Father Of RHONJ's Teresa Giudice, Giacito Gorga, Dies

The father of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice has died, the reality TV star confirmed on Friday. Giacito Gorga died Friday morning, a little more than three years after Giudice lost her mother.

“I saw you peacefully pass, and I know you kept fighting for my daughters and I,” Giudice said in an Instagram post. “I have so many amazing thoughts of you, every day seeing you in the kitchen at my home, teaching my girls to cook, my partner in crime on shopping trips, your love of the shore and my travel buddy. You always wanted everyone to have a good time, eat great food, have a stiff drink and enjoy life. You are the absolute strongest man I know, and I know you missed mommy so much but you stayed for us. Thank you for being the best husband, father and Nonno.”

In another post, she wrote that everyone fell in love with him, and he was always “the life of the party.”

Giudice’s mother, Antonia Gorga, died in March 2017, according to People. Giacito Gorga went to live with Teresa and her four daughters — Gia, 19; Gabriella, 16; Milania, 15, and Audriana, 11 — shortly after, according to Fox News. He was subsequently hospitalized twice, in November of that year and in October 2018.

His health issues continued late last year, when Giudice left BravoCon early to see her father in the hospital, and asked everyone to “pray for my father,” according to E!

On Thursday, Giudice wrote that her father was “struggling,” and said she and her girls “needed him, his love, his presence and his strength.”

“The world lost an amazing man human being today. He was exactly what a true father and husband should be,” Giudice’s brother Joe Gorga wrote on Friday. “I will miss you more than you know, but go find your wife because I know that’s all you want and all you’ve ever talked about for the past three years. You will be missed every single day.”

Gorga’s wife, Melissa, wrote that Giacito was "the only dad I’ve known for the past 16 years."

“Thank you for teaching my husband how to treat his wife the way you treated yours,” Melissa Gorga wrote. “Thank you for teaching me how to cook everything I make. Thank you for all the energy you’ve always brought everywhere you went. Run to your wife. She’s waiting for you.”

“Thank you for setting an example for us and my girls-you're an exemplary example. We benefited from it every day,” Giudice’s soon-to-be ex-husband Joe wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for being a guiding light—your experiences and knowledge helped us navigate day-to-day challenges.”

Joe Giudice was recently deported to Italy and has been living there during that country’s lockdown due to the recent coronavirus outbreak. He recently spoke to USA Today about his experience there. Joe and Teresa Giudice both 46, pleaded guilty in 2014 to bankruptcy fraud.