Melissa Gorga claims Teresa Giudice wasn’t her best during filming on the 12th season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
While Teresa appeared to be quite happy in her personal life, having found Luis Ruelas, her soon-to-be-husband after her divorce from ex-husband Joe Giudice, Melissa looked back at her “argumentative” demeanor in a new interview while also seemingly shading Jennifer Aydin for creating nonexistent scenarios on the show.
“I didn’t get to have any fun with [Teresa] this season at all. She just kind of was in this mode of like, you know, she was very argumentative. She wasn’t happy to film this season. And she was very just in protection mode,” Melissa explained of Teresa on an episode of the Chanel in the City Podcast with Chanel Omari podcast.
Because Teresa was so determined to have the back of her now-fiancé, Luis, she didn’t take too kindly to the many questions Margaret Josephs had about his past. And because Margaret is a close friend of Melissa’s, she often found herself stuck in the middle of her castmates.
“It’s the worst position to be in because Margaret’s a very good friend to me. She has always been great to me… So when Teresa argues with someone that I’m good friends with, it’s always an issue,” Melissa admitted. “I want to tell someone they’re wrong, but it’s hard because it doesn’t just ruin one day it ruins Christmas and New Year’s and the kids… People don’t realize there’s a lot on my plate.”
Looking forward, Melissa said she hopes Teresa and Margaret will one day make amends as she also aims to maintain her reconciliation with Jennifer. However, her decision to mend fences with Jennifer isn’t necessarily an indicator of Melissa approving of her on-screen behavior. In fact, Melissa suggested Jennifer isn’t her true self on RHONJ.
“Some people turn it on sometimes for the camera. And that’s always hard for me, because I’ve been around a very long time. And I can see it coming from a mile away,” she noted. “So I get very frustrated, and I don’t blend well with that. Because I keep it very real. If I’m mad at you, I’m mad at you. If I’m not mad at you, I’m not going to make up a scenario. So I always had a hard time kind of blending with her.”
Amid the drama of RHONJ season 12, Melissa learned Teresa would not be including her in her bridal party. And while the snub certainly came as a hard hit to Joe Gorga, who felt disrespected by the gesture, Melissa pointed out that blended families can be complicated.
“It’s just a very relatable situation. It goes on in so many families,” she noted. “It’s very common to clash a little bit when you’re blending families.”
In addition to experiencing tension with Teresa, Joe also faced drama with Gia Giudice. But now, as Melissa noted, they are in a good place.
“They love each other very much… Sometimes people get in the middle of their relationship. But ultimately, I mean, that’s his niece. He loves her very much,” Melissa said.
Also on the podcast, Melissa admitted her and Joe’s marriage is “work.”
“It’s a lot of work for me… It’s always work, nothing’s perfect,” she shared. “There’s always going to be a couple of bumps in the road, you may have a couple of years that you’re like, Wow, this is perfection. But something you know, the longer together, something’s going to arise.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 12 reunion concluded on Tuesday, May 17, at 8/7c on Bravo.