RHONJ’s Melissa Gorga Says She Wants to Make Peace With Teresa, Addresses Claims About the Joes’ Reunion

Melissa Gorga is setting the record straight about husband Joe Gorga‘s recent reunion with former brother-in-law Joe Giudice.

After her sister-in-law, Teresa Giudice, suggested the men’s encounter in the Bahamas lasted just “two minutes,” the Real Housewives of New Jersey star set the record straight and said that anyone who is putting a “negative twist” on the situation is guilty of “character assassination.”

“It confuses me a little bit because it was really a nice [meet-up],” Melissa admitted to Extra TV on March 6. “I don’t know if everyone would have rather or if she would have rather, you know, saw them argue, not get along. They stood at the bar for a good 30 minutes. They talked. They reminisced.”

Although Gia Giudice labeled the encounter as “opportunistic,” with mom Teresa agreeing and suggesting her brother used the meeting to gain views on Instagram, Melissa said Gorga and Giudice’s time together was “actually nice.”

“So the fact that we can put a little negative twist on that to me is just a little sad. It’s an unfortunate thing. And that’s where I feel like Joe is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t,” she explained. “If he did anything other besides, you know, embrace him, hug him, have a drink with him, he would have been a bad guy. He did do that. He’s still a bad guy, you know? So it’s like, I don’t like the way they keep trying to push the narrative of opportunists. It’s not fair. It’s a character assassination.”

Looking back at their season 13 falling out, Melissa said things between her and Teresa took a turn for the worse after she declined to appear in Teresa’s wedding to Luis Ruelas.

“I mean, if my sister-in-law is asking me in the final hour… you know in her heart she didn’t want me to be in it,” Melissa reasoned.

According to Melissa, she believes Teresa only asked her to appear in her wedding after getting “pressured” to do so following her Watch What Happens Live announcement that she would not be including her.

“A lot of people were on her for the fact that she has no family in the wedding and she had no family coming to the wedding… I feel like she was feeling the pressure, and so it wasn’t authentic,” Melissa stated. “And, you know, I let her off the hook. I was like, ‘Don’t worry, it’s fine. But no, the answer is no.’”

While Melissa declined the invitation, that isn’t to say she’s not happy for Teresa and Luis. In fact, despite feeling the need to remove herself from their “toxic” dynamic, Melissa said she wants Teresa to be “so happy.”

“I want the girls to be happy. They’re in this, you know, new stage of life with a new man. And I’m happy for her,” she shared.

Melissa even said that she hopes she and Teresa can agree to be done with the “back and forth.”

“I just want to make it better at this point… I want to be able to be in the same room,” she noted.

Continuing on, Melissa said that a lot of things RHONJ viewers have been seeing online are incorrect.

“I feel like there’s a lot of chatter going on outside of the show on social. That makes no sense. It doesn’t really coincide with anything that’s really going on,” she alleged. “I do want to say whatever you watch on the show is what’s true. There’s just so much going on in the background these days on social that is, you know, just doesn’t coincide with this show.”

Also during the interview, Melissa said that in addition to her falling out with Teresa being featured on the remaining episodes of the show, there’s a lot more to the season.

“Well, the Jersey girls go to Ireland, let me tell you. Beautiful country, never been there. We have the absolute best time,” she shared. “That is actually the highlight for me of the whole season is Ireland. It’s just so different and the culture’s amazing. We had a great time.”

RHONJ Live Viewing – This is also the live viewing thread for tonight’s new episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13. Please share your thoughts below as the episode airs at 9/8c on Bravo.