Real Housewives of New Jersey star and actress Teresa Giudice hasn’t become a stranger to the friends she made while behind bars.

During a Wednesday, September 24, appearance on “The Viall Files” podcast, Giudice, 53, told the show’s host she keeps in touch with a handful of the women she met in prison, despite the fact that a few people weren’t always her biggest fan.

“Everyone was really nice to me,” Giudice said. “I mean, listen, there was a few girls that would give me a dirty look. And I was like, ‘Really, you don’t want to do that.’ You know? I’m like, ‘I’m really pissed off that I’m here and you don’t — like, don’t even come near me.’”

Instead, Giudice continued, “I really just kept to myself. … And I still talk to, as a matter of fact, I had lunch with two of the girls that I was in there with.”

In total, she added, “I still keep in touch with three of them.”

Giudice served 11 months of a 15-month sentence after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, one count of bankruptcy fraud by concealment of assets, one count of bankruptcy fraud by false oaths, and one count of bankruptcy fraud by false declarations. She was released from the Federal Correctional Institution-Danbury in December 2015.

Despite the odd dirty look, Giudice also said that discord didn’t go both ways. “I was friendly with everyone,” she explained. “Everyone was so nice to me. And I hate to always talk about this, that just to say it, ‘cause it’s, I don’t want it to define me.”

Giudice has also offered her support to her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, who asked President Donald Trump for a pardon in June 2025. Joe, 53, was deported to Italy after he was released from prison in March 2019.

“I’m Joe Giudice. I served my time, and I’ve been deported from the U.S. for nearly a decade,” Joe wrote via Instagram. “I was raised in Jersey, I’m a father of four amazing daughters, and I just want to be allowed to visit them again. President Trump, I respect you and I’m asking for a second chance. @realdonaldtrump @donaldjtrumpjr.”

Teresa commented on the post: “🙏❤️” and the pair’s daughter Gia Giudice wrote, “I love you🙏🏻♥️.”

In May 2025 Teresa admitted on Gia’s “Casual Chaos” podcast that she thought the charges against herself and Joe were a joke at first.

“When it all happened, I didn’t know. I thought it was all a joke. For me anyway,” she explained. “With your father, obviously I knew. For the government to come knocking on your door, there was something going on.”

She also recalled the day authorities were waiting for her and Joe at their home. “I was never arrested, never handcuffed, never shackled. Thank you, God. At least that was one good thing.”

The Giudices filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and claimed $11 million in debt. The pair were indicted on fraud charges in 2014, and Teresa filed for divorce from Joe in 2019. Their divorce was finalized in September 2020.