Joe Giudice Speaks Out for First Time Since Leaving ICE Custody: 'My Family Is the Most Important Thing'

'I just want to let you know that I love you and I’m always here for you.'

Joe Giudice is sending his family love from Italy!

In his first statement since being released from ICE custody and departing the U.S. for his native Italy, Joe told Bravo's The Daily Dish, "You just gotta look forward and never look back."

"Life, it’s always better to look through the windshield and not through the rear view mirror," he said. "It’s a much bigger picture when you’re looking through the windshield. But at the end of the day, people make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect."

"I’ve learned a valuable lesson from all this and I know my family is the most important thing to me, but it’s better that I’m out here than in there," he continued, referring to being in Italy rather than ICE custody.

He ended his brief video with a sweet message directly to his family. "I just want to let you know that I love you and I’m always here for you. You know that." he said.

Joe, who recently showed off his impressive 50-pound weight loss, was released from prison in March after serving a three-year sentence for fraud. After his release, the 47-year-old reality star was immediately transferred to ICE custody.

His appeal was denied in April, as was his September request to await a deportation decision at home with his family. A judge later agreed to let Joe -- who shares Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10, with his wife, Teresa Giudice -- return to Italy while it's being decided whether he'll be able to return to the U.S.

"While Joe is devastated to be leaving the country and his family, he feels great physically and he's ready to take this next step," a source told ET earlier this month. "The older girls are going to visit their father very soon. They’ve already made plans. Teresa will be staying back with the younger girls and she hasn't made plans to visit yet."

Joe's video message came the same day that Teresa revealed on Twitter that they would be sitting down for an interview with Andy Cohen "to discuss everything that has been happening with us and our family the past few months."

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Special Event: Joe and Teresa Unlocked will air Sunday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. on Bravo.

 

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