Reality stars Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe Giudice are dealing with a horrific family loss after Joe's Father, Frank Giudice, dropped dead in their yard on Wednesday, June 18. Teresa and Joe are one of the couples featured on the Bravo reality show "Real Housewives of New Jersey."
Frank, 63, also often appeared on the show. According to Radar Online, Joe was home with one of his young daughters when Frank fell ill and collapsed in the backyard. He was pronounced dead at the scene and the cause of death is still being determined.
"Teresa arrived shortly after it happened," a source told Radar. "He just collapsed in the yard. They called 9-1-1 but there was basically nothing anyone could do when they got there. This was totally out of the blue."
Joe and Teresa's rep, Wendy Feldman, confirmed the loss on Twitter, writing, "Sadly it is true that the father of my client and friend Joe Giudice passed away today @Teresa_Giudice asks for privacy and prayers."
Feldman told US Weekly that "Joe and his dad were chasing the dog Simba and suddenly Franco fell ill."
A source told TMZ that Frank didn't have any apparent health problems. This news comes in the middle of Teresa and Joe's legal battle with fraud charges. Back in March, they plead guilty to several counts of fraud, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and three counts of bankruptcy fraud.
Both can serve several years in prison.
"Today I took a responsibility for a series of mistakes I made several years ago," Teresa said in a statement at the time. "I am heartbroken that this is affecting my family. Especially my four young daughters, who mean more to me than anything in the world."
