Inside 'RHONJ' Couple Teresa and Joe Giudice's Tumultuous Relationship

Love at First Sight

The future lovebirds have been connected at the hip from early on. Teresa told Bravo in 2016 that the couple first met when she was just 14, and the two went on their first date when she was 17.

"I've known him my whole life," she said. "Our parents were friends and so we've known each other our whole lives. Our first date was when I was 17. I would say when I started driving, that's when our first date was. We didn't start [seriously] dating until I was 23."

The couple would wed on Oct. 23, 1999 in a Shakespeare in Love themed ceremony.

"We dated for a year and 8 months, and a year and 8 months [after getting engaged] is when we got married," she told the network.

Building a Family

Since then, the couple has expanded their family, adding daughters Gia, now 17, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 9.

"We knew each other our whole life, so it was like whatever happens happens, and we were pregnant with Gia six months later," Teresa told Bravo in 2016 of starting her family, adding, "Milania was a surprise, and she happened in Punta Cana on the beach. Total surprise. Her and Gabriella are 16 months apart, and I wanted to wait. I didn't want it to happen right away, you know? At Gabriella's year birthday, I was already showing with Milania."

'The Real Housewives of New Jersey'

The Giudice family appeared on The Real Housewives of New Jersey from the start, the first season of which premiered in 2009. Teresa was a stand-out from the beginning, making Bravo history with her infamous table flip during a fight with Danielle Staub.

Cheating Rumors

Things turned south for the couple in the fourth season of the reality series, when cameras captured Joe calling Teresa "my bitch wife" and a "c—" during the annual cast trip to Napa in 2012.

The other Housewives accused Joe being on the phone with another woman when he said those things, but he told Andy Cohen at the season reunion he was actually talking with his "longtime friend," and joked, "if I was talking to a girlfriend I probably would have ripped my mic off and threw it in the bushes."

Abuse Allegations

That wasn't the last of the couple's drama to play out on reality TV. In the same season reunion, Jaqueline Laurita alleged their relationship was abusive, which both Joe and Teresa denied.

"If we're being honest, he calls her those names and she calls him names and they punch each other," Laurita said. "You guys get into some pretty bad [fights]. I've heard every name in the book from you two. You told me your husband cheated on you several times: You caught him with the secretary, the babysitter. You asked me what you should do, because my ex-husband cheated on me."

Legal Issues

The couple soon ran into some real world trouble as it pertained to their finances. After filing for bankruptcy in 2009, the couple was indicted on 39 counts of fraud and tax-related charges in July 2013.

In October 2014, the two were both sentenced to serve time in prison — Teresa for 15 months and Joe for 41 months after his wife was released.

Teresa Heads to Prison

Teresa booked herself into a Danbury, Connecticut, prison in January 2015.

After her release in 2016, she told ABC News, "Yeah, it was nothing like being on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Let me tell you ... when you go to prison it's a whole different -- there's a lot of drama."

She continued, "That's all there is, is drama. And I never lived with so many women in my life before. I mean that's all they -- they thrive on drama. It was crazy to me."

Joe Goes to Prison

After she served 11 months of her sentence, Teresa returned home in December 2015. Joe then began his sentence in March 2016.

In September 2017, Teresa told Us Weekly that the couple's future was unknown as her husband lived the prison life.

"I would have never thought in a million years that I would have gone to jail," she said. "Will I still be married to Joe in 40 years? I have no idea. You don't know what life will bring."

Divorce Rumors

During Joe's prison stint, cheating and divorce rumors have both surfaced.

Former RHONJ friend Kim DePaola alleged on season 8 of the show that Teresa had been getting close to another man while her husband served time, and fans' lips got to flapping when she wrote on Instagram that she was "getting great advice" from a divorce attorney friend, despite clarifying later she was simply promoting her friend's business.

Deportation

In October 2018, Radar Online reported that Joe was ordered to be deported to his native Italy.

"I don't understand how I can be deported on this case. If you will, I'll tell you my side. I shouldn't even be here right now," he told the judge reportedly. "I have to go back and tell my kids this, and they've been waiting to hear from me."

A source told Us Weekly that Teresa didn't see the deportation order coming. "Teresa never talks about Joe's deportation to her friends. She doesn't like to bring up their legal problems very often, but Joe being deported to Italy is very high up on her 'never discuss' list," the source explained.

What will be next for the Real Housewives of New Jersey couple?