Teresa Guidice Counts 2017 As Her Toughest Year Ever, As Joe Remains Behind Bars

Teresa Giudice considers 2017 her most challenging year ever.

People magazine reports the Real Housewives of New Jersey star, who spent nearly all of 2015 behind bars after pleading guilty to bank fraud charges, recently reflected that the last 12 months have been her toughest to bear.

“This has undoubtedly been the hardest year of my life,” Guidice posted on Instagram just days before the Thanksgiving holiday. “But as we take a look back & reflect on this year, I’m so thankful to have four beautiful healthy happy daughters, my father’s health, to be able to be surrounded by family and friends who have become family.”

Giudice implored her followers, no matter how their holiday turned out, that they should go with the flow and remain cool.

“If the turkey is dry or you forgot some minor detail at dinner, don’t sweat it,” she said. “Treasure the time and the moments you have with the ones you love.”

Giudice has been forced to spend the last year without husband Joe, who remains behind bars, serving out the remainder of his 41-month sentence on the same charges that landed her behind bars.

With her husband away, Giudice has largely been forced to serve as a single mother to their four young daughters.

In her new book, Standing Strong, she admitted all the separation and struggle has put a strain on their marriage.

“I want our marriage to work,” she said. “But you know, when Joe comes home, he has to do the right thing. And then we’ll just move on from there.”

During a recent RHOHJ episode, Giudice shared that she often feels guilty about all her daughters have been forced to endure and that sometimes leads her to now spoil them to no end.

“I don’t want to fight with them,” she told her dad. “I’m trying to find a balance.”

In between both their parents being away for length periods, the girl’s grandma and family patriarch, Antonio Gorga, recently passed away.

“They’re probably mad over everything that’s happened to them,” Giudice told her dad.

Not long ago, Giudice also told Entertainment Tonight that her heart remains lonely for Joe, and the girls have taken on the task of filling the sizeable void.

“How do I deal with it? Well, I have four daughters that keep me very, very busy,” she said. “I’m not kidding, like, if you were to come to my house, your head would spin.”

Joe Giudice is slated to be released from prison in 2019.

[Featured Image by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]