Joe Gorga Reveals Wife Melissa ‘Took a Beating’ After Marrying Into His Family
Joe Gorga claims that his wife, Melissa Gorga, had a bumpy ride when she first became a part of his family. The Real Housewives of New Jersey husband spoke out about how his wife initially mixed with his clan during a recent live taping of Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
“My mother was rough on her, my dad was rough on her,” Joe revealed on Friday.
He sarcastically noted — “and my sister was great!”
Joe told hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real that the Bravo star “took a beating” during the early days of their marriage.
“She’s a good woman and then she married into an old-school Italian family and she took a beating — she did,” he said.
Joe gushed — “And that’s why I respect her and love her because you know what, she’s the best.”
Joe and Melissa tied the knot in 2004 and share three children together — Antonia, Gino, and Joey.
The couple’s contentious relationship with Joe’s sister, Teresa Giudice, has been a running theme throughout multiple seasons of the Bravo reality show. The pair revived their feud with Teresa last summer after the RHONJ OG was accused of spreading a cheating rumor about Melissa. A blowout fight erupted during filming, which led to the couple ditching the nuptials of Teresa and her now-husband, Luis Ruelas.
Melissa recently called Teresa “fake” after a text message exchange between the co-stars leaked.
“Guys! I see you’re all curious about the text messages! Someone is definitely spiraling And needs to ‘prove’ herself working overtime,” Melissa wrote on her Instagram Story Thursday.
Melissa claimed that she addressed Teresa freezing her out of her wedding party in the text messages, only to be ignored. Teresa finally responded on April 17, with a photo of two men with Easter eggs painted on their buttocks.
“BUT THIS ALL PROVES MY POINT EVEN MORE!!!” Melissa continued.
“She did not reply to the text messages I sent after we filmed the reunion!! CRICKETS!!! It wasn’t until three weeks later, and after the reunion AIRED – she was getting all the backlash about how poorly she treated her brother and I – that THEN she felt the need to reach out and clean it up.”
The in-laws have sparred on screen ever since Melissa began appearing on the series during Season 3. Teresa seemingly still believes that Melissa shadily joined the RHONJ cast behind her back. She has also labeled her co-star a gold-digger over the years.
“When I hear her call me pretty much a gold digger, it’s like putting a knife in my heart and twisting it, because I know that she knows that’s not true,” Melissa told E! News in 2011.
“Joe and I have been married for seven years and have three kids,” she added. “We went through a time where we couldn’t even buy diapers. We had to sell every house we lived in.”
She continued — “Did I go anywhere? Would I ever? No. It hurts me that she would even put that out there, to put that in someone’s head. And it doesn’t even hurt me as bad as it hurts her brother.”
The duo’s relationship appeared to improve after Teresa was released from prison, but will hit the skids later this season, after years of ups and downs.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
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Avigail is an Entertainment blogger at All About The Tea, who specializes in The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Potomac. Avigail has a background in marketing. She’s a Brooklynite living in the Bahamas, with a passion for travel, writing, reality TV watching, pop culture and spoken word.