People.com Entertainment TV Joe Giudice Apologizes to Wife Teresa for Prison Sentence During Tearful Visit with Daughters Season 8 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey came to a close on Wednesday with Joe Giudice finally apologizing to Teresa Giudice By Dave Quinn Dave Quinn Instagram Twitter Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. He joined in 2006 as a Writer/Reporter where he became known for his Bravo and Broadway exclusives across print and digital. Dave is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It. He's appeared on many broadcasts including ABC's Good Morning America, Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, E!'s Daily Pop, NBC's New York Live and PEOPLE's own Reality Check, as well as a number of podcasts like Bitch Sesh, Everything Iconic, Watch What Crappens, Hot Off the Mess, Mention It All, and PEOPLE Every Day. Prior to working at PEOPLE, Dave was the chief Theater Reporter for NBC New York and co-host of Entertainment Weekly's acclaimed TV Recaps series. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 10, 2018 10:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Season 8 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey came to a close on Wednesday with Teresa Giudice receiving something she has been seeking from her incarcerated husband Joe Giudice for years: an apology. The 45-year-old Standing Strong author has been harboring resentment towards Joe, 45, ever since the two were convicted of mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud — charges that sent Teresa to jail for 11 months before Joe began his own 41-month prison sentence. While away, Teresa lost precious time with her four daughters — Gia, 17, Gabriella, 13, Milania, 11, and Audriana, 8 — as well as her late mother Antonia Gorga, who died in March at the age of 66. “I wish I could rewind the time,” Teresa told audiences. “I did lose time with her and I feel like it’s his fault. It sucks. Life sucks.” Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Mount Airy Casino Resort She also hoped Joe would express remorse to their girls for how his actions split their family up. “I want him to let his daughters know that he’s very sorry for letting them down. ‘Cause that’s what he did, he let us down,” Teresa explained. It was a different tune than Teresa had been singing in the past. Previously, she appeared to stand by him blindly. Now, there was a shift. Teresa Giudice Describes Her First Days in Prison — ‘I Was in a Fog’ As sister-in-law Melissa Gorga pointed out, “Teresa has come to a place where she wants Joe to accept that he’s the reason a lot of this had happened to her. And she needs to know that when he comes home, he’s going to back her up with this and become this new family.” The question was so serious that Teresa’s brother Joe Gorga worried that divorce might on the table. “The way I’ve been hearing my sister talk — which I’ve never heard her talk like that — if he doesn’t apologize, she might walk,” he said. Luckily for Teresa, it never came to that. Daughters in tow, she went to visit Joe at his prison and asked him for the apology. It wasn’t easy. “The moment when I saw Joe, I got really choked up. And all that courage that I built up to ask him for an apology just like, went away,” she told audiences at first. Teresa Tells All! Maggots at Mealtime, Life After Prison and Her Fears for Joe — Read Her Exclusive PEOPLE Interview But later, she told Melissa and Joe Gorga that she had in fact confronted her husband and got what she wanted. “I was nervous,” she recounted. “I got emotional. I said, ‘I lost 11 and a half months with my mom. Not only did you do it to me, you did it to our daughters. Why weren’t you on top of everything? I didn’t sign up for this.’ And then I said, ‘I want to hear sorry. … I want to hear it from your mouth, it means more.’ ” Teresa Giudice/Instagram Joe was receptive. In fact, he told his wife he’d been apologizing for a long time. “He was like, ‘Teresa, do you read my letters and do you read my emails? I’ve said that to you so many times,’ ” Teresa recalled, of Joe. “He was like, ‘I’m so sorry. I’ll never let anything like this ever happen again.’ And then I started crying and he started crying and then he hugged me and the girls were crying.” “It seemed sincere,” Teresa said. “You know, it sucks. It’s sad, you know? I just always think about mommy and then when he comes home it’s going to be so different cause she’s not here. But listen, not everyone’s perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. He better make it up to me when he gets home.” RELATED VIDEO: Teresa Giudice Soaks Up the Sun with Her Daughters After Being Unable to See Joe on Christmas Since filming of the season ended, Joe has been transferred from the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey, to a federal prison in Pennsylvania. And while Teresa hasn’t been able to visit Joe at the new prison because her paperwork hasn’t been approved yet, she recently told PEOPLE she and Joe “still talk every day.” “He’s doing well,” she said. “It’s been awhile now, so I’m kind of just used to it. He’s only a half hour father away. And it’s fine because it’s a camp facility, so it means that he’s closer to coming home. In his situation, it’s a good thing.” The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.