Inside RHONJ’s Melissa and Joe Gorga’s Feud With Teresa Giudice: Cheating Rumors, More

The family drama continues. For Real Housewives of New Jersey, it’s no secret that there has been bad blood between Teresa Giudice, her brother, Joe Gorga, and sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, for years. However things escalated when Joe and Melissa decided not to attend Teresa’s wedding to Luis Ruelas in August 2022.

“How can I celebrate someone else’s marriage when they are constantly trying to destroy mine?” Melissa asked during the RHONJ midseason 13 trailer, released in April 2023. Elsewhere in the clip, Teresa could be seen crying when asked if Joe was attending the wedding.

Keep reading for everything we know about why Melissa and Joe skipped the wedding, their longtime feud with Teresa and more. 

Why Didn’t Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga Attend Teresa Giudice’s Wedding?

Joe and Melissa opted to skip Teresa’s wedding after the trio had a blowout while filming season 13 of the Bravo show.

Following the August 2022 ceremony, one source told People that Joe and Melissa had planned to attend the wedding until the Thursday before. They changed their minds when false rumors about their marriage surfaced while filming. According to the insider, Teresa’s involvement in the drama and Luis’ behavior led the Gorgas to skip the ceremony.

“Teresa betrayed them in a way that’s unforgivable,” one source claimed. “They’re not going to celebrate Teresa’s new marriage when all she does is try to tear apart theirs.”

An additional source told the outlet that Joe and Melissa’s decision was driven by a desire to protect themselves from the attacks they’ve received from Teresa over the years.

How Did Teresa Giudice React to Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga Skipping Her Wedding?

Teresa revealed her feelings about Melissa and Joe skipping her wedding during an August 2022 episode of her “Namaste B&tches” podcast.

“I found out a few days before my wedding that they weren’t coming. I’m totally fine with it,” she said. “You’ll see it play out on TV … The way that everything played out with my wedding, everything that happened is the way it was supposed to be. I’m all about that. I’m all about good energy, and whoever wanted to be at my wedding was there.”

Teresa also teased why they skipped the nuptials, saying, “You’ll see it the way it plays out on TV, so I can’t really say much on that.”

Did Melissa Gorga Cheat on Joe Gorga?

According to the BestofBravo fan Instagram account, Teresa’s feud with the couple stemmed from rumors that Melissa cheated on Joe. Melissa’s cousin alluded to the cheating rumors in an August 2022 Instagram Stories post. “I’m the only other boy this girl kisses,” he wrote alongside a selfie with the TV personality.

The recent allegations are not the first time Teresa has accused Melissa of cheating. In June 2013, the mother of four discussed rumors that her sister-in-law had an affair with an ex-boyfriend. After Joe called his sister “scum” for spreading the rumor, he got into a physical altercation with Teresa’s then-husband, Joe Giudice, during a trip to Lake George.

One month later, Melissa’s former BFF Jan DeDolce further fueled rumors by telling people that she cheated on Joe with her ex. However, Melissa denied the allegations. “I’ve never cheated on Joe,” she told Us Weekly at the time. “This is all disappointing.”

RHONJ alum Kim DePaola called the cheating rumors “a hearsay thing” while appearing on an August 2022 episode of the “Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef” podcast, claiming they’re “not true” and it’s just “a bunch of bull.”

What Have RHONJ’s Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga Said About the Cheating Rumors?

During the April 11, 2023, episode of RHONJ, Jennifer Aydin told Danielle that Margaret Josephs’ coworker saw Melissa getting into a car with a man who wasn’t Joe.

“And the person who claims he witnessed it told Margaret that they were making out,” Jennifer said. “She was making out with another guy.”

Additionally, Margaret’s former friend Laura backed up the claims.

Melissa appeared on Watch What Happens Live after the episode aired, where Joe showed support by sitting in the audience. When Andy Cohen asked Joe for his reaction to the rumors, he laughed before Melissa claimed that Laura was lying about the allegations. She then noted that Laura previously auditioned for the show, implying that she became involved in hopes of being cast.

The couple continued to reflect on the cheating rumors during the season 13 finale on May 15 when Danielle brought up the allegations during a party.

Joe recalled that Teresa and Louie told him Melissa cheated with “multiple men,” while Gia Giudice allegedly called him to say “we just think you can do better.”

Meanwhile, Melissa slammed her sister-in-law for telling Joe the about the allegations. “How dare you tell my husband that I would cheat on him!” she said in a confessional.

“You’re saying this off a baseless rumor of some woman who wants to hurt Margaret with no facts. No anything. Did she think he was just gonna pack his bags and leave?” the reality star continued. “Like what the f–k are you doing?”

Melissa added that she had “no intention of confronting [Teresa] about” the rumors, adding that “Joe doesn’t believe it.”

“And because I wanted to let her have a peaceful six months leading up to her wedding, look what ends up happening,” Melisa said. “She has her minion make me look bad in front of everyone so everyone can hear the words ‘Melissa’s a cheater.’ And I’m done.”

Also during the episode, Louie revealed that he hired a private investigator, Bo Dietl, to look into Melissa’s alleged affair.

“I’m not talking, like, gossip,” he explained of the information the investigator was providing him with. “Like, Bo Dietl, who’s like, one of the most famous private investigators in the country, one of my best friends, brought me information on each person in this group. There’s so much more.”

What Did Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga Do Instead of Attending Teresa Giudice’s Wedding?

“Blood doesn’t make you family,” Joe shared via Instagram Stories the day before Teresa’s August 6, 2022 wedding, revealing that they were spending time with family.

The Love Italian Style: The Secrets of My Hot and Happy Marriage author also seemed to snub Teresa when sharing a video of the group dancing. “God blessed me with an amazing family,” the reality star captioned a video of the gathering. She then shared a meme of Pete Davidson, who had recently broke up with ex Kim Kardashian, flashing a peace sign. “Pete, Tristan [and] the Gorga’s rolling into the weekend like …” the caption stated, while Melissa added a crying-laughing emoji.

Joe and Melissa weren’t the only people to throw shade at the bride. One of her family members shared a video of the group dancing and said the bash was “way better than a wedding.”

Teresa Giudice’s Husband Louie Ruelas Breaks His Silence

After the ceremony, a report claimed that Teresa sent a bill to Melissa and Joe for their meal since they previously R.S.V.P.’d but didn’t attend. Teresa’s friend and RHONJ costar Jennifertook to Twitter to slam the claims.

“I just saw some wackadoo #fakenews and Teresa and Louie would NEVER be so petty #facts,” Jennifer tweeted at the time.

Instagram fanpage All About The Real Housewives reposted a screenshot of Jennifer’s message and Louie took to the comments to further clarify the rumors and break his silence on the drama between him, Teresa and the Gorgas. “We would never in a million years ask for money from Joe and Melissa – we are not petty,” he commented. “Joe and Melissa were missed ❤️.”

What Happened During ‘RHONJ’ Season 13?

RHONJ was full of family drama between Teresa, Joe and Melissa. Bravo released a first look at season 13 in December 2022, and Teresa could be seen referring to her sister-in-law as “disgusting” in one clip. While other cast mates will be going at it as well, a bulk of the episodes followed the lead-up to Teresa and Louie’s wedding — and the absence of Joe and Melissa.

“Get out of my f–king face,” Teresa seemingly yelled at her brother, who replied, “Shut the f–k up.” There appears to be an altercation between Joe and Louie on the horizon as well. The trailer ended with Louie telling his new wife, “I’m gonna f–king punch him in the face because I have nothing to f–king lose.”

Teresa added, “She’s always wanted to keep my brother and I apart. She got her wish,” seemingly referring to Melissa.

During the April 11, 2023, episode, Melissa admitted she wasn’t happy about being excluded from Teresa’s wedding party while attending her bachelorette trip in Ireland.

“I’m trying to just put any hurt feelings that I have about being excluded from the wedding or that my kids aren’t in the wedding, or that Dolores and Jennifer are in the wedding and I’m not,” she said in a confessional. “I don’t want to go into this trip in this beautiful country with a chip on my shoulder.”

At one point during the trip, the sisters-in-law butted heads when Teresa slammed Joe for causing drama over her not inviting his mother-in-law to the wedding.

“I’m like the coolest f—king sister, but then [Joe] tries to make me look bad!” she complained

However, Melissa stood by her husband’s side. “There is zero accountability when it comes to Teresa. And I mean zero,” she said in a confessional. “It’s actually delusional. That’s what it is.”

Teresa and Melissa’s drama continued during the April 18, 2023, episode.

When Rachel Fuda asked Teresa if her and Melissa’s kids are close during a girls’ trip to Ireland, Teresa said “they were” until Melissa’s daughter, Antonia, didn’t attend Teresa’s daughter Milania’s birthday party.

“Milania was so hurt that Antonia didn’t go to her Sweet 16,” Teresa explained. “Milania said, ‘Well I celebrated her, I wish she would’ve celebrated me.’”

Melissa defended her daughter by explaining that she missed the party because she was in Pennsylvania for a cheer competition at the time. She then pointed out that Teresa’s daughter Gabriella didn’t attend her son Gino’s communion because of a soccer tournament.

“Oh my God, you see what I mean? It’s always tit for tat!” Teresa said before she and Melissa broke out into a heated argument.

Following the fight, Melissa vented her frustrations while talking to Margaret. “I almost wanna look her in the eye and be like, ‘This is vile, and I need to cut the cancer out. I’m done,’” she said.

During the April 25 episode, Teresa and Melissa discussed the argument they got into the day earlier.

“I got upset on the bus yesterday because you were bringing up a sweet sixteen from one year ago,” Melissa said. “That’s the past.”

Teresa explained that she “wasn’t trying to say anything bad about Antonia,” adding, “I love your children.”

“I was just thinking this morning I want some part of you guys in my wedding. Like, I was like, ‘Should we have Gino walk down the aisle with Gianna?’ You, Antonia, Gino and Joey would complete it, like, if you guys are there with me,” Teresa told Melissa.

When Jennifer asked if Melissa’s entire family would be included in the wedding, Teresa backtracked by responding, “No, no, I’m just saying I want happiness and peace.”

“I literally have no words for this. It’s such complete nonsense what she’s asking,” Melissa vented in a confessional. “If she’s even asking because she’s barely asking.”

She added, “We’re not your props in the final hour. Sorry.”

Later in the episode, Teresa revealed that Luis “asked Bill [Aydin] to be in the wedding” because Jennifer and her husband had “been so supportive since day 1, and it’s nice since I don’t have family.”

Melissa told the other women that she was OK after Teresa made the comment, though admitted she was upset in a confessional. “This is why it’s really hard for me to believe she really wanted Gino in her wedding because in the next breath she’s literally saying ‘Well, I have no family,'” she said. “This is why we don’t believe you!”

As if things couldn’t escalate even further, multiple women end up in screaming matches as seen in the explosive trailer for the season 13 finale.

After withholding the information about the cheating rumors, Danielle sat Melissa down to inform her of the gossip. However, Margaret quickly intervened, calling Danielle a “s–t starter,” which led to a face-to-face argument between the two.

Moments later when the women gathered together, Teresa looked at Melissa and said, “Look at you,” where her sister-in-law echoed the sentiment back to her and charged toward her.[and] Viewers can hear Teresa yell, “Get off of me!”

The husbands then got involved after Louie pointed to Joe saying, “I’m winning,” and Joe aggressively ran toward his brother-in-law. However, the other men held Joe and Louie away from each other to avoid a physical confrontation.

Dolores weighed in on the heated event saying, “I’ve seen enough fights in my day to know when something is going to escalate.”

What Happened During the ‘RHONJ’ Season 13 Reunion?

The family feud continued to unfold during part 1 of the season 13 reunion on May 30.

After Melissa claimed that Luis wanted to date Real Housewives of Miami star Alexia Echevarria before he met Teresa, the Turning the Tables author made it clear that she wanted her sister-in-law fired from the show.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how we’re gonna coexist, the two of us,” Teresa admitted. “She’s gonna be out of my life after tonight.”

Later on in the reunion, Melissa took issue when Teresa claimed that she tends to forgive and forget past drama.

“You forgive and forget? Oh dear God, we’re at delusional’s highest level,” she said.

The reality stars then took jabs at their storylines in the recent season. While Teresa argued that Melissa’s “whole storyline” was about their feud, Melissa claims that Teresa’s “whole storyline is talking about your brother in every scene!” She added, “You should thank us for giving you something!”

Teresa went on to argue that she’s provided several storylines for the show, including going to jail following her fraud arrest.

The TV personality and her then-husband, Joe Giudice, were convicted of fraud in 2015. Teresa served 11 months in prison and was released in December 2015, while Joe spent three years behind bars before he was deported to his native Italy in March 2019.

Teresa then pointed out that Melissa was friendly with Joe’s former business partner at the time of the scandal.

“This is like [you saying] Caroline Manzo put you in jail,” Melissa fired back about their former costar.

“No, I take that back, I think you did!” Teresa replied, blaming Melissa.

The drama continued during part 2 of the reunion, which aired on June 6. At one point, Melissa referred to Luis as a “bitch boy.” Teresa previously used the term while describing her brother during a season 12 episode.

“Yeah, he is a bitch boy. Your husband made him!” Teresa fired back. “I can’t wait to never f–king look at your face again after today.”

Melissa then made a dig at Teresa when she said her sister-in-law is “fake as f–k.”

Teresa also touched on her previous claim that Melissa and Joe turned her into authorities. “I’m not saying they’re responsible,” she said while walking back the allegation. “They hung out with people that were responsible for that happening to me.”

However, Melissa continued to insist she had nothing to do with the situation and claimed she doesn’t know the person Teresa claimed she was friends with.