“Haters are gonna hate. But I just love, love, love.” – Teresa Giudice
That iconic tagline of Teresa Giudice can be used describe her attitude towards recovering from some very unfortunate and unfair situations. Teresa Giudice is the star of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” on Bravo TV, where she has been a ‘Real Housewife’ since the beginning, season one, episode one. She is the only housewife to have been on every season of the New Jersey franchise. Giudice is also a New York Times bestselling author of four cookbooks: Skinny Italian, Fabulicious!, Fabulicious! Fast & Fit and Fabulicious! On The Grill. Her newest book is a memoir, titled Turning The Tables: From Housewife To Inmate And Back Again. It was released on February 9th and has been selling at rapid rates. I “love, love, love” this book!
The tell-all memoir is honest, heart-warming, funny and empowering. If you are going through a tough time this is definitely the book you need to read right away! Teresa details her childhood growing up in a tight knit Italian, Roman Catholic family in Paterson, New Jersey. (Remember her famous line on RHONJ season 2: “Don’t forget girlfriend, I’m from Paterson! Did you forget?!”) In the memoir she talks about getting her degree in Fashion Merchandising, working as a buyer for Macy’s, getting married to her childhood sweetheart Joe Giudice and having four beautiful daughters together: Gia, Gabriella, Milania and Audriana.
Of course a lot of the book is also about her experience serving 11½ months at the Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury, Connecticut. (This is the same prison Piper Kerman also famously spent time and recounted her experience at in a novel, which ultimately led to the creation of the hit Netflix series “Orange Is The New Black.”) Teresa and her husband Joe pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud charges in March 2014. Basically, Teresa signed papers she didn’t really read. But; if you’re an old school person, you know that you sign whatever your husband gives you and don’t pay too much attention to it while you’re busy raising a family and running a household. There were a variety of issues between Joe and his business partners. Before finding their current attorney James Leonard, who has been a big help to the family, the Giudice’s had issues with their legal team. It’s unfortunate that a mother of four would be sent away for a nonviolent crime that she didn’t even know she was committing. That being said, Teresa has learned a ton about the legal system since being away. Her advice to everyone is to make sure you know what you are reading and signing!
Although it seems Teresa was sent away because she’s on a popular show and people wanted to ‘teach her a lesson,’ it is a blessing that her and her husband received staggered sentences so that one parent could be with the kids at all times. The power of prayer and yoga are what has really helped Teresa get through this experience.
She spent her time away exercising three times a day, reading a ton of novels, doing yoga, communicating with her family and reflecting on absolutely everything. Some novels she read while away include: Andy Cohen’s Most Talkative, Victoria Gotti’s This Family Of Mine, The Women’s Devotional Guide to the Bible by Jean E. Syswerda, Mafia Prince by Philip Leonetti, Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins, and The Secret and You Can You Will 8 Undeniable Qualities of a Winner by Joel Osteen. If you know Teresa, you know she’s all about dancing and she even did a bit of that behind bars. At one of the parties held inside, they had her dancing along to Jay-Z, 2 Chainz and other rappers. “Go Teresa, pop that booty,” she recalls the inmates saying to her.
Not everything was all great there though. She told her family it was like a low budget spa so that they wouldn’t worry about her. Bravo TV did a three part special titled “Teresa Checks In” that followed her family while she was away and she could be heard on the phone with them. Even from afar she was still a rock star mother! (She had things planned in advance, videos for the girls, etc.) The food wasn’t good and at one point there were even maggots on it. The ceilings had mold, the showers were disgusting, and the beds were covered in stains from who-knows-what. Some of the inmates tried hard to snap photos of her to sell to tabloids for hundreds of thousands of dollars – which of course was against the rules. Luckily, Teresa found a few women she could bond with. They would even do her hair, makeup, and nails for visits with her family. Teresa has proven time and again, that she makes the best out of any kind of situation. Whether that’s fights at the Posche Fashion Show, drama on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”, tasks on Celebrity Apprentice (which she raised tons of money on for NephCure) or while she’s serving time. Her attitude is always optimistic. The book allows readers to see the real Teresa, the Teresa that she always was.
There are many things Teresa is famous for: the infamous table flip on the finale of season one of RHONJ, saying funny things, having a good work-ethic, putting family first and rising above any challenges with grace and respect. She returned home to her loved ones on December 23rd and was able to enjoy the holidays with family. Waiting for her was a brand new Lexus that she deserved. Her house is not under foreclosure no more, they get to remain in their dream house that they built and she designed. She sat down for a one-on-one special with Andy Cohen following her book release that had high ratings. Now she is back to raising her family in person, doing press for her new book and coming out with new ventures. She is set to return for season 7 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey that will premiere this year!