to keep her mind off the ongoing legal drama surrounding her husband of nearly 20 years.
“She’s got to keep herself busy,” he said. “She’s constantly going out because when she’s home, she has no one to hold. No one’s around. [Her] kids, they’re in their activities and they want to be with their friends. You know, she’s a mess.”
The real estate developer, who will host his Growth With Gorga seminar in Jersey City on Saturday, March 23, told Us that the Giudices’ daughters, Gia, 18, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 9, hope to visit their father in his native country if he is deported. “That will be their vacation. I’m sure of that,” he said.
As for Teresa? “I want her to be with her family. That’s what I really want,” Gorga told Us.
Joe, 46, was released from prison on Thursday, March 14, after serving 41 months for tax fraud. (Teresa was imprisoned for 11 months in 2015 for similar charges.) He was immediately transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he is expected to remain until the appeal he filed in his deportation case is approved or overruled.
“His lawyers and his family are hopeful that justice will prevail and Mr. Giudice will return home to his wife and four daughters who love him and miss him,” Teresa and Joe’s attorney, James Leonard, told Us on Thursday.
During Joe’s final days in prison, Teresa was spotted getting cozy with New Jersey realtor Blake Schreck during a trip to Miami. She said on the RHONJ season 9 reunion that she will leave Joe if he is deported.
With reporting by Valerie Nome
