Teresa Giudice’s Prison Release Date Revealed

It's been almost a year since Teresa Giudice began her prison stay for bankruptcy fraud, and now, it's finally coming to an end. According to her attorney, James Leonard Jr., Giudice is set to be released from prison on Wednesday, December 23 — just in time to celebrate the holidays with her family. She won't exactly be a free woman right away, though. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star is reportedly on home confinement until February 5, a time her lawyer says will be spent paying fines and staying "out of trouble." It stinks to be trapped at home, but compared to more jail time? House arrest might be a walk in the park.

So what exactly does that mean? "During that period, she will be able to work, she will be able to take care of business, medical [things]," Leonard tells NorthJersey.com. "She'll be out and about. And then when that period ends, she will begin a period of supervised release. The sentence that she got was two years of supervised release."

He also adds that she'll be allowed to attend family functions and film the show, if she decides to do so while she's on house arrest, since that's her source of income. Her freedoms will be limited, but it does sound like she'll be able to live her life as normally as possible, under the circumstances.

It's not going to be easy, though. As per the original plan, her husband, Joe, is set to begin his own prison sentence now that Teresa is out, which means he'll be turning himself in for his 41 months of jail time in March. It's not the best scenario, but at least the Giudice family will be able to be back together for Christmas. And considering the fact that Teresa's release date was originally set for February, I have a feeling they have plenty to celebrate.