Teresa Giudice gives advice to Todd and Julie Chrisley about prison time

"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice is offering some prison advice to the recently convicted, married reality-TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley.

"One of my Number One rules is standing strong," Giudice, 50, told the celebrity-news website TMZ.com Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport. "Stand strong. Stand strong for their family, and manifest while being in prison what they want when they come out and just stay strong for their children."

Todd Chrisley, 53, and Julie Chrisley, 49, who starred with their Georgia family in the USA Network series "Chrisley Knows Best," were convicted in June of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans, and other crimes including wire fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

Last month, Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison and Julie Chrisley to 7 years. The couple said on their "Chrisley Confessions" podcast on Dec. 14 that they had filed appeals. They are scheduled to report to their two respective minimum security prisons in Florida on Jan. 17.

"It'll be very hard" for the incarcerated Chrisleys to see their children grow up without them being there every day, Giudice said. "They have to make the best of it and they have to stand strong for their family and stay connected to the children and make it work." Asked if she would advise the children to see their parents in prison, Giudice replied, "Oh, of course. My children came every week."

Todd Chrisley had two children, Lindsie and Kyle, with first wife Teresa Terry, whom he divorced in 1996, and three with Julie Chrisley: Chase, Savannah and Grayson. They additionally have full custody of Kyle's young daughter, Chloe.

Giudice acknowledged much depends on the children's schedules, saying they might only be able to visit "once a month." Nevertheless, she said, "Always keep connected, keep the family connected."

Finally, she suggested the Chrisleys occupy their time as much as possible. In addition to being part of the cooking staff at her prison, "I exercised. I manifested. I did yoga every single day." As well, "I wrote my book when I was in prison," she said, referring to her and co-author K.C. Baker's "Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again" (Gallery Books, 2016).

Giudice served nearly a year in prison in 2015 for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud.