Melissa Gorga thinks it’s a new season The Real Housewives of New Jersey will be a breath of fresh air now that she’s stopped talking to her sister-in-law Teresa Giudice.
During Saturday RHONJ panel at BravoCon 2023 — attended by only half the cast, including Melissa and husband Joe Gorga, due to an ongoing family feud — Melissa, 44, opened up about not speaking to Teresa, 51, and how it will affect the new season of the Bravo hit.
“You know what? It’s hard,” she said of cutting Teresa and her husband, Luis “Louie” Ruelas, out of their lives. “But I’ve come to a point in my life where, you know, you can try, you can try, you can try, but at some point you’ve got to protect your peace and you’ve got to create a boundary and I think that’s what I’ve done and that’s what we’re doing.”
“I mean, you know, when something’s really toxic and it doesn’t work for you and it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to force yourself to be around it,” Melissa continued. “It’s okay to let something go. I protect my peace. We should all protect our peace. I think it’s a wonderful thing and everyone should do it.”
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Teresa Giudice (left) and Melissa Gorga at BravoCon 2019 in New York. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Full timeline of Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga feud
When asked by host Jerry O’Connell how their lack of communication would change things for season 14, Melissa said, “It’s very different from last season… because there’s not a lot of communication so I think it’s different and better.”
“I think the fans will feel refreshed, too. I mean, aren’t you bored?” she asked the crowd, who cheered. “There’s a lot to describe right now, but I think everybody knows where we are. Everybody’s reading it. I think, like I said, it’s in a place of peace. I think everybody needs a minute. Everybody needs a break and right now it’s just a point.”
Melissa’s wife was also asked about family tensions, with one fan asking Joe why he thinks his sister keeps fighting with them.
In response, Joe, 43, simply said: “I’ll always say I’m a brother and I’m a man, and I’d really like the family to be together. What I want is the best. I have two parents in heaven and I’d love for us to get together .”
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From left: Melissa and Joe Gorga and Louie Ruelas and Teresa Giudice. Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty; Jeff Kravitz/Getty Andy Cohen Says Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga Won’t ‘Pretend’ Anymore RHONJ: ‘They just hate each other’
As fans know, last season of the show RHONJ was heavily focused on the Gorga/Giudice family split. Years of misunderstandings and business dealings between Louie and Joe put a strain on their relationship, but things only got worse during the season when they tried to patch things up.
The season ended with Joe and Melissa deciding not to attend Teresa’s wedding after it was revealed that she and Louie, 48, met with Joe behind Melissa’s back to tell Joe about the cheating rumors they had heard about Melissa. (Melissa has vehemently denied the “baseless” allegations.)
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From that moment on, the boundaries between Teresa and Melissa were drawn. The two traded insults on social media and on their podcasts. They were even split into separate panels at BravoCon 2022 to help dampen the noise (the same was done this year.)
Things didn’t improve until the reunion. Recorded in April, the three-part album included plenty of name-calling. And although both Melissa and Joe offered hope that they could rekindle their relationship in the future, Teresa made it clear that she never plans to see them again.
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From left: Teresa Giudice, Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga at the grand opening of Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza on May 18, 2017 in East Hanover, New Jersey. Paul Zimmerman/Getty Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga will return to ‘RHONJ’ next season along with the entire cast (Exclusive)
During Friday’s “Ask Andy” panel at BravoCon, Andy Cohen also commented on the show’s new season RHONJ and explained how they were able to film given the family tensions.
“I think it’s refreshing this season, and I actually found it refreshing last season, that they’re not even pretending. I mean, they just hate each other,” he told the crowd. “So it’s like once you’re out the door, it actually kind of takes the energy out of the whole thing and then you can move on and tell other stories, which is what’s happening this season.”
“I think people will find it very interesting [to see] because there are a lot of new alliances,” he continued to talk about the new season. “All the platelets are kind of changing this season and I think that’s really interesting to watch.”
After his answer, those present in the crowd started shouting “Fire Teresa!” but moderator Jeff Lewis insisted Cohen wouldn’t do it because “she brings the ratings.”
“You can’t fire her,” added Lewis, 53. “That’s the problem. I mean, I like Teresa. I’m fine, I’m fine with her now. I don’t want to cause any more trouble.”
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BravoCon 2023 continues through Sunday, November 5 at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
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Source: HIS Education