Joe Giudice Blames Himself For Teresa's Sentence

As Teresa Giudice prepares to be released from prison and maybe return to The Real Housewives of New Jersey to show everyone how much she has changed, husband Joe Giudice is becoming more reflective. Giudice admitted he's "guilty" and to blame for Teresa's prison sentence during an on-camera interview with the Today show. The father of four, who was filmed at his family's home in New Jersey, is about to start his own 41-month prison sentence for fraud, and insisted Teresa doesn't deserve to be serving 15 months at Danbury Correctional Facility in Connecticut for something he feels he did.

"I was to blame. I took full responsibility for everything, but they still put her away," Giudice told Today co-host Tamron Hall. "I mean, I was supposed to go away, not her. And that was part of the plea. What I thought, anyway. I don't know what happened in the courtroom that day."

So, it seems, the couple, who were charged with bankruptcy and mail fraud, may have gone into court expecting Joe to take the fall for everything, even though Teresa was reportedly well aware of what was going on around her. Eventually, the judge and jury gave both parties prison sentences.

And Joe says he was honestly shocked by the outcome:

I felt like somebody just snapped my neck that day. I felt a pain and chill going down my spine. I couldn't believe it. I'm not saying I didn't do anything wrong or illegal, but there was definitely people behind [the scenes] talkin' to [law enforcement officials] and telling 'em we did this and telling 'em we did that to bring it to their attention. And, you know, being in the public eye didn't help.

Watching him, I get the sense that he finally understands how these choices are affecting their family — but, call me crazy, it certainly appears that he blames reality TV, at least partially, for the outcome of the trial. While it's impossible to prove that fame made them a target, it's easy to see why Joe brings that element into his explanation of their situation.

But whether or not their fame made the couple a target, they were convicted of breaking the law. The court says they committed actions that were unlawful. Prison time is the consequence for those actions. The end.

The fact that their egos kept them on television, despite knowing they would only bring attention to themselves while breaking the law, suggests their inflated senses of self. Don't get me wrong: I like Teresa. But I hope her prison sentence brings her back down to Earth because I think she'll make for an even more interesting Housewife with stories and experiences to share — but that can only happen if she's honest with herself and owns her mistakes.

If she had Joe can come out of this having learned important life lessons along the way, all the better — it's never too late to redeem yourself and try again.