Teresa Giudice Stars In ‘Real Housewives’ Special With Joe Giudice & Girls: ‘RHONJ: Teresa Checks In’ Preview

Teresa Giudice, famed for her part on The Real Housewives Of New Jersey (RHONJ) reality TV show, has discovered what life is like behind bars — and it’s very different from her posh, mansion and ladies-who-lunch former lifestyle. Now, Teresa’s husband, Joe Giudice, and her family, including 14-year-old daughter Gia, are sharing glimpses of the dramatic changes due to her incarceration and how it has impacted the entire family on their upcoming special, The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Teresa Checks In, reports People.

Although Teresa has four daughters, Gia has been especially devastated by the absence of her mom. One segment of the Giudice family special shows Gia getting a phone call from Teresa, as the teenager prepares for a school dance.

“I’ve been thinking of you every minute, every second,” Giudice reassures her daughter. “I’m there in your heart.”

Although Gia is moved to the point of wanting to weep, the teenager attempts to hide it from grandpa Giacinto Gorga, who has health problems. The teenager tries to be brave because she knows her mom is concerned that having someone show emotional pain could adversely affect her grandfather.

After starting her prison sentence in January, Teresa will return home in December. Joe will then begin his prison sentence. The Giudice couple ended up with those behind-bars orders after guilty pleas to bankruptcy fraud, as well as mail and wire fraud.

As for what Teresa Giudice is doing to pass the time in prison, Giudice shares that she’s working, reading, and working out, reports Yahoo.

“She’s holding up. I can’t say she’s doing great but she looks good,” Joe reveals. “She wants to be home.”

In addition to emailing, eating, and exercising, Giudice reveals that she has a job involving tasks such as wiping down tables which takes, according to Joe, about three minutes daily.

“I think she’s making a dollar a day or maybe a dollar a month, I’m not sure,” adds Teresa’s husband.

Joe admits that it’s not just Gia who’s struggling without a mom at home.

Gabriella, Milania, and Audriana also feel sad.

“Whenever we get there, Milania is just like, ‘Mommy why can you just come home? Why don’t you just get up and leave?’ Adriana doesn’t really say much about it but she cries sometimes.”

Joe Giudice reveals that he knows it’s challenging for Teresa after they visit when she’s left without her family.

Bravo will begin the three-part special, The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Teresa Checks In, on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m.

As for what Joe has planned for his wife when she returns home, Giudice wants to have some nights with just the two of them, reports E News.

Joe takes pride in keeping his daughters together, but hopes that they can get a fresh start after she returns. With the girls now sleeping in their own bedrooms, Giudice looks forward to being alone with Teresa in the evenings until he begins his prison sentence.

If you’re curious as to how Teresa has survived behind bars without her usual beauty regime and tactics such as diet and exercise to maintain her fabulous figure, the Real Housewives Of New Jersey star actually has stayed in great shape by teaching a fitness class, reports People.

“She is helping to teach exercise classes,” reveals Giudice’s lawyer, James J. Leonard Jr. “The women take turns leading classes and she has her little group.”

Although Teresa has had to swap designer dresses for traditional prison attire, her attorney says she has succeeded in shifting styles successfully. As for those rumors that Giudice has been behaving like a diva in a jail? They’re not true, according to her lawyer.

“Any reports that she is behaving like a diva in prison and not getting along with inmates and the staff is 1,000 percent false,” he emphasizes.

Will you be watching on Sunday, October 11 at 8/7 p.m. central time for the first installment of the three-part series, Real Housewives of New Jersey: Teresa Checks In, to discover how Joe is coping with bringing up his daughters without Teresa? Share your thoughts below.

[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]