Reality star Teresa Giudice once lived her best life on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey. However, she’s dealt with some not-so-glamorous financial drama. Public records reveal that Teresa and her husband have been hit with multiple tax liens over the years. Her daughter, Gia Giudice, recently spoke about how her three sisters reacted to the tax liens. Here’s what Gia said.

Teresa Giudice’s daughter, Gia Giudice, explained how Teresa’s tax liens impacted her sisters

Teresa Giudice rose to fame as one of the original cast members of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. She quickly became a fan favorite for her fierce loyalty, iconic table flip, and lavish lifestyle. But in 2013, her world took a dramatic turn when she and her then-husband Joe Giudice, were indicted on federal fraud charges, including bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Teresa ultimately served 11 months in federal prison in 2015, followed by Joe’s 41-month sentence.

More recently, Teresa and her husband, Luis Ruelas, were issued tax liens totaling $3 million. According to records obtained by People, Teresa owed $303,889.20, while Luis owed $2.6 million. Additionally, there’s a still-open case for $163,523.94.

Gia Giudice spoke to People regarding how the liens have affected the family. Gia said her sisters — Milania, 19, Gabriella, 20, and Audriana, 15 — wanted to ensure everything was “under control.”

“It was definitely a family discussion,” Gia said. “My sisters were calling, just making sure — because they’re at college, everyone definitely checks in — ‘Is everything under control?’ And [Teresa and Ruelas] obviously said, ‘Yes, everything is being handled.’ So, certain things we obviously do talk about as a family, but if it’s careless stories, then we just brush it off.”

Gia said the publicity of her family’s issues makes it more difficult to deal with. “My whole family’s in the public eye,” she said. “So, whatever goes on with my family, [I’m] associated with it. It’s just how it goes. So even though it might not be me, I will still get the wrath of it in the comments, my sisters will. So, it kind of affects the whole family, which is unfortunate, but you just have to build tough skin.”

What led to Teresa Giudice’s tax lien?

It’s unclear exactly why Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas have tax liens. They may have underreported income or failed to pay property taxes. The government can claim the couple’s assets if the lien goes unpaid. Mitchell Newmark, the former Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey specializing in tax law, spoke to People about the situation.

“If the debt goes final, either because you don’t challenge the assessment or you challenge it, but you lose in court and you don’t pay, then they can seek to collect, and that’s when you wind up with a tax lien,” Newmark said. “The question is, ‘Why is it there a lien? Is the money actually really owed, or is there some mistake going on?’ Usually, the state’s pretty good.”

Newmark explained that the government wants their money above all else. The situation appears “very serious.”

“I suspect that it is going to be contested, although I don’t know,” he continued. “It’s certainly very serious, especially with numbers of that magnitude. If you ignore that, like I said, there’s the potential risk for civil consequences and/or criminal consequences.”

The ‘Real Housewives’ star said her jail time made her ‘sad for her daughters’

Teresa Giudice doesn’t want to revisit jail. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star told Good Morning America that prison felt like “living in hell” when she served her 11-month sentence in 2015.

“I mean, there was mold in the bathrooms. There was no running water constantly. The showers were freezing cold … I mean, the living conditions were really horrible. Like, horrible,” Teresa said. “There were some nights that we didn’t even have heat. … It was — it was hell.”

Teresa noted that it “broke” her “heart” to reside behind bars due to how it affected her family.

“It, you know, broke my heart because, you know, I was always growing up the good girl, always did everything right, crossed every ‘t’, dotted every ‘i.’ And, you know, so it was … I was sad for my daughters. And I was upset,” she said.

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