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Melissa Gorga and her husband, Joe Gorga, are back on Bravo screens as season 13 of The Real Housewives New Jersey premiered with a bang on Tuesday night.
The couple has been mired in a “toxic” and “traumatic” feud with Teresa Giudice for months, but despite the impending drama and collapse of their relationship, Melissa says that she’s not planning on leaving The Garden State franchise anytime soon.
“For right now, I love Bravo. I love being a part of the show,” Melissa recently told PEOPLE. “I feel like we got this right [now]. We got it handled over here, we’re doing okay, but when the time is right, I will walk, and I will take it as a wonderful memory.”
Melissa says she will “know when the time is right,” but for now viewers are “going to have me for a minute.”
The feud between the Gorgas and Teresa has been escalating for months with Melissa teasing that fans will finally be able to see “the truth” behind Teresa’s alleged “bonkers” attacks on her character as season 13 of RHONJ unfolds. In fact, it’s so old and tired that Melissa says she’s “over it.”
“Nothing new came out, nothing new is happening. It’s the same thing we’ve been saying over and over and over, and the fact that she wants to dig in 10 years ago to make a reason in her head to be mad, is what’s more baffling to me,” Melissa told the outlet.
“I’m not changing my story and she’s not changing hers,” the Envy Boutique owner continued. “She can bark about it all day long. I’m so over it…. Her and I have had that conversation a thousand times, and totally lived a normal life since then — we’ve been on vacations together, we’ve held hands, went on girls’ trips. All of a sudden, we’re mad again? I can’t help you anymore.”
Melissa explained that she doesn’t “feel guilty” anymore when it comes to mending fences with her sister-in-law.
“I’m comfortable enough in my skin. I am secure enough that I don’t feel guilty anymore. I know I’ve always done the right thing. Not perfect, but I’ve really tried to help and fix it, so I’m washing my hands now. I’m done. I’m done with the toxic.”
The feud hasn’t been easy on Joe either as he’s been stuck between his love for his sister, Teresa, and his loyalty to Melissa.
“I think Joe was like, ‘I’m out.’ Joe was sitting in the corner, couldn’t fake it. He is very heavy-minded this season,” she explained to PEOPLE. “He’s upset for a lot of reasons that you really don’t hear until the end and so he was not faking it,” Melissa revealed.
She continued adding, “He couldn’t even bring himself to a lot of the events. He was like, ‘I’m good.'”
The fallout between the three family members came to an explosive head after an altercation broke out between Teresa’s now-husband, Luis Ruelas and Joe, leading him and Melissa to skip out on attending Teresa’s August 2022 wedding just days before it was set to take place.
“To me, it was devastating. It really was. It was one of the hardest days of my life. It was bad,” Joe previously said. “But listen, let’s go back to the reunion. She did this, you know? 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.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is currently airing Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.