Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice has experienced many low points in
recent years, including the death of her mother in 2017.
"I know you lost your mother, but remember that she's not dead, she's not gone. She's
right here, in the air you breathe."
That was followed by the loss of her dad on April 3, 2020. The mom-of-four also served
prison time in 2015 for fraud charges, while her estranged husband, Joe Giudice, was deported
to Italy in October 2019 after serving his own prison sentence.
These incidents are a lot for one person to handle, especially when financial problems
are also involved. This was the unfortunate case for Teresa, who filed for bankruptcy
in 2009 and was ordered to pay back $414,588 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Although the New Jersey native returned to Bravo post-prison and has since released two
popular books, there are still questions concerning the health of her finances.
Teresa Giudice successfully paid back the IRS and avoided foreclosure on her New Jersey
mansion, but she is reportedly carrying around a debt of $11 million, according to Celebrity
Net Worth. The unfortunate figure might be linked to Teresa and Joe Giudice's credit
card debt, which as of June 2010, included $104,000 in debt on quote "at least eight
credit cards," according to The New York Post.
Teresa might be in a financial pickle, but it doesn't mean she's cutting back on her
expensive lifestyle. She told Glamour,
"If you see my vanity, I have so much makeup. Like, you don't even know, I have so much
makeup."
The reality star's makeup obsession aside, it sounds like her bank account is on an upswing
all things considered. That's because she reportedly earns $62,000 per episode of Real
Housewives of New Jersey, according to Radar Online. Not too shabby.
During Joe Giudice's time spent in prison and at an ICE detainment center, Teresa Giudice
was responsible for handling her family's bills. Teresa worked harder than ever as a
result, and she expressed feeling guilty about losing time at home with her daughters. She
recalled during an episode of RHONJ,
"You know what Milania did say the other day, which made me feel really bad. Milania's like,
'Mom, I don't care about money. I want how it used to be.' It's sad. I worry every day
about my kids...My daughter wants me home every single night and it's like, 'You know,
I work.'"
Making matters even tougher for Teresa? She chose to help Joe fight his costly deportation
case. She explained,
"Like, I should be much further with all my businesses. Like, I built up a lot. And then
everything came crashing down because of the legal stuff."
Now that Joe has seemingly accepted he won't ever return to the United States permanently,
perhaps Teresa can abandon the fight to bring him home. Lawyer fees can be pricey, after
all.
Although many fans found Teresa Giudice's crusade to help bring home Joe Giudice admirable,
others were skeptical of her decision. This included her brother, Joe Gorga, who confronted
Teresa about the issue during an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey. He asked his
sister,
"Let me ask a serious question here, why continue to fight? You're burying yourself financially."
Teresa explained,
"I know, I know. It's crazy. It's just, his daughters want him to fight"
Joe replied,
"Yeah, but when there's no money, it's that much harder. You know that, right? For your
future, for your daughters, for your everything to keep going, you have to think now as a
businessperson, that he's not coming home."
In a confessional after the conversation, Teresa admitted feeling torn about her brother's
suggestion.
"I understand what my brother's saying, but I've been through financial strain before.
I've had to pay back taxes. I've had to pay off all our debts. So, how can I put a price
tag on our daughters having their daddy home?"
Fortunately, it appears Teresa has found a solution in sending her daughters to visit
Joe in Italy every so often. We're not mathematicians over here, but we imagine plane tickets are
cheaper than an ongoing legal battle.
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