Teresa Giudice will spend her 15 months behind bars in the same prison where Piper Kerman, the inspiration for "Orange Is the New Black" character Piper Chapman, found herself locked up in 2005, according to reports.
The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star will surrender on Jan. 5, 2015 at the Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury, Connecticut. The fictional prison in the Netflix series is based on Kerman's 13 months in the same institution almost 10 years ago.
U.S. District Court Judge Ester Salas sentenced Giudice earlier this month. The federal judge held her surrender date until after the holidays so Giudice could celebrate with her husband and children. She will serve her sentence first and then husband Joe will enter prison to serve his 41-month sentence. The staggered prison times will allow a parent to care for the children while the other one is away.
The court also denied Giudice request to spend 12 of the 15 months of her sentence in a halfway house. Salas said Giudice needed to make that request at her sentencing on Oct. 2, and even then the judge would likely not have recommended it, according to The Star-Ledger.
Giudice originally wanted to serve house arrest for her conviction on wire and bankruptcy fraud. The judge wanted to send a stronger message to similar offenders no matter how famous.
"In the eyes of the law it doesn't matter who you are. There are consequences to pay," Salas said.
The couple also spoke out a few days after sentencing on Bravo's "Watch What Happens" with host Andy Cohen. Giudice believes she will do fine in prison and doesn't fear losing her cool as she's done several times on her Bravo reality series.
"A lot of the things that [the judge] said ... really hit home. It bothered me so ... I am just going to take it and become a better person."
Joe also said he plans to take the couple's four children to visit their mother at least two times a week.
"It's going to be a lot of work, but they are my daughters, and I gotta do what I gotta do," he told Cohen. "I guess I'll be the housewife."
