These last few weeks haven’t been easy for Teresa Giudice.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star was forced to say goodbye to her husband, Joe Giudice, on March 23 as he began a 41-month prison sentence at the state’s Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution.

RELATED: ‘RHONJ’ Star Teresa Giudice Compares Prison to “Living in Hell”

“Those final moments were especially tough,” a family insider tells Life & Style. “There were a lot of hugs and tears.”

Now at home alone with the couple’s four daughters — Gia, 15, Gabriella, 11, Milania, 10, and Audriana, 6 — the 43-year-old is feeling very lonely.

teresa giudice joe giudice getty images

The couple with their four daughters in 2013.

“The nights without Joe have been very hard,” the insider reveals. “If they didn’t have children, Teresa would be curled up in a ball.”

But thankfully, the duo’s oldest, Gia, has stepped up to the plate, helping around the house just like she did while the reality star was serving her own jail sentence.

“Gia is wise beyond her years,” the insider adds. “[The kids] are keeping her grounded.”

To learn more about Teresa’s life without Joe, pick up the latest issue of Life & Style, on newsstands now!