Teresa Giudice Shares How Her Daughters Learned About Her Time in Prison

Teresa and Joe Giudice's daughters, Gia, 17, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 12, and Audriana, 9, have been through some incredibly difficult times in their young lives. They've dealt with both of their parents serving time in prison and now the recent news that a judge ruled their father be deported back to Italy following the completion of his 41-month sentence in 2019. 

Teresa said that this has been a "heartbreaking" time for her and her family during an interview with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America Tuesday, November 6 (clip below). "The girls are really upset. You know, it's hard for them," she shared. "Adults can handle anything. It's hard for children to go through this." 

But Teresa and Joe's daughters have had to do a lot of growing up while dealing with their parents' time away. (Teresa served 11 months for fraud in 2015, and Joe has less than 10 months left of his sentence for mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud, which he's currently serving at FCI Allenwood in Pennsylvania.) Though The Real Housewives of New Jersey couple had been telling their daughters that they were away for work, and Teresa would refer to prison as "camp" while around her girls, she explained that they're starting to understand the real reason for their absence. "They're old enough now," Teresa said on GMA.

However, the family is still trying to protect the youngest Giudice girl, Audriana. "We keep saying that [Joe]'s at work, but I'm sure she hears," Teresa said, adding that Audriana hears when her father's incoming calls come from a federal correctional facility. 

Teresa and Joe's eldest daughter, Gia, has really been holding the family together following the news of her dad's possible deportation. "Yeah, she's amazing. Like I tell her every day, she's like the rock of her sisters," Teresa shared. "She's helping me explain things to them because my third daughter, Milania, she's having a really hard time with this." 

Gia and Milania have both opened up about their father on social media, sharing touching messages of love and support.

Teresa hasn't been shy about sharing the difficulties she has faced in her marriage during the couple's legal issues. Though Teresa admitted on GMA that she and Joe continue to face challenges in their relationship, she is committed to keeping their family together. "It's very difficult. We've been through a lot. I've gone through ups and downs, like being angry," she said. "But listen, I have to stay strong. I have four beautiful daughters [and] they need their mommy." 

They're currently in the process of appealing the judge's decision. For now, Teresa said she's "taking it one day at a time."