A friendly chat. Teresa Giudice‘s husband, Luis “Louie” Ruelas, opened up about why he decided to talk to her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, on their wedding day — and revealed what the pair discussed.
“I called him, basically just let him know that everything’s gonna be OK — that we’re a team,” the entrepreneur, 49, exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “It felt right to call him and talk to him, because he’s a good father. He definitely makes lemonade outta lemons, and it’s something that people don’t see out there. And I just wanted to acknowledge that for him.”
Teresa and Joe, both 50, called it quits in 2019 after 20 years of marriage and finalized their divorce one year later. The former couple, who tied the knot in 1999, share four daughters: Gia, 22, Gabriella, 19, Milania, 17, and Audriana, 13.
Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas, Joe Giudice Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock; Curtis Means/Ace Pictures/Shutterstock
Louie explained that he wanted to reach out to Joe to let him know he planned to be “all hands on deck” with the girls. The businessman has a similar relationship with his ex-wife, Marisa Dimartino Ruelas, with whom he shares sons Nicholas and Louie Jr. Last year, Marisa joined her ex-husband and Teresa in Atlantic City to celebrate Louie Jr.’s birthday.
“We spent the weekend together, we went out for some dinner, and it was so nice,” the Real Housewives of New Jersey star recalls to Us. “It was a fun night. It was really nice.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum adds that she and her husband plan to visit Joe in the Bahamas again soon after previously having dinner with him and the kids. That get-together, she notes, was Louie’s idea.
“I’m so happy we did [it],” Teresa says of the rendezvous. “It made my daughter so happy. And I was like, ‘Thank you so much for doing that.’ It wasn’t my idea, it was his. So [Louie] gets to take the credit for it. But then after I did it, I’m like, ‘Thank you,’ because they really made the girls so happy.”
The Turning the Tables author and Louie tied the knot in August 2022 after getting engaged one year prior. A special documenting their wedding, Teresa Gets Married, is set to air on Bravo Tuesday, May 23.
“It was kind of like a fairy tale,” Teresa tells Us of the big day. “It was the wedding I’ve always wanted. It was just more than I could dream for.”
Louie, for his part, adds that the couple have been enjoying married life as they approach their first anniversary. “Real life for us has been amazing,” he explains. “Waking up with your partner. … When you’re in the right [relationship], you kind of know it.”
Despite their hectic schedules, the duo still try to have dinner together every tonight with the kids. “It’s actually really beautiful,” Louie says. “We have time to focus on the children and what’s important, where they’re going, what their next steps are.”
Teresa Gets Married airs on Bravo Tuesday, May 23, at 9 p.m. ET.
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For more on how Teresa and Louie are settling in as they approach their first anniversary, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
