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Everyone has to give the Giudices credit. Joe and Teresa Giudice managed to keep up the appearance of a happy marriage for years on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The pair seemed to be perfectly suited to one another, and they even toughed it out during back-to-back prison terms, at least on paper. Now that they are separating after Joe’s flight back to Italy, the curtain is being lifted, and it looks like their marriage might not have been a happy one. In fact, Joe claims he never really wanted to marry her in the first place.

How did Joe and Teresa Giudice meet?

The Giudices don’t have a traditional story of falling in love and getting married. In fact, the soon-to-be exes have known each other their entire lives. The pair grew up in the same city and attended the same schools. Their parents were friends, and while Teresa apparently didn’t initially catch Joe’s eye, he was definitely the object of her affection.

In her 2016 memoir, Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again, Teresa admits that she always had a crush on Joe, and regularly tried to get his attention while in school. Apparently, it didn’t work right away, and it would be years before the pair would officially start dating. Teresa, in the same memoir, claimed that the couple got engaged after dating for a year and eight months. In October 1999, they made it official, marrying precisely 20 months after their engagement. Teresa was 27 at the time.

By 2001 they welcomed their first child together, Gia Giudice. Gia, now 18, is a student at Rutgers. The couple’s second daughter, Gabriella, joined the family in 2004, followed by Milania in 2005. In 2009, the Giudices welcomed their last child, Audriana, to the family. Audriana’s birth was featured on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Prenups and ultimatums apparently started their marriage off on the wrong foot

Audriana’s birth was apparently the last good thing to happen for them as a unit. Shortly after her birth, the family was embroiled in legal troubles stemming from bankruptcy fraud and tax fraud. The pair would ultimately be sentenced to serve time in prison. While fans believe the prison terms doomed the couple, it looks like there may have been trouble between the Giudices long before the government threw the book at them, in fact, problems were likely brewing before they ever said: “I do!”

During a candid phone call, Joe questioned Teresa about the money she was spending on Gia’s prom dress. After spending four years raising her children solo while Joe was in prison, Teresa clearly had enough. She mentioned a prenuptial agreement that Joe had her sign, and apparently, it’s not the first time it’s come up. Finally, Joe admitted that he never wanted to get married in the first place, according to The Daily Mail.

Perhaps he thought asking his bride-to-be to sign a legal document a week before the big day would scare her off. It’s hard to tell what the prenup was all about, but there is one thing for sure, the explosive fight sent the couple’s teenage daughter over the edge. Gia, who appears to have the closest relationship to Joe out of all four of the children, has had a difficult time navigating her emotions during Joe’s deportation saga.

Are the pair going to make it legal and divorce?

The Giudices announced the separation before Christmas, and precisely no one was surprised by the development. Teresa has been pretty outspoken about her desire to divorce for more than a year. Before Joe was ever released from prison, Teresa admitted that she would likely divorce Joe if he was unable to remain in the United States. His immigration status has been in limbo ever since his release from federal prison into the hands of ICE agents.

Her premonition appears to be coming to pass. Giudice is unlikely to ever return to the United States, and while he seems happy in Italy, it spells disaster for the state of his marriage. Rumors are swirling that neither Teresa nor Joe are particularly heartbroken over the demise of their marriage, though. Joe is allegedly dating in Italy, while the 47-year-old reality TV starlet has been linked to a much younger man for months.

It’s unknown when the paperwork will be filed, though. An insider claims that the couple is planning to hold off on legally divorcing, for now, likely while they await the final word on Joe’s deportation situation. Joe is in the final appeal process. If a judge upholds the decision of the lower courts, Joe will be unable to return to New Jersey ever again, according to The Hollywood Life.

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