Teresa Giudice Released From Prison After Nearly 1 Year: ‘She Is Free’

Teresa Giudice is officially a free woman! The ‘RHONJ’ star was released from prison on Dec. 23 after serving nearly a year behind bars for bankruptcy fraud. But is this really the end of her legal troubles? Find out below!

It’s going to be a merry Christmas indeed for the Giudice family this year! After serving nearly 12 months behind bars at a Connecticut correctional facility, Teresa Giudice, 43, was finally released back into the loving arms of her family on Dec. 23 at 5:01 am. Get the details on her release below!

Teresa was sprung from the Danbury Correctional Facility in Connecticut at the beginning of the 5:00 hour on Dec. 23, just a few months before the scheduled end of her 15-month sentence. The reality star, who entered the prison on Jan. 5, 2015, was greeted by her lawyer, James J. Leonard Jr., and went straight home to her loving family in New Jersey. “She is free,” James told People. (SEE THE FIRST PHOTOS OF HER LEAVING PRISON HERE).

Prior to her release, the The Real Housewives of New Jersey  star was said to have been “beyond excited to finally see her family,” and looking forward celebrating the holiday with them as a free woman. “She can’t believe this day has finally come. She has waited for this day since the moment she set foot in there. She is so happy,” a source told People magazine. “The first thing she is going to do when she gets home is hug Joe and her girls so tight. She has missed them all so much while she was in prison. She is going to spend as much time with them as she can.”

Still, while Teresa may technically be free from the confines of her tiny cell, she hasn’t necessarily finished serving out her sentence just yet. The reality star still will be under home confinement until Feb. 5, a time her lawyer says will be spent paying fines and staying “out of trouble.”

“During that period, she will be able to work, she will be able to take care of business, medical [things],” James told 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.”

For those who don’t know, Teresa and Joe pleaded guilty to charges of bankruptcy fraud in 2014. The two admitted to hiding assets from bankruptcy creditors and submitting phony loan applications to get some $5 million in mortgages and construction loans. Upon their sentencing, Teresa was given 15-months in prison, while Joe, who took on the brunt of the charges, received 41-months behind bars, which he will begin serving in March 2016.

HollywoodLifers, are you happy that Teresa has finally be released from prison? Share your thoughts in the comments below!