‘Real Housewife’ Teresa Giudice & Husband $8.7M In Debt

“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice and her husband, Joe, have filed for bankruptcy.

According to court documents filed on October 29, 2009, the two are $8,709,831.34 in debt and claim a yearly income of only $79,000. They also receive $120,000 a year in “assistance” from family.

According to the filing, the fashion-loving Bravo star’s debts include $20,000 on credit cards for Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, as well as an additional $62,000 on several other cards.

The couple has reportedly already lost their home on the Jersey Shore as well as another residence in Lincoln Park, with their $1.8 million Towaco house the next to go.

In the papers, Teresa claims to earn $3,333 a month from the Bravo reality show. Her new book, “Skinny Italian,” has spent several weeks on the New York Times’ bestsellers list.

The star has flaunted her seeming wealth on the show, dropping thousands of dollars on clothes, spa trips and more.

On Monday, Teresa issued a statement to Access Hollywood, saying, “While this is a personal matter, I realize that certain aspects of my private life will always be subject to scrutiny and distortion. What is true is that due to the economy, most of my husband’s real estate ventures failed despite his hard work and effort. As a result, we looked to the Bankruptcy Court for a ‘fresh start.’ When people fall, the way to success is to get up and learn from our mistakes. We are in that process.”