Teresa Giudice Gives Heartbreaking Details About Daughters' Reunion with Joe in Italy

The Giudice family had a bittersweet reunion with patriarch Joe Giudice in Italy earlier this month.

Teresa Giudice opened up about the recent trip during BravoCon's RHONJ: The Garden State Dishes the Dirt panel at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom on Saturday, November 16, including how her daughters (Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 10) felt after seeing their dad for the first time since he was released from ICE custody on October 11.

"I thought that the girls would be fine when we came back from Italy, but they're really missing Joe still," Teresa shared to moderator Brody Brown from Us Weekly. "It's like Milania told me the other day, she's like, 'I miss Daddy so much.' It breaks my heart. It's hard."

Though Teresa was happy to see Joe out of custody, the trip was altogether "so emotional" for Teresa. "I cried a lot. You guys will see that. It takes a lot for me to cry," she said. "I cry seeing my kids so happy. Like, Milania was so happy that the six of us were together. She's like, 'Oh my god, I can't believe we're eating dinner together.' She was so happy."

Joe flew to Italy after spending seven months in ICE custody when his request to await a final decision in his ongoing deportation case was granted last month. "He could have left right away. He didn't have to sit there. But he did fight. His daughters saw that he fought, which I'm happy [about]," Teresa said during the panel. "And you know what, I'm not just saying my family; I feel bad for other families that are going through this also because it's terrible. It really is."

Teresa added that the family is "still gonna fight" Joe's deportation order, which is currently under appeal. "I think it's gonna take like a year or a year-and-a-half, we'll get an answer," she said. "So maybe he'll come back."

The Real Housewives of New Jersey author also noted during the event that she was pleased with her and Joe's interview with Andy Cohen last month and that Gia, who was the only daughter who has seen the conversation, was also "fine with it."

Teresa also addressed how upset Gia previously got over the possibility of Joe going to Italy in order to be released from ICE custody this season of RHONJ.

"He kept asking. He was like, 'What do you think I should do? Should I stay or should I leave?' I wanted him to do whatever made him happy. And I said, 'Whatever makes you happy, you do,'" Teresa explained. "But his kids wanted him to fight. And I'm like, 'You have to fight. If your kids want you to fight, you have to fight. You put us in this mess, so if you don't fight, then they're gonna always resent you.' He fought for them."

But Teresa said that her daughters know how hard Joe is fighting to stay in the country. "Now they're happy for him. They were like done with it. They're like, 'Daddy, it's enough. We want you to get out of there.' They're the ones that said that to him, and that's why he left," Teresa said. "It was mentally draining him. He was mentally draining us. It was terrible."

Teresa was joined by her fellow Garden State gals Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Dolores Catania, Jennifer Aydin, and Jackie Goldschneider at the panel, which also featured a sneak peek at the ladies' upcoming trip to Jamaica, as well as questions from fans.

The panel ended on a particularly saucy note when one audience member asked if Teresa and Joe had sex when they reunited in Italy. "You're gonna have to tune in," Teresa teased of the reunion, which was filmed for this season of RHONJ. "You will see if the boom boom happened." 

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Photo: Teresa Giudice/Instagram