With less than a month away before the seventh season premiere of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Teresa Giudice must juggle her time promoting the show, taking care of her children, and visiting her husband Joe in prison.
But the 44-year-old TV personality and her four daughters cannot visit Joe as much as they want to. According to reports, the Giudices can only see Joe every other week. He was incarcerated three months ago to fulfill his 41-month prison sentence for fraud.
Speaking exclusively with People, Teresa's lawyer James Leonard said that they can go to Joe only every other weekend for a reason.
"Where he is, you get a certain number of points every month and each visit counts as a point. Weekend visits are considered more points," the lawyer said. "So because he also has his mother and sister coming to visit, and Teresa can't go during the week because the girls are in school, they're having to do it every other weekend."
Leonard also explained that both Joe and Teresa give more importance to the girls' activities before anything else. According to the lawyer, Joe only brought their children Gia, Gabriella, Milania, and Audriana to visit Teresa when she was the one serving her 11-month prison for the same crime.
But while the Giudice family can reunite with each other only every other weekend, they can still communicate with Joe daily. According to the lawyer, the couple "speak every day on the phone and over email and with the girls. Just like when she was away."
Meanwhile, the Giudices' difficult journey in dealing with the aftermath of Teresa's imprisonment and sending Joe to his own prison sentence will be featured on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" season 7.
Fans will also see the return of original housewife Jacqueline Laurita, who had to miss most of the episodes in season 6. But being back on the show does not mean that she will have a warm welcome from Teresa and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga, since the three will have an ugly word war in one of the show's upcoming episodes.
"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" season 7 premieres on Bravo on Sunday, July 10.
