Melissa Gorga hosted a podcast with her husband, Joe Gorga, on Thursday, where the Real Housewives of New Jersey couple discussed their controversial absences from Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas‘ recent wedding.
Following a series of rumors, which suggest the Gorgas opted out of his sister’s event due to her role in an alleged cheating rumor, as well as Luis’ reaction to Joe’s frustrations over the matter, Melissa welcomed Joe to her show, where the two of them confirmed they had “a laundry list of reasons” why they skipped the ceremony.
“Obviously there was something that went down at the finale of filming [RHONJ],” Melissa confirmed on the August 11 episode of Melissa Gorga on Display, which was appropriately titled, “Let It Go.”
And while Melissa is contractually obligated to keep the exact details to herself until the episode airs, she wants fans to know the entire story has yet to be shared, specifically her account and how it led to her current feud with Teresa.
“That little part, keeps getting left out of all the stories, which is the real twist of it all,” she revealed. “I’m not going to sit here and say that there wasn’t drama, that it wasn’t crazy. Yes, there was a little aggression from certain people that could’ve been a little scary. There definitely were moments. There was plenty of reason for Joe and I to say, ‘Yes, it would be very strange for you guys to be just sitting in the pews tomorrow, like wishing them well on their wedding day.’”
Still, when looking back at last Saturday, when Teresa and Luis tied the knot, the Gorgas said it was upsetting that they weren’t there.
“I saw how [Joe]’s face looked that whole day because [he] knew that it wasn’t the right thing to be there,” Melissa explained.
“It was so, so hard for me. Here you are as my only sister, my only blood. We don’t have a big family, we don’t have a lot of cousins. We lost our parents. And to me, it was devastating. It really was. It was one of the hardest days of my life. It was bad,” Joe admitted.
But according to Joe, it wasn’t unexpected.
“Let’s go back to the reunion. She did this. This was all on her. This is what she really wanted. She didn’t want [Melissa] in the wedding. She didn’t want any of my children in the wedding. She barely wanted me,” he stated. “I was asked after all this information went out to be in the wedding and that’s what saddens me. And I knew that. And when I left that reunion, I looked at my wife, and I was like, ‘Wow, she hates us. I’ve never seen her like this.’ I said, ‘It’s terrible.’”
Although Melissa attempted to make amends with Teresa after the taping of the RHONJ season 12 reunion, sending her a text that read, “Listen, we’re all good. Let’s move forward,” Teresa never responded.
“So I knew what was going on and I knew what she really feels. She really didn’t want us there,” Joe said.
The Gorgas went on to say that for years, they’ve been covering up for his sister.
“We covered up everything,” Joe cryptically revealed.
“We covered up a lot of things. A lot of things we know and now I’m sitting back, I’m not going to lie, second-guessing, like, ‘Why? Why did we cover up for her?” Melissa confessed.
“Because we’re good people. And we don’t wanna hurt nobody,” Joe replied. “I don’t wanna hurt my sister. I don’t wanna bring her down. I don’t wanna bring Luis down. I’m not here to bring anyone down but they’re, on the other hand, everyone’s looking to bring us down.”
While Melissa has been having thoughts about exposing what she and Joe know of Teresa and Luis, she said that at the end of the day, she doesn’t want to “be responsible for a couple going home and being miserable.”
She then noted that there are children involved, giving a nod to her own three children, two of whom have already confronted her and Joe about their drama with Teresa.
“This is going to affect our children and even if we know we’re right… It’s not going to be on my conscious that I did this and I let this go and I put this out there because I believe in karma,” Melissa noted.
During a Q&A, Melissa read a question to her husband that asked why he didn’t walk Teresa down the aisle. And after revealing he “was never asked,” Joe said he “would’ve loved to” do so. He then gushed over what he saw of his sister’s wedding.
“When she walked down the aisle, she looked beautiful. And I loved the song that she picked. That was ‘Ave Maria.’ That was my mother’s song before she passed away. That made me melt. But that was beautiful. It really was,” he told listeners. “She looked beautiful. The place was gorgeous. It was great, it was fun, it looked like an amazing wedding. And it sucked that we weren’t there, for many reasons.”
Rather than attend Teresa’s big day, Melissa said she and Joe had a quiet day at the shore.
“We took a ride by the beach and then we were just in the backyard just kinda in shock at everything. And I could see Joe’s face,” she recalled, reminiscing about her own wedding. “Teresa was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I also had Gia. She was my flower girl. It hits home. As much as we’re mad at something that happened, like really, really mad, and it’s hurtful, you’re still a family.”
Also on the podcast episode, Joe admitted to being in shock at what went down between him and Teresa.
“I’m one of the nicest guys in the world. I’m so nice. I’m so sweet. I will give you everything… And I’m shocked at the way I’m treated by my own family, my blood, that’s what kills me every day,” he revealed. “You have to live a life like that. It’s shocking when I go and see our family. Why do I get treated that way? Why [is Melissa] getting treated that way?”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 is expected to begin airing sometime later this year or early next year on Bravo.