After a 20 year marriage filled with so many amazing highs and devastating lows, Joe and Teresa Giudice‘s divorce was finalized on Sept. 2. Following Teresa and their four daughters visiting him in Italy in Nov. 2019 — after he moved there while his deportation order was being appealed — Joe and Teresa both realized that there was no longer a reason to stay together. “Teresa doesn’t look at this as finally pulling the plug on their marriage. She and Joe have been been separated and talking about divorce for awhile now and are extremely amicable,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.
“They both just wanted to get the divorce done and move forward with their lives since they live halfway around the world from one another,” the insider continues. During Teresa’s visit to Italy, the Real Housewives of New Jersey star refused to share a bed with or have sex with her husband. It came despite the couple finally being together in person following his 41 month prison sentence on fraud charges, followed by months in I.C.E. custody fighting his deportation order.
Joe, 48, later said that Teresa, 48, rebuffing him was his “aha” moment where he realized their marriage was over. In Dec. 2019, the pair reportedly separated. Now they’re free to go about their own love lives, while still being co-parents to their four daughters, Gia, 19, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10.
“They talk daily and are very friendly. Joe calls Teresa multiple times a day. This also didn’t come as a shock to the girls. They told them months ago this was happening,” our source tells us. “They remain the priority in all of this. They want to see their dad very badly and had to cancel their August trip due to COVID. As soon as it’s safe to travel to Italy, they’ll visit, which they’re hoping will be soon.”
The European Union suspended travel from the U.S. in early summer due to the ongoing surge of cases in the states, and Joe is barred from returning to the U.S. But he could meet up with his daughters in the Bahamas for Joe’s upcoming fight. He’s been keeping busy in Italy training for his new career as a celebrity boxer. Joe’s scheduled to fight Jennifer Lopez‘s first husband Ojani Noa, 46, in the Bahamas on Oct. 24.
“If Joe can fight in the Bahamas in October, they will go. There was talk of filming it, but production may be wrapped by then anyways. There aren’t plans for Joe to appear on next season of RHONJ other than that. Teresa and Joe know that this is the best decision for their family right now and their girls are thriving. They understand everything going on,” our insider assures us.