Joe Giudice already released his first statement from prison

That didn’t take long.

More:Joe Giudice’s time behind bars will be very different from Teresa’s

Joe Giudice surrendered himself at noon Wednesday to begin serving his prison sentence, and he’s already released a statement from behind bars.

Through his attorney, James J. Leonard Jr., Giudice told People magazine, “Joe Giudice surrendered himself to the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix today at 12 p.m. to begin serving his sentence. His brother, his sister and several other members of the Giudice family, as well as myself, were present when he turned himself in to the prison, including Teresa. It was obviously a very emotional day, but this is a very strong family with a tremendous support system and they will get through this, just as they did when Teresa was away.”

Giudice will be serving 41 months in the detention center after pleading guilty to fraud in 2013. His wife, Teresa Giudice, finished her own 11-month sentence in December.

More:Joe Giudice’s daughter makes public declaration of love for her dad

Joe previously spoke to People about the difficulty of running the household with one parent incarcerated, saying, “As a parent you have to comfort your kids and do the best you can to make them feel good. There is only so much you can do but it’s a really good thing that my kids are strong. The whole year was tough without Teresa but we made it through.”

And he seems optimistic that some good will come from his own sentence.

“I’m looking at it like rehabilitation for me,” he continued. “I am not going to be able to drink for a while, which is good because I don’t even know when it’s been since I haven’t had a drink. It’s been a long time. Definitely the whole year, I definitely drank every day [a] couple bottles at night just to go to bed.”

More:Joe Giudice reveals what the toughest thing about going to prison will be

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