Teresa Giudice admits she staged her prison release photo: ‘Might as well make money off of it’

Teresa Giudice admitted that she staged her prison release photo to make some extra cash.

“The only time [I made a deal with paparazzi was] when I got out of jail,” the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star told “Hollywood Raw” podcast hosts Dax Holt and Adam Glyn.

“They wanted the first photo and I did it,” she explained. “I was like, ‘If they’re going to get it anyway, I might as well make money off of it.’”

Behind bars, Giudice managed to strike a deal with People magazine to coordinate the exclusive photos taken outside of the prison upon her exit at 5 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2015.

She struggled to recall how the paps got in touch with her because it has “been a while now,” but she speculated that it was through her lawyer or PR rep at the time.

Giudice did not reveal how much she made off of the deal.

“I was like, ‘If they’re going to get it anyway, I might as well make money off of it,’” Giudice said. Monica Schipper/Getty Images

The Bravolebrity served 11 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn., in 2015.

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In 2014, the reality star, 51, and her then-husband, Joe Giudice, pleaded guilty to bank, mail, wire, bankruptcy and tax fraud.

Teresa — who recently gushed over her “beautiful” prison conditions — was initially sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

The “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star did not reveal how much she made on the deal. Bravo

Meanwhile, Joe, also 51, spent 41 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, N.J., and an additional seven months in an ICE detention center before being deported to his native Italy in 2019.

Teresa and Joe, who were married for 20 years, finalized their divorce in 2020. She later moved on with Luis “Louie” Ruelas, with the two tying the knot in 2022.

Speaking on her past relationship, the mother of four told the podcast hosts that it “took a long time” for her to “forgive” Joe because of her parents’ deaths not long after returning home.

Giudice, alongside then-husband Joe, pleaded guilty to bank, mail, wire, bankruptcy and tax fraud in 2014. Instagram/@joe.giudice

“I came home, I lost my mom eight months later. And then my dad moved in with us and he was so upset,” she recalled.

“He cried for a year straight after my mother passed away, and then I had my dad with us for three years, and then he passed away.”

Teresa added that she and Joe “don’t talk that much” today, but she will communicate with him when she “[needs] him.”