“It was devastating”: RHONJ’s Joe Gorga finally opens up about him and Melissa skipping Teresa Giudice’s wedding
RHONJ couple Melissa and Joe Gorga weren't seen during the latter's sister, Teresa Giudice's wedding. Giudice married Luis Ruelas at the Park Chateau Estate in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on Saturday, August 6, 2022. The family's year-long feud apparently became "too toxic" for the Gorgas to attend the wedding.
The Gorga duo opened up about their feud on Melissa's On Display podcast on Thursday, August 11, 2022. While Melissa and Joe didn't go into intricate details about what caused the feud, they confirmed that a significant blowout occurred during the Season 13 finale that was filmed earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Joe Gorga revealed that he was heartbroken about not being able to attend his sister's wedding but was left with no choice. He said:
“To me, it was devastating. It was one of the hardest days of my life.”
RHONJ couple Melissa and Joe Gorga speak about the feud
Melissa finally addressed what she called the "elephant in the room," referring to her and Joe Gorga's feud with Teresa Giudice and her husband, Luis Ruelas. The couple confirmed they were not attending the wedding, citing that their feud became toxic.
On her podcast, the RHONJ housewife said:
“Sometimes when things are too toxic and you try over and over and over again and it just keeps coming back around to the same thing … even if it’s family, you have to let it go."
Melissa also revealed that something went down between the two families during RHONJ Season 13 filming that the public doesn't know about yet. However, she confessed that the incident was part of a "laundry list of reasons" not to attend the wedding.
After stating that "nobody knows the full story," Melissa also confirmed that another reason for her and husband Joe Gorga not attending the wedding had to do with Teresa's husband, Luis Ruelas. She said:
“[There were] past altercations with Louie that we’ve never talked about and that we’ve decided to kind of push under the rug because we want Teresa to be happy. There’s things that we stay zipped about because we want her to be happy and have a good life.”
For his part, Joe revealed that he was still trying to process what had happened with the two families and hadn't expected to be treated this way by "his own family, his own blood," and it bothered him to live a life like that every day.
Speaking about RHONJ being a reality show as the cause for all the drama, Joe confessed:
"I know we're on a reality show, but if you're pure and you're honest and you just go in with open arms, why? Why do you have to fight? Why is this going on? Is there a jealousy thing going on? Not with us, we're not jealous."
A cheating allegation against Melissa breaks family dynamics on RHONJ Season 13
A massive rumor about Melissa Gorga allegedly cheating on Joe Gorga is set to shake things up on Season 13 of Real Housewives of New Jersey (RHONJ). According to a Page Six report, several sources have accused Margaret Josephs' longtime friend-turned-foe Laura Marasca Jensen of stirring the pot off camera to get a spot on the show.
Rumors claim that RHONJ star Melissa allegedly kissed actor Nick Barrotta after a night out in New York a few years ago. However, sources close to the latter "strongly denied" the same, with another insider stating that the rumor is "ridiculous."
Meanwhile, Laura Jensen claimed that her friend Margaret Josephs told her about the same and that the former didn't know whether the rumor was true. She proceeded to say that she found out about the rumor when she and Margaret were good friends and kept the secret for years. Laura said:
“I was told about this [by Margaret], who was not even there, herself. She told me that someone told her who was there that night. “I do not think that Margaret was telling me that to ruin Melissa’s marriage. She was gossiping — it’s what she does.”
Sources also revealed to Page Six that Melissa and Joe Gorga aren't stressing over the cheating allegations and are laughing about it, as they have been friends with Nick Barrotta for years.
Laura Jensen, who auditioned three times to be on RHONJ, revealed that she had spilled the tea to Teresa Giudice and Jennifer Aydin to be friendly with them as she was no longer friends with Margaret after a brief fallout at a Christmas party in December 2021.
Speaking to Page Six, Laura said:
“The intention was for me to talk to Melissa alone and let her know what was being said about her because I felt I was probably not the only one that knew. I didn’t think Margaret only told me [the cheating rumor]. It had nothing to do with being on-camera at all.”
While RHONJ couple Joe and Melissa were absent from Teresa and Luis' wedding, the Gorga family shared cryptic posts on Instagram ahead of the wedding. Joe had stated that "blood doesn't make you family," while Melissa had posted pictures with her friends and had called them family.
RHONJ star Teresa is yet to acknowledge the Gorga family's absence publicly. However, after a rumor about her sending a bill to Joe and Melissa for skipping the wedding, she shut it down and said the couple "were missed."
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