As any Bravo fan already knows, last year Real Housewives Of New Jersey stars Teresa and Joe Giudice were sentenced to prison after being convicted of four and five counts of fraud, respectively, as reported by People. This Sunday, the network aired the premiere of a three-part special focusing on Teresa's time in jail and how her family is coping called The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Teresa Checks In . Being the Real Housewives superfan that I am, I watched it, and I have to say, it was pretty sad. Often people watch reality television because they love the spectacle. Watching the lives of others who are so different from us can bring a lot of entertainment. But what happens, as the world’s first true reality show The Real World said, when things start getting real, as they certainly did in this RHONJ special episode?
The special, of course, still had its comedic moments. As someone who has been watching RHONJ from its inception, I am shocked that Milania is nine years old, but extremely pleased at what a star she already is. She has a reign of terror going over the Giudice house (remember when she called her dad an old troll at his pizza place?), and it’s really the one thing that kept me going through the otherwise sad episode. Because mostly, I felt bad for the family. Here are the most tearful moments from The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Teresa Checks In.
Joe Dealing With His Father’s Death
Of course, Gia’s eighth grade dance had to fall on the anniversary of Joe’s father’s death, and man, was he a mess. His dad died very suddenly, and they were very close, and I think that having to keep his family together while dealing with this very big weight of grief was really getting to Joe. He tried to make himself as composed as possible during the whole episode, but it was very easy to see the cracks forming. When he cried, I definitely cried, especially when he told his daughters, “You gotta love everybody while they’re here.” Though I know that the Giudices signed up for all of this, it must be hard to grieve on camera.
Teresa Missing Out & Its Effect On Gia
As the eldest daughter, it seems like Gia is also really trying to keep it together for the sake of her family, and as an oldest child, I get it. Teresa’s incarceration looks like its sitting heavy in Gia's heart. When she got the flowers that her mother had sent in honor of the dance, I just wanted to hug Gia and let her cry into my shoulder — this is clearly a very hard time for the 14-year-old.
Teresa’s Parents' Reactions To Everything
It must be really hard to have a child in jail, and Teresa’s parents are not taking it well at all. Teresa’s father, whom she is very close to, won’t even go visit her because he can’t handle it. Teresa even tells her girls not to be upset around their grandparents so as not to upset them too much.
If there's one thing RHONJ: Teresa Checks In makes clear, it's how much Teresa's prison time has affected every member of her family. If the first part of the special showcased this many emotional scenes, I can only imagine what's ahead in the next two weeks as we delve further into the current lives of the Giudice family.
Images: Charles Sykes/Bravo; Giphy
