Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas with Melissa and Joe Gorga.Photo: Teresa Giudice/Instagram
TeresaandJoe Giudicecelebrated their firstChristmassince finalizing their divorce.
Teresa spent the December holiday with their four daughters —Gia, 19,Gabriella, 16,Milania, 15, andAudriana, 11 — whileJoe remains in Italy.
“Merry Christmas from our family to yours 🎄😘,” Teresa, 48, wrote alongside a family photo, in which she struck a pose with the girls during a Christmas Eve celebration.
Teresa’s sister-in-lawMelissa Gorgaalso posted a photo of the reality star with her new boyfriend,Luis “Louie” Ruelas. “We haven’t been able to post a couples pic in a while,” shewrotealongside the snapshot. “Merry Christmas😘”
“You ♥️♥️♥️♥️ my favorite presents every year.#2020,” he wrote alongside a photo of all four girls.
In early September, PEOPLE confirmed that theReal Housewives of New Jerseystars hadfinalized their divorce after 20 years of marriage.
“Joe and Teresa are in an amazing place and are very supportive of one another,” a source said at the time. “They still have love for each other, they just aren’t in love with each other.”
In a recent interview withE! News, Joe revealed that he has no hard feelings about his split from Teresa.
“I mean, listen, we talk every day but, we kind of moved on already. What are you going to do? It’s been a while. If I was living there, it would be a different story, but I’m not. I’m over here, eight hours away in Italy, full of a bunch of Italian women,” thefather of four said.
Childhood sweethearts, Teresa and Joe wed in 1999 and were married for 20 years before announcing theirseparation in December 2019.
Teresa and Joe Giudice with their daughters.Joe Giudice/Instagram
PEOPLE broke the news that they were splitting. At the time, a source close to the pair said that the two weren’t exploring divorce proceedings yet and were instead focusing their kids. But on the third part of theRHONJseason 10 reunion, Teresa’s brother Joe Gorga and costars encouraged her to hurry things up, over fears that Joe would seek spousal support if she waited too long.
The former couple had a prenup, Teresa has said, with a no-cheat clause that would void it should either of them stray. (Rumors have long spread that Teresa and Joe had been unfaithful during their time together, but both have denied those).
Teresa Giudice and her daughters.teresa giudice/ Instagram
Their divorce marked the end of turbulent few years for the reality stars.
In July 2013, they were bothindicted on federal fraud charges. Each were accused of exaggerating their income while applying for loans beforeRHONJdebuted, then hiding their improved fortunes in a bankruptcy filing. Joe was also accused of failing to file tax returns between 2004 and 2008.
They pled guilty to mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud in October 2014. In addition to probation and fines, Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in prison, while Joe was sentenced to 41 months.
Teresa’s term began first, on Jan. 5, 2015.She was released from federal prison in December 2015after serving 11 months.
He then began his sentence for the same crimes in March 2016 andwas released three years later.But months before that, a court ordered Joe’s deportation, as he was born in Italy andnever obtained American citizenshipdespite living in the United States since he was a child.
While appealing the decision, Joe moved into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Clinton County Correctional Center in Pennsylvania. He remained there until October 2019,when he moved to Italyin an effort to make money for his family.
Two appeals against the rulinghave been denied, while a third final appeal is still pending. The likelihood of that passing is slim, Giudice family lawyer James J. Leonard, Jr. said in a December 2019 episode ofRHONJ. “He’s in trouble,” Leonard said. “I think the odds are against Joe at this stage… Immigration is the hottest topic on the planet and I think Joe is caught in the crossfire of that.”
Despite the distance, his daughters havetraveled to visit the family patriarch in Italy.
In November, Joe shared a sweet tribute to Milania and Gia, both of whom returned home aftertraveling to Italyearlier in the month. “Miss tthem [sic] so much already 😢,” Joewrotealongside a photo of the trio taking in some sights together in Rome.
source: people.com
