"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" featured an emotional episode on Sunday night as Joe Giudice headed to prison where he would be locked up for 41 months over his tax fraud crimes.
His wife Teresa and their four daughters were all in tears as Joe bid his farewell, according to the Daily Mail. The episode started with the Giudice family baking cupcakes together.
"Joe's going away in a few days so he wanted to do something special with the girls," Teresa said. She expressed concern that her husband's absence might "scar" her daughters "for life," adding that she's doing everything in her power to make sure that does not happen.
While enjoying a tender moment with his girls, Joe tried to keep up a brave front, telling his eldest daughter Gia, 15, "Don't be dating nobody!"
When he left, Teresa and her girls Gia, Gabriella, Milania and Audrina all cuddled in bed together and shared sweet prayers for their father. "Please God, make my daddy come home quick," Milania, 10, prayed before bursting into tears.
"Bring my husband home, my daughters need their daddy," Teresa, 44, continued for her daughters.
Joe even enjoyed a "bittersweet" party with his family and close friends before he went to prison. "I think that's what Joe really wanted," his wife reflected.
As for Joe, he considered going to prison something similar to a funeral. "It's almost like a funeral, because you're not going to see this person for 41 months, what do you say to them?" he asked.
But Joe admitted that he is ready to face the music for all the wrong things he has done. "Whatever mistakes we made, you paid your debt, I'm ready to pay mine," he said as he vowed to become "a better person" while locked up.
The day he left, everyone shed tears and promised to be a good emotional support system for Teresa and her girls.
