Teresa Giudice is speaking out for the first time following a tense public incident involving her 20-year-old daughter, Milania, at Tampa International Airport last week, during which body camera footage, later obtained by media outlets, captured Milania running from Teresa and her older sister, Gia.
In a statement posted to Instagram Stories, Teresa emphasised her focus on Milania’s wellbeing above all else.
“As a mother, there is nothing more important to me than the health, safety, and well-being of my children,” she wrote.
“The past few months have been incredibly difficult for our family, and I feel it is important to say something while also protecting my daughter during an extremely vulnerable time in her life.”
Teresa attributed much of Milania’s recent struggles to grief, writing, “Milania has experienced tremendous heartbreak and significant psychological trauma after losing two of her best friends.”
She went on to affirm her unconditional support for her daughter, “But Milania is my daughter before she is anything else,” closing her statement with a request for compassion from the public.
“I thank you for your understanding, your compassion, and most importantly, for respecting my daughter during this difficult time.”
According to body camera footage from the airport incident, Teresa can be heard telling police that Milania had fentanyl in her system during a recent incident, to which Milania is heard responding that she believed she had been “laced”, it remains unclear what substance was involved or when that specific incident occurred.
Officers were reportedly also told that Milania had recently been released from a hospital facility following a mental health evaluation, and that the family had hired a counselor to support her.
Milania’s father, Joe Giudice, separately addressed her struggles in a statement to Page Six last week, describing her as “going through a very difficult period” and saying, “Losing someone you love is incredibly painful, and grief does not have a timeline.”
