In two weeks, Teresa Giudice will be reunited with her family as she is set to be released from the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut on Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas. According to a report, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star's family is counting down the days until she is released from prison.
"Everyone's doing a countdown," said a source to E! Online. "It's an exciting time. Everyone's excited to see her again and come over to the house and hug her."
The insider added that her family and friends are "very proud" of how the cookbook author has handled her prison sentence and remained strong through it all.
Teresa has been in prison since Jan. 5 for fraud charges. Her husband, Joe, has been taking care of their four daughters since then, and in March 2016, the 43-year-old will start serving his 41-month prison sentence.
The source said that the family is focusing on the holidays and not thinking about Joe going to prison.
"No one's thinking about that now," said the source to E! "No one's thinking beyond having Teresa home again."
When the mother of four is released from prison, it is expected that Bravo cameras will start rolling again at the star's home as it has been reported that Teresa will be returning for a new season of "RHONJ." Teresa will also be launching a memoir about her life in prison titled "Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again" in February.
Meanwhile, a new report claims that the budget for the reality show was slashed in half after the Bravo special, "Teresa Checks In," failed to score high in the ratings game. A source told Radar Online that Bravo will only be spending less than $3 million for season 7 of "RHONJ" instead of the usual $6 million budget. But according to the source, a few of the Housewives will still earn a lot of money as Teresa is said to be getting $1 milllion, while Melissa Gorga and Jacqueline Laurita will each get $750,000.
