Teresa Giudice reveals full body cavity search she undertook when she entered prison - and the many uses for feminine hygiene products behind bars

More than a month after she was released from prison, Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice is speaking out about her time behind bars.

The 43-year-old mother-of-four was incarcerated at a Connecticut federal prison for 11 months after she and her husband pleaded guilty to more than 40 counts of fraud. 

In a new interview with People magazine, Giudice described what it was like to spend nearly a year away from her family, and how she adapted to life in lock-up. 

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Out of jail: Teresa Giudice is opening up about her time behind bars in an interview with People magazine and ABC News

Giudice spent her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut - the same facility that the popular Netflix show Orange is the New Black is based on. 

But Giudice says she didn't watch the show before turning herself in because 'I just wanted to go in and figure it out and see everything for the first time on my own'. 

If she had watched the show, she would know that inmates undergo a rigorous full body cavity search upon entering the facility, to make sure they are free of prison contraband. 

Giudice says she had to squat and then cough for her uncomfortable first strip search. 

'I have never felt more vulnerable in my life,' she said of the experience. 

Turning herself in also proved extremely emotional for Giudice's four daughters Gia, 15; Gabriella, 12; Milania, 10; and Audiana, 6; who she says broke down in hysterics as she left them.

This is despite the fact that she and her husband tried to put a spin on her incarceration, telling the girls she was just going away to a 'camp' to write her book. 

Challenge: Giudice says spending nearly a year away from her four young daughters and husband Joe was one of the hardest things she's ever had to do in her life 

Fashionable figure: Giudice wore a long black coat with patent leather pumps for her appearance on the morning shows Tuesday

'It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my whole entire life,' Giudice said. 

As for her day to day life behind bars, Giudice says she and the other female inmates were creative in their many uses of maxi-pads, which she says were used for facemasks, make-up removers, slippers and even cleaning rags. 

'I laughed the first time I wiped down the floor and my locker with a maxi pad. I couldn't help but think, if only everyone could see me now,' she said. 

Giudice says some of the women even used pads - along with a toothbrush and a robber glove - to make prison sex toys. 

'I never cared to use anything like that, but I have to say, the women in there are so creative,' Giudice said. 

Giudice also appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday to discuss her time behind bars, telling Amy Robach that she 'definitely' had no idea she and husband Joe were committing any crimes. 

Drama: Giudice says she was able to make a few friends behind bars, but that some of the women did try and stir up drama with her 

Keeping busy: Giudice's job behind bars was to clean tables in the prison kitchen for 12 cents an hour 

When she was convicted, and eventually ordered to turn herself into prison on January 5, 2015, Giudice says, 'It broke my heart because I was always growing up the good girl and always did everything right'. 

Danbury is a low security institution and has been described by many as a 'country club' prison.

But Giudice says her stay was no walk in the park.

'It was no country club, trust me,' she said. 'There was mold in the bathrooms, there was not running water constantly, the showers were freezing cold. It was hell.'

Then there was the drama - something Giudice thought she would have been prepared for from her years on Real Housewives.

Bare bones: The federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut where Giudice spent her term is pictured above. The prison inspired the film Orange is the New Black

Mommy's girls: Turning herself in also proved extremely emotional for Giudice's four daughters Gia, 15; Gabriella, 12; Milania, 10; and Audiana, 6; who she says broke down in hysterics as she left them

While she says there were fights in the jail, she was never scared because she knew she 'could hold my own'.

Still, she says meeting the women changed her opinion of criminals as all being bad people. To the contrary, she says she encountered a good amount of kindness and even made fiends. 

'The girls were amazing there. Anytime someone new comes we help each other,' she said. 

Giudice recently penned a book about her experience as an inmate 

Giudice kept busy by working out three times a day, including lots of Pilates and running on the prison track. She says she spent a good amount of time practicing yoga in prison and is now working to become a certified instructor. 

She also worked three days a week in the kitchen, wiping down tables for 12 cents an hour. She says her first paycheck was for a measly $1.60 which she spent on essentials in the prison commissary.  

Overall, she says the hardest part of the experience was just being separated from her family.

While she is now reunited with her husband and girls, their happiness may be short lived. Her husband Joe is set to start his 41 months behind bars and faces the possibility of even being deported back to his native Italy.

But Giudice says they haven't made any decisions on what to do if he is kicked out of the country.

'We're just taking it one day at a time. I'm just happy to be at home, living in the moment,' she said.

One thing about her life that is returning to normal is work. On Monday it was announced that Giudice would be returning to her spot on Real Housewives of New Jersey.

When asked why she has decided to continue her reality-star career, Giudice said: 'It's my life now, it's what I know.' 

Giudice promises to speak even more about her time behind bars on the show, saying she's an 'open book'. 

In addition to the 11 months she spent in prison, Giudice was also ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution - a total she now says she has paid off.

Good to go: On Monday it was announced The Real Housewives Of New Jersey is set to return for season seven. And there are plenty of vets on board, including Teresa Giudice, sister-in-law Melissa Gorga and friend Jacqueline Laurita. Gorga shared a snap of the three of them on Instagram with the caption, 'We're baaaack!'

While she was in jail, it was also reported that her home was in foreclosure, but Giudice says that's not the case anymore.

When asked what kind of advice she would be giving her daughters from the experience, Giudice said she wants to impart the lesson to always read something before signing it.

She also said she holds no ill feelings towards her husband for the situation they ended up in and that if anything, the trial has only brought them closer to together. 

The couple entered guilty pleas to 41 counts of fraud in March 2014. They had been accused of engaging in bank, mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud, allegedly netting over $5million over a 10-year period. 

In a statement to People magazine on Tuesday, the couple also blasted rumors that Joe cheated on his wife while she was serving her sentence. 

'No women has ever come up to me and said that my husband was having an affair with them,' she said. 'It's sad that if there are any women around him people take pictures of him and sell the photos to a magazine. I feel bad for him.'

More of Robach's interview with Giudice is set to air on Nightline. Giudice has also written a book about the experience, Turning the Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again, which is now on bookstands.