Reality

Joe Giudice Deportation Will ‘Break’ Wife Teresa, Source Says

After an immigration court ruled Wednesday that Joe Giudice would be deported to his native Italy […]

After an immigration court ruled Wednesday that Joe Giudice would be deported to his native Italy following his prison sentence, wife Teresa is devastated, a source close to the Real Housewives Of New Jersey star told PEOPLE.

The source said that the Bravo star “never imaged Joe would really get deported.”

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“This is going to break her,” the insider added. “She always knew that this was a possibility, but she put it out of her head. That’s the only way she could go on living day to day.”

Joe is currently serving his 41-month prison sentence for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud and is scheduled to be released in 2019. Teresa served 11 months in prison for the same crimes, but was released in December 2015.

Based on a report from Radar Online Wednesday, the reality personality did not appear in the courtroom for Joe’s immigration ruling, but a source told PEOPLE that she tries to focus on the positive and stay away from events like that.

“That’s why she hates going to see him in prison, too. It’s just like, ‘Keep busy and don’t think about the bad stuff.’ [It’s] a very Italian way to be,” the source explains.

“Joe encourages Teresa to be this way,” the source added. “He feels a lot of guilt over what happened and would rather she just remained focused on their girls and things at home than have to worry about another one of his problems. It’s sad but this one will be too hard to ignore.”

Teresa and Joe first wed in 1999 and share daughters Gia, 17, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 12, and Audriana, 9. Despite the strain this deportation will have on their family, the source stressed that they will “get through this.”

“Teresa is incredibly strong, and whether she admits it or not, I think she had secretly prepared for this,” the source said. “Since Joe’s been gone, Teresa’s grown into her independence. She’s taken control of her life, and she’s raised those girls well.”

“It’s sad, but she’s going to handle this just as well as she’s handled everything else,” the source added. “She’ll push her own feelings aside to make sure her daughters are being taken care of. Teresa’s a big girl. She’ll put on a brave face throughout it all.”

The new season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey premieres on Nov. 7 on Bravo.

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