During her new interview on the 'Hollywood Raw' podcast, the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star recalls her time behind bars for bank, mail, wire, bankruptcy and tax fraud.
- Jan 19, 2024
AceShowbiz - Prison isn't entirely bad for Teresa Giudice. During her new interview on the "Hollywood Raw" podcast, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star recalled her time behind bars.
"I have to say the food was really good," Teresa shared in the Wednesday, January 17 episode of the podcast. "And I actually cooked there also 'cause, you know, I'm a three[-time] New York Times bestselling author for three of my cookbooks out of four."
The 51-year-old reality TV star added that she cooked "dinner," including a "chicken stir fry," for around 200 women at the facility. "I'm telling you, the food was so good," she stressed.
"What was my favorite was when I first got there, they had banana nut muffins. I would have a banana nut muffin every morning. It was so good! And then they ended up running out of them, and I was, like, so mad. 'Cause they were so good! They were really good," the Bravolebrity continued.
Teresa further likened the prison's atmosphere to a "camp setting." She explained, "It wasn't bad where I was. I tell my daughter it's like being at college, but the only thing is I just couldn't leave. I had to stay there. I mean, I was able to go outside and get fresh air. And I have to say the grounds were so beautiful. The scenery was beautiful."
The mom of four used to wonder why she ended up there. "I know I'm not a criminal. I know I did not intentionally commit a crime," she claimed. She added that she was put in prison because she's a TV personality and "they want[ed] to make an example"
"It's sad. I thought she could really see who I really was," Teresa divulged. "But she kind of stereotyped me. She was talking to me like she knew who I was. She was saying, 'You were trying to keep up with the Joneses.' And I was like, 'Oh my God, no I wasn't.' And it was because of everybody - even my brother, my cousin - stuff that they were saying on the show. I wasn't trying to keep up with the Joneses. If anything, everybody was trying to keep up with me."
Back in 2015, Teresa served 11 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn., after she and then-husband Joe Giudice pleaded guilty to bank, mail, wire, bankruptcy and tax fraud. Joe spent 41 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, N.J., and another seven months in an ICE detention center before he was deported to his native Italy in 2019.
