Teresa Giudice finds support from daughter, Gia, after sentencing

Teresa Giudice of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" says she was shocked at receiving last week's 15-month prison sentence, but she is taking solace in the support of her eldest daughter, Gia, 13.

"She's like, 'It's gonna be OK.' And she was being strong for me, I could tell," Giudice told host Andy Cohen of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" in an interview shot Friday and scheduled to air Monday night.

"She said, 'Mommy, don't worry about it. I'll be there. I'll help daddy with the [three younger] girls.' And she's like, 'That'll make me a better mom. . . . ' And I was just like, 'Oh my God.' It broke my heart when she said that."

Giudice, 42, said she was unprepared for the sentence itself, which followed her husband Joe's 41-month sentence for mail, wire, bank and bankruptcy fraud, to which the couple had pleaded guilty, and Joe's additional guilty plea for failure to pay taxes.

In court awaiting sentencing, "I was so nervous . . . that I was shaking. My nerves were pulling," she told Cohen. "At one point, I couldn't even move my fingers. Like, they were stuck. I couldn't open my hands."

She added, "I've had sleepless nights. I mean, of course I was shocked . . . it was very unexpected. I don't know, I don't even know what to say. I really don't even know what to say."

The couple had declared bankruptcy in 2009 but failed to declare such assets as rental property as well as income including the full amount of Teresa Giudice's TV-show pay.

SEE PHOTOSTeresa and Joe Giudice photos

Prosecutors filed fraud charges in July 2013, saying the couple for years had falsified documents in order to obtain millions in loans and mortgages.