During her year in prison, Teresa Giudice formed "strong bonds" with her fellow inmates at Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn. Giudice had to say goodbye on Wednesday and won't be able to speak with them for two years.
The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star cannot have contact with felons while on supervised release for two years, her lawyer James J. Leonard Jr. told People.
"She shed lots of tears in Danbury the night before she left," Leonard said. "The women there made her things - it was very clear to me that she had established strong bonds with the women in Danbury."
The night before she left, the other prisoners made her small gifts. "They were tearjerkers," Leonard described the messages in the cards.
"She would go back tomorrow" to speak with the inmates if she could, Leonard said. "These women are mothers, daughters, and wives and sisters just like she is."
Leonard drove Giudice back to New Jersey where husband Joe Giudice decorated the family home. She had a "very emotional, very powerful" reunion with her four daughters, Gia, 14, Gabriella, 11, Milania, 10, and Audriana, 6.
Teresa served 11 months and was released four months early for good behavior.
