Joe Giudice Calls Watching ‘RHONJ’ From Prison ‘Painful’

As Joe Giudice served his 41-month sentence behind bars, watching his wife Teresa and the rest of his family live their lives out on The Real Housewives of New Jersey was “actually painful,” he admitted in a previously-unseen clip of his tell-all on Watch What Happens Live‘s special interview with Andy Cohen last month. Tuesday, Bravo Insider released the footage in which Joe reveals he periodically watched RHONJ as he served out his sentence for bankruptcy, mail and wire fraud.

“It was actually painful to watch on television,” Joe admitted at the time. “It was actually sad.”

One particular episode was the worst for him to watch from his incarceration — the one in which he surrendered to prison, leaving Teresa and their four daughters behind.

“I saw the one episode where my daughter was waving through the window while I was leaving to go to Fort Dix,” Joe remembered. “And that was gut-wrenching to watch that.”

He added that he would keep up with Teresa in a few episode of Watch What Happens Live and RHONJ over the years, but had to rely on prison guidelines to tune in.

“I did see yous a couple of times,” Joe admitted. “When I was in Fort Dix, the first federal prison, there was this one guy Jack, loved Bravo. So he always had the Bravo channel on. When I got to the other prison, which was Allenwood, there wasn’t anybody who had that channel on too much. It was only on once in a while so I was able to catch clips here and there, but not as much as the first.”

“I would watch a little bit here and there,” he continued. “I didn’t watch it that much, but I would watch certain things here and there. I more read magazines and stuff like that.”

In March, Joe was released from prison after serving his time, but transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody where he awaited a ruling on his deportation order, as he never became a U.S. citizen since moving from Italy as a child. Last month, a judge granted him permission to move to Italy while awaiting the final appeal ruling on his deportation order, where he was visited by his wife and daughters last week for the first time in years.

Despite the happy reunion, Joe and Teresa admitted to Cohen on last month’s tell-all that if Joe had to remain in Italy, the two would be forced to split up.

“I want to wake up with someone every single day,” Teresa said, explaining her daughters understand where she’s coming from. “I think they get it. I don’t think they want to see it happen, obviously, but I think they understand. Because the way I explained it to them, how are we going to live apart? I don’t think he would be faithful. I think he would have someone there and have me here. I just don’t want to live that life.”

“If we stay together, we stay together, if we don’t, we don’t,” Joe added. “It’s a conversation, we’ll see. … As long as she’s happy, that’s all that really matters. I’m not going to tell her what to do. If she doesn’t feel like she wants to be with me anymore, then that’s the thing to do.”

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