RHONJ: Teresa Giudice Says Daughter Audriana, 10, Was Bullied Over Joe Giudice's Jail Time

Joe Giudice‘s prison sentence and deportation has been hard on the four daughters he shares with wife Teresa Giudice.

On Wednesday’s Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa opened up about some of the struggles Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 10, have been battling — revealing that “the girls are not good.”

“This all sucks,” Teresa, 47, said, before sitting down with her girls. “All of my girls are affected by Joe not being here. We all want to move on with our lives and be happy again but it’s impossible ’cause it’s still hanging over our heads that Joe can be deported.”

“It’s like the never-ending saga,” she said. “It sucks. It’s f—ed up.”

Things have been especially hard on Milania, who Teresa said “shows it the most,” and Audriana, her youngest daughter.

“People have said things to her in school,” Gia said of Audriana, adding that some kids teased her about her father being behind bars.

“She started crying to me,” Teresa said.

RELATED: Joe Giudice Says It Was ‘Painful’ Watching Real Housewives of New Jersey from Prison

The Giudice family | Joe Giudice/Instagram
The Giudice family | Joe Giudice/Instagram

The conversation between Teresa and her daughters featured on Wednesday’s episode was actually filmed back on March 14, the day Joe, 49, was finally released from prison.

He had been sentenced to 41 months behind bars after pleading guilty to mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud. Teresa had previously served a little over 11 months in prison for the same crimes. She was released on Dec. 23, 2015.

Joe had planned to be coming home initially, but instead was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — moving overnight from the low-security prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, he had been living in during his time in incarceration to the high-security Clinton County Correctional Center in Pennsylvania.

A deportation ruling was made against Joe last October.

As Teresa explained in the RHONJ premiere last week, Joe was born in Italy and lived there for a year before his parents relocated to America. He never obtained American citizenship and per U.S. law, immigrants can be deported if they are convicted of “a crime of moral turpitude” or an “aggravated felony.”

Teresa and Joe Giudice | Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Mount Airy Casino Resort
Teresa and Joe Giudice | Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Mount Airy Casino Resort

Explaining this all to her children was a tough challenge for Teresa.

“How do you explain to a 9-year-old that maybe their daddy isn’t coming home?” she said on Wednesday’s episode. “They don’t care about the legal stuff. They’re like, ‘Why is this happening?’ “

To help, she brought along family lawyer James J. Leonard.

“Today was supposed to be a happier day,” Leonard said. “It’s certainly not the day we would have wanted it to be, but it’s not over yet.”

He then mapped out what Joe’s plan was moving forward.

“Here’s the thing. When they ordered him to be deported, it was because they labelled him as an aggravated felon. That’s being appealed,” Leonard said. “We probably have an answer on that appeal within 30 days. But if we lose that appeal, we have to then file another appeal with a higher court. [That can take] anywhere from six to nine months.”

“He’s not going to be happy,” Leonard stressed to the girls later. “You have to be strong for each other.”

The Giudice family | Gia Giudice/Instagram
The Giudice family | Gia Giudice/Instagram

The Giudice girls all looked to be a united front, stressing how badly they wanted their father home.

“It gets me so mad that today could have been the day that we could have been a family again,” Milania said, telling her mother, “How do you expect us to not have any pain? No matter how much stuff you buy us, it’s not going to change the fact that our dad is in jail and might be getting deported.”

Later, when Joe called, the girls had a chance to tell their father how they were feeling.

“I want you to come home. I love you so much buddy,” Milania said.

“Love yous,” Joe said. “I wish I was there with you. Everything is lock down over here. … It drives me crazy.”

Part of Joe’s frustration was the fact that he was now in a mass security space.

“Where Joe was at before was a low security facility. He was able to go outside when he wanted, he wasn’t in a cell,” Teresa explained, as Joe stressed he didn’t want visitors because they’d have to talk to him through a glass barrier and via a phone. “Before when we went to visit, the girls could sit on his lap, they could hug him and kiss him. He’s their father, he should be able to have contact with them.”

That upset the girls even more. “Are you kidding me? I can’t even touch my father now? What the hell!” Milania said. “This is more of a jail than the other place he was in.”

The Giudice family | Joe Giudice/ Instagram
The Giudice family | Joe Giudice/ Instagram

RELATED: All of the Photos from the Giudice Family’s Trip to Visit Joe Giudice in Italy

Since the filming of Wednesday’s RHONJ, Joe has moved to Salerno, Italy, to await the final ruling in his deportation appeal.

So far, Joe has appealed twice and has been denied both times. A final ruling is still pending.

Over the weekend, Joe reunited with Teresa and their four kids for the first time since his release. The family spent four days together touring parts of Italy, documenting their happy family memories on social media.

Bravo cameras also captured the trip for an upcoming special.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays (8 p.m. ET) on Bravo.