The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa and Joe Giudice have announced their split after 20 years together. The couple has had a particularly trying couple of years, and with Joe having recently been deported to Italy, the split doesn’t come as a complete surprise.
Joe and Teresa Giudice have been featured on The Real Housewives of New Jersey since the popular Bravo show premiered back in 2009, and the couple has been married since October of 1999. Viewers saw them through all the legal trouble the couple faced after being indicted for filing a false bankruptcy report, and the pair’s marital status was up in the air after Teresa served 11 months in prison and Joe served 41 months - which ended in his deportation. Teresa and the couple’s four daughters went to visit Joe in Italy after a bombshell interview with Andy Cohen where Joe and Teresa revealed that the trip would help them determine the status of their relationship, and it seems they’ve made a decision.
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After much speculation, a source close to the couple revealed to People that they “have been separated.” When Teresa and their four daughters went to visit Joe in Italy in November, the couple “discussed their future” and “agreed that each had to move on.” The insider said the couple agreed they would move on “amicably and very slowly,” and though Joe has reportedly “been out on a few dates, Teresa has not,” but “she is happy for Joe.” It seems that a main reason behind the separation is the distance between them - both figuratively and literally - because Joe and Teresa are currently living on different continents; the source said, “Neither is interested in a long distance relationship.” The insider emphasized that “they still love each other” and said that, at this time, they have “no plans for divorce.” For now, the couple is focusing on their daughters.
When the couple appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (with Joe appearing via satellite from Italy), it was clear that there was a lot riding on Teresa’s visit with her girls in November 2019, and the couple seems to have gotten the closure they needed. During the interview, the couple slung a lot of accusations at each other, including both Teresa and Joe accusing their spouse of being unfaithful while they each served their respective prison sentences. With their mutual decision to separate and focus on their children, Teresa’s four girls will be headed to Italy at Christmas to visit Joe, while Teresa will be staying in New Jersey to spend Christmas with her father and local family.
With Joe in Italy, currently awaiting the status of his deportation appeal, it’s understandable that the couple isn’t willing to finalize their divorce until they know whether Joe will be returning to the U.S. or not. The season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey that is currently airing has given fans more of an inside look into the couple’s relationship following Joe’s release from the ICE facility he was being held at, and their separation doesn’t come as a shock. While nothing is for sure, it looks like the couple may be heading for divorce in the coming months rather than reconciliation.
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Source: People
