Melissa Gorga of Real Housewives of New Jersey fame spoke to Bravo’s Andy Cohen Sunday on Watch What Happens Live, and talked about Joe and Teresa Giudice. Gorga says Joe (her brother-in-law) is ‘rising to the challenge,’ caring for his four daughters while wife Teresa Giudice is in prison.

Asked how Teresa Giudice was doing as well, Melissa Gorga had the following to say.

“She’s doing well. My mother-in-law gives me updates all the time. She’s doing really good,” she said.

Joe Giudice will head to prison when Teresa is released.

“It’s heavy on his heart. It’s a lot,” Melissa Gorga said. “I pass him in the morning, and he’s driving the girls to school. It’s heartwarming to see him. He’s manning up, and he’s doing what he has to do.”

.@MelissaGorga tells us she's written to Teresa Giudice and @joegorga has spoke to her on the phone: http://t.co/o8pB7yidku #RHONJ #WWHL

— Bravo WWHL (@BravoWWHL) March 9, 2015

Teresa Giuduce is Melissa Gorga’s husband, Joe Gorga’s sister. The two have long been close and used to see each other every day before Teresa went to prison. Her sentence has been difficult on the Gorga family, too.

Joe and Teresa Giudice were both charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications, and bankruptcy fraud in a 39-count indictment. The indictment also charged Joe Giudice with failure to file tax returns for tax years 2004 through 2008, during which time he allegedly earned nearly $1 million. In March of 2014, the couple entered a guilty plea in a deal they struck with federal prosecutors.

On October 2, 2014, Teresa Giudice was sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison. Joe received a 41-month sentence, followed by potential deportation to Italy. Together the couple must also pay $414,000 in restitution. They are allowed to serve their sentences separately, so one parent may be allowed to stay with their children.

It’s good to learn from Melissa Gorga that Joe Giudice is stepping up to the plate and caring for his and Teresa’s daughters while she is in prison. Hopefully the Giudice girls emerge from this horrible time in their lives as unscathed as possible.