“Literally having anxieties over here, Waiting for my kids to get out,” Joe Giudice said at the start of the video he posted to Instagram on Nov. 6, proving that you can take Joe out of Jersey, but you can never take the Jersey out of Joe. In the now-deleted clip, the former Real Housewives of New Jersey star complained about how his kids were dealing with “quarantine” measures, before holding up the “amount of paperwork you gotta to go through to travel these days. It’s ridiculous.” Ultimately, Joe, 48, reunited with his daughters Gia Giudice, 19, and Milania Giudice, 14. The older posted an Instagram Story that showed Joe loading up the car with their luggage, while Milania shared a video of the three of them walking around Rome. She also posted a photo with her dad: “happy to be back.”
Joe, who has been living in Italy since his deportation in October 2019, hasn’t been able to see his family since last December. Italy has been hit hard in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is currently seeing a rise in new cases as a second wave hits Europe, per The Guardian. “Teresa [Guidice] and Joe’s daughters had plans to visit Joe this August for about a week before school starts,” a source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY over the summer. The girls were still planning to go so long as it was safe, but it appears that this reunion had to be delayed by a few months.
Despite Joe’s grumblings when picking up his girls at the airport (and his incorrect use of a facemask), he issued a positive message in March when the pandemic ramped up in America. “We are all fighting a battle together! I’m frustrated too. But, we must think as going into war-with (COVID-19); have a plan, fight, and win as a nation,” he posted online. “To my babies, you’re not alone. (Daddy is always here) You’re warriors. This too shall pass don’t allow others to put fear in you! Girls, Reflect on all you’ve been through, yet you still got up every day and put a smile on your face like mommy.”
During these pandemic months, Joe and Teresa, 48, were able to hammer out the details of their split and finalize their divorce. The two ended their 20-year marriage in September. Despite the end of their matrimony, the two remain on good terms. “We are on the phone, we always talk. I was just on the phone with her a few minutes ago. Look, we have four kids, we have to talk. When you have four kids it’s a lot,” Joe said during a June episode of the Hollywood Raw podcast. “I do what I can from here. I’m always calling them; I’m always talking to them.”
Teresa also supports her ex-husband moving on to find love. Joe confirmed in early October that he’s “seeing a lawyer” in Italy. “I wouldn’t say she’s my girlfriend, but we’re hanging out together.” Teresa is genuinely happy that Joe has been able to start over in Italy, a source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “There’s no bad blood between them and she wants him to be able to live a happy life.”