He’s off to greener pastures — hopefully. Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice‘s husband, Joe Giudice, hopped on a plane to Italy on October 11 to await his deportation sentencing abroad, according to Radar. Luckily, Joe will not be completely alone when he arrives in his birth country.

“Joe’s mother and brother Peter are already in Italy and are waiting for him there,” a source told the outlet. “He will be heading to Naples shortly, where there is a house waiting for him. His mother has been fixing up a house for him in preparation for his arrival.”

The 47-year-old has been in ICE custody since his release from federal prison in March after serving a 41-month sentence for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud. While he continues to fight against the deportation ruling he was served with back in October 2018, he was granted a request on October 3 to wait out the last part of his legal battle in his home country instead of behind bars.

Prior to his request to head back to his native land, Joe put in a request for bond to wait for his verdict in New Jersey with his family, but it was denied on September 20. Despite pleading his case with an immigration judge so he could be released from custody, the judge deemed him ineligible for that privilege.

Joe Giudice granted request leave ice detention center back taly
Julio Cortez/AP/Shutterstock

“Based upon the law, I find you deportable and ineligible for any kind of relief,” the judge said at his original deportation sentencing. “Mr. Giudice, no matter how this turns out, I wish you the best. I decided this case as a matter of law.”

After he was released from prison, Teresa, 47, wrote a heartfelt letter to the judge, asking him to show mercy on her husband in order for him to be present with their daughters — Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14 and Audriana, 10 — in their most formative years of adolescence.

“I cannot bear the thought of my daughters losing their father, I am fearful that it will break them and that I alone will not be able to fix them,” she pleaded in her letter. “Judge Ellington, this is my greatest fear and it keeps me up at night. The fear that if I lose my husband, I will also lose my children, as they will never ever be the same.”

Teresa’s brother, Joe Gorga, told In Touch exclusively about how she has been coping with the tumultuous family situation back in May. “It’s hard. She’s a mess. She’s raising her four daughters by herself, so she has to be strong. She tries to keep busy,” the 39-year-old said.

We hope this next step will lead to a little more peace for the Bravo TV family.

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