Real Housewives

"Real Housewives of New Jersey" stars Teresa and Joe Giudice want to serve their prison terms separately ... so at least one parent can remain with their 4 children while the other is behind bars, TMZ has learned.

Teresa and Joe's attorney Miles Feinstein tells us, the couple will ask the judge to stagger their sentences -- i.e. serve them consecutively rather than concurrently -- for the sake of their four daughters (aged four, eight, nine, and thirteen). Their sentencing date is July 8.

As we reported, the Giudices pleaded guilty Tuesday in their money fraud case -- Teresa to four counts and Joe to five. Teresa faces 21 to 27 months in prison and Joe faces up to 46.

Feinstein is confident the judge will grant their request -- he says the judge has granted similar requests before.

Teresa Giudice faces around 2 years in prison for some extremely bold fraud ... but a little thing like that will NOT keep her off "Real Housewives of New Jersey."

Sources connected to the production tell TMZ ... they are currently filming season 6 and they will EXPLOIT the legal woes of Teresa and hubby Joe Giudice -- who himself faces 4 years behind bars.

We're told the season will be wrapped before the pair is sentenced, but producers are going at warp speed to get everything in the can with the Guidices ASAP.

The only problem will be the reunion show. Producers are worried Teresa and Joe might be in the slammer by the time they shoot that show -- which is done last.

It's actually good news for Teresa and Joe, because the show has become their primary source of income and they need the cash to pay their lawyers and other expenses.

Former "Real Housewives of New York" star Alex McCord claims she got screwed under the sheets ... and the woman scorned is now out for REVENGE!

McCord and her husband are suing a woman who they claim stole their business right out from under them -- a business that makes a ridiculously expensive, Egyptian cotton bed and bath line.

McCord claims she created her very successful business -- called Aluxe -- with Vivian Douek ... and
things were going swimmingly. But then McCord claims Douek went rogue, secretly starting a competing business and ultimately stealing all the customers.

McCord says in her lawsuit Douek was so bold ... she even used the same Egyptian manufacturing company.

Short story -- McCord says she and her partners now have a business that's hanging by a thread count, claiming Aluxe has lost $100 MIL in sales this past year.

Sheet happens.

Teresa and Joe Giudice just pled guilty in their massive money fraud case -- and will likely be heading to prison.

The couple agreed to plead guilty this morning in NJ as part of a plea deal -- in which Teresa is expected to face 21 to 27 months in prison ... while Joe could get 46 months. Joe, an Italian citizen, also faces deportation.

We're told Teresa pled guilty to 4 counts (including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud) and Joe to 5 counts (same as Teresa, plus failure to file tax returns).

Teresa and Joe were initially indicted on a total of 41 criminal counts last year -- all between 2001 and 2011.

Among their alleged crimes -- prosecutors claim the couple used fake pay stubs, tax returns and W-2 forms to inflate their incomes and obtain nearly $5 million in mortgages and other loans. They also allegedly hid money they got from "Real Housewives" and other business ventures after filing for bankruptcy in 2009.

Joanna Krupa puts on a rich and famous front ... but TMZ has learned her home is on the chopping block because she owes a fortune in back mortgage.

A bank has filed foreclosure documents -- obtained by TMZ -- notifying her that her Encino home is going up for auction, because she's failed to pay nearly $725,000 she owes.

We don't know what it's worth, but it could be way upside down, because in 2004 the house sold for $670K.

The "Real Housewives of Miami" star is facing multiple problems, because the show is also on the chopping block. She's tried to jump ship to "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" but we're told producers don't want her.

Too bad ... she could be the Andrea Zuckerman of the cast.

Get ready for "The Real Housewives of Pacoima" ...

"The Real Houswives of Beverly Hills" honchos are so desperate for new stars, they're going miles and miles from Rodeo Drive ... recruiting in the San Fernando Valley.

TMZ broke the story ... at least two current Bev Hills housewives are on the chopping block.

Now we've obtained a letter from a "RHOBH" casting producer, looking for replacements ... and candidates need not live in the 90210 zip code. In fact, they don't even need a 310 area code, because producers are willing to venture into the 818 ... specifically Calabasas.

Joanna Krupa gets the tingles around hunky guys -- the Dalai Lama ... not so much.

The "Real Housewives of Miami" star somehow got an invite to the lunch in L.A. where the Dalai Lama spoke about compassion for humans and animals.

But while the message of enlightenment and inner peace may have moved some in the crowd of celebs -- which included Jim Carrey, Sharon Stone, Eva Longoria and a bunch of others -- Joanna wasn't struck by any spiritual epiphany.

She tells TMZ, "Overall was an amazing once in a lifetime experience. It didn't change me but motivated and made me even more anxious to build my animal rescue to become a huge success and be a leader."

So suck it, housewife bitches.

"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Joyce Giraud is spinning like a pro ... reacting to rumors she's being dumped from the show and suggesting she may be the dump-or.

Joyce seems to acknowledge producers aren't happy about the way she's blended in ... but she makes it very clear the show is NOT going to compromise her principles.

She also makes it clear there are people she loathes.

The fates are pretty much sealed for two cast members on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" -- we're told producers are gunning to replace them next season ... because they're just not exciting enough.

Sources tell TMZ, there's a 95% chance Joyce Giraud and Carlton Gebbia won't be back for Season 5 -- they're just not involved enough in the series' story lines to justify their coveted spots in the cast.

We're told it became obvious Joyce and Carlton weren't jiving during the reunion show taping earlier this month -- all the other women had great chemistry ... and Joyce and Carlton were clearly outsiders.

But the feeling's not mutual -- at least for Carlton, who tells us, she'd love to return for Season 5 if she gets asked back.

Sources tell us, producers are already on the hunt for replacements ... you listening, Joanna?

Brandi Glanville will not go down without a fight, now claiming ex-hubby Eddie Cibrian is making a play for money that could send her and her kids to the poor house.

Sources connected with Eddie tell TMZ ... Brandi's lawyer, Ron Rale, fired off a letter to Eddie in response to his claim that he overpaid her support money to the tune of $114,738 ... and he wants that deducted from her share of their financial settlement.

We're told the letter Eddie just got is blistering ... accusing him of trying to sandbag Brandi with a bill she simply can't afford to pay.

One of the 'Real Housewives' is going full Mick Jagger on the jeweler who's suing her for ripping off designs -- saying the guy is using her, and he better get off of her cloud ... before she sues his ass.

Kim DePaola from 'RHNJ' tells TMZ ... Ohio jeweler Constantino Frangopolous is "delusional" for claiming she jacked anything from him because she swears she's never met the guy or even heard of him.

TMZ broke the story ... Frangopolous sued Kim -- claiming they had a verbal agreement to design jewelry for her to wear and promote on the show ... but instead she copied his pieces and sold them as her own.

KD thinks Frangopolous is trying to piggyback on her fame, and her only response to his lawsuit is ... "Hop off my coattails and try to mess with someone whose intelligence level is as low as [his]."

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Apollo Nida is NOT a dirty, cheating scoundrel ... so he says.

There have been a slew of stories circulating he's guilty as charged. But Nida tells us ... there's a perfectly good reason why he was spotted in South Carolina on Valentine's Day weekend with another woman -- NOT his wife, Phaedra Parks.

Apollo says the woman was his friend's sister ... a bartender at the club where he was paid to appear. Nida says it's all perfectly harmless ... the majority of his fan base is made up of women ... so naturally that's who he parties with. He insists he's 100% faithful, and there are no sex tapes, no naked pics, no pregnant baby mama to suggest otherwise.

Apollo actually has much bigger fish to fry. He's facing federal charges for bank fraud and identity theft.

Kimberly DePaola -- a semi-regular on "Real Housewives of New Jersey" -- enticed a well-known jeweler to sell her some of his best pieces ... so she could rip off the designs and sell them as her own ... according to a new lawsuit.

Constantino Frangopolous claims he and Kimberly struck a deal -- he would design pieces for her to wear on "RHONJ" ... and she would promote and sell his jewelry to fans of the show.

According to court docs, Frangopolous' designs were not only featured in several episodes ... but Kimberly started selling knockoffs of his designs on her website and in two of her retail stores.

The jeweler claims he asked KD to send him a contract to formalize their deal -- which she never did -- and now he's suing her and Bravo to collect lost profits.

Eddie Cibrian has overpaid Brandi Glanville more than $100k in spousal support ... and he's gunning to get it back -- and his people tell us Brandi is a bald-faced LIAR in trying to spin what really happened.

The former couple is still sparring over money, and they hired a law firm to help figure out who owes what. The attorney sent both Eddie and Brandi this letter which says after a full audit Eddie paid Brandi $114,738 too much in alimony.

Multiple sources connected with the audit confirm to TMZ ... although the document merely refers to the overpayment as "support" ... the overpayment is for SPOUSAL support, not child support.

Brandi has tweeted, "...Mr. fancy new cars&house man is asking ME for child support." We're told that is FALSE. Eddie's people tell us, "It's a complete lie." Furthermore, our sources make it clear child support has nothing to do with the overpayment.

As for how Eddie expects Brandi to pay him back ... according to the lawyer's letter, it will be subtracted from her share of his retirement accounts.

Adrienne Maloof and ex-hubby Paul Nassif are back at it -- TMZ has learned, she's gone to court for ANOTHER restraining order ... claiming he got violent with her in front of their kids.

Sources tell us, Adrienne raced to court on Valentine's Day for an emergency protective order, claiming he violently snatched her phone away from her the week before ... while she was photographing her kids.

Nassif claims in legal docs Adrienne was actually trying to film him while he was disciplining one of their kids ... to use the footage against him during their ongoing custody battle. He says she was all up in his face with the camera, almost hitting him.

The judge refused to grant the order because it wasn't an emergency and felt she didn't need immediate protection. A hearing is set for April.

It's not the first time Adrienne sought a restraining order against Paul -- back in 2012, she obtained one after he allegedly spanked and choked their kids ... allegations that were unfounded by DCFS. They called a truce ... but it clearly didn't last.

"Real Housewives of Miami" star Joanna Krupa wants to settle her beef with skinny white Brandi Glanville with a no-holds-barred fight -- insisting she's by far the tougher one -- but Joanna tells TMZ, she's still not tough enough to take on the black girls in Atlanta.

Krupa was out in L.A. when we asked about her possibly moving to the Bev Hills show -- and Krupa unloaded on Brandi ... promising to rearrange Brandi's face the first chance she gets.