Phaedra Parks Gives Teresa Giudice Advice As Their Husbands Serve Out Sentences In Same Prison

On Wednesday, March 23, Teresa Giudice’s husband, Joe Giudice, reported to FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey to begin his 41-month sentence for fraud. Coincidentally, Joe’s not the only husband from Real Housewives to now be in that prison. Phaedra Parks’ husband, Apollo Nida, is also at FCI Fort Dix. He began his eight-year sentence for fraud and identity theft there in September 2014.

In a statement to Bravo’s Daily Dish on Friday, Phaedra, who stars on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, gave Teresa, who will soon be shown on a new season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, some advice on how to deal with her husband’s imprisonment. Phaedra reminded Teresa that she’s not alone and to remember that it won’t last forever. Phaedra also reminded Teresa to concentrate on her four daughters with Joe.

“My advice is always just to [be] prayerful and to just know that you’re not alone. My husband nor her husband are the first husbands to go to prison, they won’t be the last. And you know the most important thing are her children, those beautiful daughters that they have together. And this too shall pass.”

Like Teresa, Phaedra has young children who she’s now caring for as a single mom. She and Apollo have two boys. In a recent episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Phaedra was shown taking her two young sons to prison for the first time to see their father. After they finished their visit and got back in the car, Phaedra told her mom that the boys were not as excited to see their father as she thought they would be and that they were getting anxious and bored during the visit. Phaedra confessed that she’s not sure whether she would bring the boys for another visit because of the long travel and everything else that was required of them during the visit.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Phaedra revealed in a blog post after that episode aired, she enrolled her sons in therapy. Phaedra also shared that while it’s been “a process,” her sons are doing fine.

Unlike Joe and Teresa Giudice, however, Phaedra Parks and Apollo Nida aren’t united on the marriage front. As was shown on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Phaedra and Apollo had problems with their marriage before he began his prison sentence. Apollo was even shown yelling at Phaedra, who was in the process of changing the locks on their home, right before turning himself in.

Phaedra now wants a divorce from Apollo, which Apollo apparently doesn’t want. During her chat with her mom after the prison visit, Phaedra revealed that when she brought up the divorce, Apollo still refused to sign the divorce papers.

“He did make a point to tell me that he won’t sign the paperwork that I’ve tried to get him to sign. Anything to prolong it.”

In contrast, Joe and Teresa stuck by one another through their legal trial and sentencing. When Teresa began her own prison sentence in early January 2015, which she would finish in late December 2015, Joe took over the caring of their four daughters. One scene from the special The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Teresa Checks In showed Joe, now having to be “Mr. Mom,” admitting that he never realized how much Teresa did for the family and expressing admiration for her.

Joe and Teresa Giudice share one last hug as he reports to prison https://t.co/UIcPQTdvie pic.twitter.com/Jb1zuGlXw0

— People (@people) March 23, 2016

While Phaedra Parks confessed in one episode that she sees herself divorced in the future, Teresa doesn’t. In a statement to E! News last Wednesday, Joe and Teresa’s lawyer, James Leonard Jr., said that Teresa will never get a divorce from Joe.

“Teresa and Joe are not getting a divorce. Not now, not in six months, not ever. That’s another sensational story that gets floated every few months to sell magazines or get hits on gossip websites. The truth is despite everything they have been through, their relationship is stronger than ever and they are still very much in love with one another.”

Hours after her husband reported to prison, Teresa Giudice thanked her fans for their love and support during “this difficult time.”

I want to thank all of you for the love & support you have shown my family during this difficult time. It means the world to all of us ????

— Teresa Giudice (@Teresa_Giudice) March 23, 2016

[Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images]