They’re one big, happy family! Joe Giudice revealed on Instagram that his ex-wife, Teresa Giudice, has joined him and their daughters in the Bahamas. And she had a stowaway with her — Luis Ruelas. While the whole “meeting your ex’s new boyfriend for the first time” thing could always go sideways, the entire Giudice clan apparently had a lovely time together.
Teresa and Joe’s 15-year-old daughter, Milania Giudice, posted a video to her Instagram Story on March 31 that showed mom Teresa and her boyfriend, Luis (who goes by “Louie”) sitting at one end of the dinner table. Joe is seated just a few chairs down with their kids, along with 20-year-old Gia‘s boyfriend, Christian Carmichael, between them. Joe posted a screenshot from the video to his own IG profile, declaring the dinner in the Bahamas a “great night out.”
Teresa and Joe both also shared the same family photo to Instagram, which shows them proudly posing with their four daughters: Gia, 20, Gabriella, 16, Audriana, 11, and Milania. Joe paired his with a heartfelt caption, proving that, despite their divorce, the bond between himself and Teresa is still going strong: “I truly appreciate & hope i will continue to be present in my best friend life. A great person, mom, and confident individual. @teresagiudice @louiearuelas great meeting you and your boy,” Joe wrote, adding a wine glass emoji.
Their reunion in the Bahamas came as a volatile episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey aired, during which Joe and Melissa Gorga slammed Teresa for calling her ex-husband a “class act” during their divorce proceedings. “I’m mad at the son of a b*** for what he did to you!” Teresa’s brother yelled. “He ruined everything and he PUT YOU IN JAIL.” She referenced the drama in the caption of her family photo:
“Tonight’s episode is hard for my girls and I. Joe is the father to my children & even though we split I respect his relationship with my daughters so it’s hard for them to see my brother disparage him, for the sake of my daughters who have already been through so much loss,” Teresa wrote. “My mother adored Joe & that’s what my girls saw & remember. I hope from this point we can all move forward on a more positive note for the sake of our family.”
Joe and Teresa finalized their divorce in 2020 after 21 years of marriage. Though they tried to make it work after her was released from prison in 2019 and deported to Italy, the distance was too great. And, as evidenced by their family vacation, there’s no bad blood. Teresa revealed just a few weeks ago on Watch What Happens Live that the Bahamas meetup was Louie’s idea. “They’ve talked over the phone. Luis wanted to go to the Bahamas and meet him — which I thought was the most amazing thing ever,” Teresa told host Andy Cohen. “He said he just wanted to talk to him and let him know he’s not trying to take his place or anything.”
Louie made his RHONJ debut in the midseason trailer for the Bravo series, which dropped on March 30. The clip showed Teresa and the handsome New Jersey-based businessman kissing. Teresa and Louie went public with their romance in December 2020, and things are definitely getting serious. She said on WWHL that marriage could definitely be in their future: “I feel it. We’ll see what happens. I really feel like he’s my soulmate,” she gushed.