Full recap on tonight’s special:
Tonight Andy Cohen sat down with Teresa and Joe Giudice one-on-one (one-on-two?) to discuss their recent prison sentencings and what that means for them, their children, their marriage, and their careers. This comes on the heels of news breaking yesterday afternoon that Teresa was four hours late for the taping of Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion show. She also reportedly stopped taping several times and stated she just needed a minute because she was going through a lot of stuff right now. Clearly, facing a prison sentence that is slated to last over a year (15 months to be exact) and her husband being sent away for 3.5 years (41 months) with the possibility of being deported looming, is “a lot of stuff” for anyone to go through. Also, during her sentencing hearing, she stated that RHONJ was scripted and used creative editing to make her look like a bitch. I am interested to see if Andy will address this in tonight’s special.
Andy starts out by asking them in a soft, sympathetic voice, how they’re doing. Teresa says she’s numb and she’s just concerned about her daughters. Teresa is having a hard time formulating sentences. Joe feels his sentence is a little high. He didn’t think he would receive that much time but “it is what it is” he says. Andy turns to Teresa and says “there was speculation you wouldn’t serve at all, what is your reaction?” She’s stuttering, and talking about how she was trembling and her nerves were just shot. She was shocked. She looks like she has aged over night. Andy asks Teresa if she thinks she’s been in denial. She said in court “it’s time that I need to wake up.” Teresa says she does need to understand things before she signs them and needs to read things before she signs them or find a contract lawyer. So apparently she’s claiming ignorance that she didn’t really know what was going on. Hmm Mmm.
Andy : “why would you sign a plea agreement that could send you away for 27 months?”
Teresa: “I didn’t…. I didn’t understand that part.”
Andy asks with a shocked tone, “you didn’t?? Did your lawyer not tell you what that meant?! What did you think would happen after you accepted that plea deal?”
Teresa: “I don’t know, I just thought my lawyer was going to fight for me. I don’t know. That’s why you hire an attorney. You put it in their hands. I have always followed direction. Whatever they wanted from me, believe me, I gave it to them. I’m not trying to hide anything.”
Andy: “You both have a huge legal team, crisis management, you’ve got everything around you, how is it possible that you went back into the courtroom yesterday and the judge says ‘there are all of these omissions in your paperwork’ that’s what I didn’t understand.”
Teresa says that’s why she was shocked because whatever they wanted, she would do. Andy asks what her conversation was like with her attorneys after the sentencing. Teresa says she didn’t speak a word to her attorneys. It was done. The judge made her ruling and it was done.
Andy (to Joe): “when you plead guilty did you think Teresa would get jail time?”
Joe: “No.”
Andy: “Is that why you plead guilty?”
Joe: “Yeah.” Joe goes on to explain that the lawyers told him he could get double the amount of prison time if he didn’t plead guilty. You don’t know who to believe. If you go to trial you only lose one count. “I was expecting me. I wasn’t expecting her. I took the whole blame. She didn’t have a part. She really didn’t in my businesses.”
So Andy asks Teresa: “did you just sign what you were given to sign?”
Teresa: “This was before ‘Housewives’. I was just signing whatever Joe told me to sign.”
Andy: “So Joe, when you were handing her documents to sign, did you know what you were having her sign?”
Joe: “Just whatever the bank gave me, I gave her to sign.”
Andy: “but you were taking out false loans…”
Joe: “okay, whatever, I was taking out false loans. (he says with a smile) They handed me the paperwork… whatever the forms were… and she had better credit, so we used her. She never came to closings. She’s never been to closings. She might have signed on our home, but that was it.”
Andy: “How would you explain what you did?”
Joe: “Basically I would get the paperwork, sign it, and we would be done.”
Andy: “What was illegal was what you said to the bank.”
Joe: “Yes well there were legal things like tax returns and such.”
Andy: “Why did you do it? Was it for the money? Was it for keeping up with the Joneses?”
Joe: “No…” Teresa: “Yeah that’s what the judge said.”
Andy to Teresa: “I mean, look, you have a reputation, falsely or not, of loving fine things. There was a time when that…. it seemed… that meant a lot to you. You loved fine things… you didn’t want to live in a house that someone had already lived in…”
Teresa: “THAT I regret.”
Andy: “You caught… these are things that you said…”
Teresa: “I didn’t mean it that way. Listen, I would buy a used home….”
Andy: “I’m just curious, if you (Joe) wanted to get more money… you know… to satisfy Teresa.”
Joe: “No, I wouldn’t do that.”
Teresa: “Yeah, he’s not like that. You said I like the finer things in life… not that I work… I get paid… if I see something I want, I buy it. I don’t spend money I don’t have. I mean, I work. I’m not trying to keep up with Joneses.”
Andy: “You got a lot of flack when you were looking at houses… on the show a few weeks ago, you were carrying a $3000 purse. You got a lot of flack for that.”
Teresa: “Well, see, right there… I didn’t pay $3000 for that purse. I don’t pay retail for a lot of things.”
Joe: “How much do you think my suit is?”
Andy: “How much do I think your suit is? $600 bucks.”
Joe: “You’re wrong.”
Andy: “Alright, how much, Joe?”
Joe: “You get two suits, two shirt, two ties, $250.”
Andy: “Nice”
Joe: “And it’s an Italian suit!”
Andy: “Nice, I wouldn’t expect different.”
Joe: “How much is your suit?”
Andy: “My suit? I did not pay for retail for.”
Teresa: “See, that’s how it is, when you’re on a tv show, people give you things at discounted prices or they send things to you. So it’s not like…”
Andy: “but I paid my taxes on this suit.” (Oh snap!!)
Teresa: “Well I pay taxes… I’ve always paid my taxes.”
**commercial break**
Andy: “You were sentenced to 15 months in prison yesterday, describe your night last night when you got home.”
Teresa: “There was, you know, a family there, friends, and you know, it was just hard. Walking in. I couldn’t wait to see my daughters. That was the first thing I wanted to see, and my parents. I saw my mom, she started crying. I was like mom, don’t cry just be strong for me. And my mom, was like, she just couldn’t believe it. She was like you never did anything wrong, you’ve always been a good kid. You know, she was just so upset and just seeing her being upset, it was hard. And I saw Gia, she was crying. And we just hugged for a long time.”
Andy: “How did Gia get the news of your sentencing?”
Teresa: “You know, when I came home, I told her. She got upset, we were both there talking to her.”
Andy: “What did you say to her?”
Teresa: “You know, that it’s going to be okay. And she was being strong for me, I could tell. And she was like ‘mommy, don’t worry about it. I’ll be there. I’ll be there with daddy for the girls. And it will prepare me for when I’m a mom.’ And when she said that, oh my god, it just broke my heart. And then today I got a phone call from the guidance counselor and umm she told me she met with Gia… because you know, everyone’s been great… like the schools…. and they said they spoke to her and they’re going to take her out of gym period once a week and talk to her and see how she’s doing. And she likes that idea. Gia told the guidance counselor the one thing she was worried about was me (Teresa). She said she’s worried about her mom. I thought she would be worried about her sisters, but she’s worried about me.”
Andy: “What is she worried about with you?”
Teresa: “Well because I kept saying, believe me…. my husband’s a great husband and a great father, but I do everything for my daughters. Like Everything. I drive them everywhere. Pretty much everything. I’m old school. And Joe, when I ask him to do something, he will do it, but pretty much I’m the one that’s hands on. So what I said to my husband is just please take of our daughters. You need to do what I do.”
Andy: “You’re being remanded on January 5th, right? You have to report right? So that leaves Joe alone… what does that notion look like to you?”
Joe: sighs “It’s going to be a lot of work. It’s going to be a lot of work. But they’re my daughters and you gotta do what you gotta do. Guess I’m going to be a housewife, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Andy: “What have you told the other girls?”
Teresa: “They don’t know anything.”
Andy: “But Milania is how old now?”
Teresa: “She’s 8”
Andy: “She’s eight, so she’s in 2nd grade?”
Teresa: “Third grade.”
Andy: “Third grade, so is she in school today?”
Joe: “Actually Milania came up to me and goes ‘do you have something to say to me?’ and I said ‘like what?’ and Milania goes ‘I don’t know…’ So I think she knows something’s up, but I don’t know.”
Andy: “Milania’s very smart, she’s in third grade, don’t you think she’s going to hear at school?”
Teresa: “No, I don’t think so.”
Andy: “You don’t?”
Joe: “I mean Gabriella’s going to know something.”
Teresa: “She gave a kiss this morning.” She goes on to explain that Gabriella’s not that affectionate like the other girls, but this morning she gave her a kiss like she knew she needed it.
Joe: “Yeah she asked me why was everyone over our house. Because the last time we had everyone over…. (Joe gets choked up)….”
Andy: “…. your dad passed?”
Joe is too choked up to speak.
Teresa: “It’s been really hard. What did you say? It’s been four months since he passed since he passed and we’re all getting together.”
Andy: “But you ARE going to have to talk to Milania, right?”
Teresa: “Yeah, we will. I’m not going to say…. I don’t know… I mean, I’m going to have Joe come see me with the girls. But I do want to say I’m grateful to the judge [for staggering their sentences] because she could have taken us both at the same time.”
Andy: “Are you scare of going to jail?”
Joe: “You know what, I would have been happier if it was just me going, you know, I’m more scared for my wife than me.”
Andy: What scares you about her?”
Joe: “I don’t want her to go to jail. She doesn’t deserve to go.”
**commercial break**
Andy: “I got to talk to about prison because I’ve been thinking about this a lot. You are a person who likes to have her hair and makeup done. You’ve got style, you care about your appearance…. knowing that, how do you think you’re going to do in prison?”
Teresa: “I’m going to do fine. I don’t care about that. I’ll just slick my hair back and go about my day.”
Andy: “What’s your biggest fear about going to prison?”
Teresa: “I just think about my daughters, it’s all I think about.”
Andy: “So you’re not thinking about physically ‘I’m going to be in this place for 15 months’?”
Teresa: “I just want to be home with my daughters. That’s all I think about. I’ve been saying that since last night. I just want to make sure my daughters are okay. That’s all I want. I just want him to be with them. I want to hear they’re doing okay. I want him to bring them to me.”
Andy: “You just want to see them as much as possible”
Teresa: “yeah, I do want to see them. He told me he’s going to come see me twice a week and I told him not twice a week, the girls are busy, they have busy schedules, but once a week.”
Andy: “Are you worried about losing your temper in prison?”
Teresa: “No, not at all”
Andy: “No? You PUSHED me at that reunion.”
Teresa: “Yeah, I mean, that’s what I’m saying, I’ve grown since then, I’m not that same person.”
Andy: “Joe, are you worried about her losing her temper?”
Joe (to Teresa jokingly): “only if another woman touches you.”
Andy: “You’re tough! You’re tough.”
Teresa: “Well yeah, but no one can push my buttons anymore.”
Andy: “Really? Why? Because of what you’ve been through?”
Teresa: “Yeah.”
Andy: “You’re just kind of numb to it all?”
Teresa: “I really am.”
PART 2 OF ONE-ON-ONE SPECIAL TO AIR THURSDAY AT 9PM EST!!
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