Joe Giudice seems to confirm separation from Teresa

Joe Giudice, the deported husband of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice, appears to have responded Tuesday afternoon to speculation that he and his wife had formally separated.

"It's Time To Let Go,” Joe Giudice, 49, posted on Instagram with two photos, divided by a line, of himself and of Teresa, 47. An Instagram Stories post bore the same image and message.

A link on his Instagram account led to a Dec. 14 Us Weekly article about his earlier posts that spoke of life being "too short to hold on to the past." About the same time as his posts Tuesday, People magazine, citing an anonymous source, reported that the Giudices had formally separated. Teresa Giudice has not commented publicly.

Joe Giudice is currently living in Italy while awaiting a decision on his deportation appeal. The father of four, who had lived in the United States since he was a child, had never obtained American citizenship. After serving most of a 41-month prison sentence for his conviction on mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud, he was released in March and immediately transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. He appealed a judge's deportation order while staying at the facility, but eventually chose to go to Italy to await the final decision rather than continue to live in ICE custody.

Teresa Giudice served about 11 months in prison in 2015 for the same crimes.