‘RHONJ’ alum Joe Giudice insists federal crimes were ‘minimal,’ doesn’t think he ‘should have been deported’

Joe Giudice has worked hard to build himself a full life in the Bahamas, but that doesn’t mean the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum thinks he should be there.

When Page Six caught up with the construction contractor via Zoom shortly after he announced his latest business venture — personal tours of Nassau by both land and sea — he shared that the islands’ capital “pretty much” feels like home now following his 2019 deportation.

“I definitely don’t think I should have been deported,” Giudice, who was born in Italy but moved to New Jersey as a baby, argued.

The 53-year-old was sent back to his native country after spending three and a half years in federal prison and another seven months in an ICE detention center for fraud and tax evasion — crimes he described to us as “stupid” and “minimal.”

He eventually moved to the Bahamas so he could be closer to his kids, who live in the United States.

“I was [in the US] since I was a year old. I have four kids there. I was married. Got my whole family there. I mean, it was my fault that I got deported because I should have just became [sic] a citizen a long time ago, so I’m not blaming anybody. You know, it was my fault. I had a chance to become a citizen many, many times,” the ex-husband of “RHONJ” OG Teresa Giudice told us.

In fact, Joe’s only regret is never applying to obtain his citizenship, as he believes his charges would’ve been “a little misdemeanor” that resulted in a prison sentence of no more than “13 months … 14 months.”

“But being that I wasn’t a citizen, I had to do all that extra time and go through all that. But it’s not only me going through whatever I went through. I mean, my poor kids, you know what I mean? My ex, my family. They had to go through a lot as well,” he acknowledged before insisting that he “didn’t rob nobody,” “take the banks for any money” or “default [on] any mortgages.”

The Giudices were indicted in 2013, and the former couple ended up accepting a plea deal the following year, but the businessman told us he wanted the case to go to trial.

“The lawyers were like, ‘Just take the plea. Teresa is going to stay home, and you go to jail,’” Joe claimed. “Well, when we went to court, it didn’t happen that way.”

Teresa spent 11 and a half months behind bars in 2015 before Joe began his sentence.

Joe has tried to appeal his deportation order multiple times, and he believes each attempt has failed because “somebody in there has it out for [him].”

“It’s crazy because then you see Mrs. [Michelle] Obama talking about [how her] favorite ‘Housewife’ is Teresa,” Joe noted, referencing the former first lady’s recent podcast commentary.

He went on to claim that he “know[s]” President Trump because he was on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” but it was actually Teresa who appeared in Season 5.

Notably, Trump has never acknowledged Joe’s public pleas for a pardon.

The former Bravolebrity told us has no plans to file another appeal, but he still wishes he could visit daughters Gia, 25, Gabriella, 21, Milania, 20, and Audriana, 16, who often travel to see him.

“I don’t wanna live [in the Bahamas]. I really don’t wanna live there. All I wanna do is be able to go to my daughters’ graduations. You know, when we have Easter, we have Christmas, holidays. Because it’s a lot for my family, for everybody, to come here,” he lamented.

Still, he’s “not going to sit around and do nothing waiting … to go back to the States,” which is why he’s focused on staying “busy” with his real estate endeavors, personalized “Juicy Joe” tours, yacht charter company and line of cookies.

As for his relationship with Teresa, 53, Joe revealed things are “very good” between them and that he’s “happy” about her continuation on “RHONJ.” (Bravo previously announced that Season 15 of the reality show would begin filming this spring following a lengthy pause.)

“At this point, you might as well just go for as long as you could go and save as much money as you can and just live a happy life,” Joe argued.

He also described Teresa’s current husband, Luis “Louie” Ruelas, as a “good guy.”

“He calls me every once in a while. You know, he’s very respectful. I mean, look, he’s good with my kids,” Joe said. “If my ex is happy, I’m happy.”