When Melissa Gorga joined The Real Housewives of New Jersey in Season 3, her sister-in-law Teresa Giudice was not pleased. Since then, Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga’s feud has only intensified. A full-time cast member since the show’s inception, Teresa spoke candidly of her off-air family members during the series first two seasons, making mention of her poor relationship with her brother, Joe Gorga, and his wife Melissa.
Prior to the Gorga’s filming debut in 2011, the families had yet to find peace, with cutting words and heated actions occurring right out of the gate. Melissa and Teresa’s feud currently shows zero signs of letting up, and the venom spewing from both sides is only increasing.
Season 3: Teresa’s Digs Began
Melissa and Joe are introduced via their son’s christening, giving viewers their first taste of how quickly heated words can escalate in New Jersey. Here, Melissa’s disdain for Teresa was immediately felt.
This is likely a direct result of Teresa’s first on-air dig towards her sister-in-law. In a confessional, Teresa told the cameras (followed by their costars with loose lips), that “Melissa’s a gold digger” who had married her brother Joe solely for his bank account. This began Teresa’s long-standing narrative that the problem between the two families was Melissa.
Season 4: Teresa Attacks Melissa’s Marriage and Past
With a full season now under her belt, Melissa entered into Season 4 hoping for peace. Kicking that peace to the curb, Teresa landed another blow by telling her brother that Melissa “would leave you for a richer man.” Fast forward several episodes later to the annual POSCHE fashion show, where Teresa introduced the now infamous “Stripper-Gate” scandal, alleging that Melissa used to be an exotic dancer.
When denials emerged from Melissa, Teresa brushed it off in a backhanded manner. “I never believed Melissa was a stripper, but it just seems like a coinkydink,” Teresa commented, casually referring to the actual facts of Melissa having indeed worked at that location, but only as bartender.
Season 5: Melissa Hits Back At Teresa’s Marriage
Melissa finally took (partial) aim, firing back in a similar fashion by attacking Teresa’s marriage, which had begun to show signs of struggle. “He’s a cheater. He’s an a**hole,” Melissa whispered on a van ride during a cast trip. However, this sent her husband, Joe Gorga, and Teresa’s now ex, Joe Giudice, into a physical altercation.
Here, Melissa’s remarks were voiced only to her husband. At this point, Melissa appeared not quite ready to take-down Teresa herself on-air, even though Teresa’s attempts of the same manner were incessant.
The Calm Before the Season 13 Storm
Following Season 5, Teresa and Joe Giudice were sentenced for bank, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud. In their sentences, Teresa received 15 months in prison while Joe served three years.
These events saw the families finally entering into a time of resolution. While Teresa’s life and marriage imploded over the course of the next few seasons, Melissa (and Joe) claimed that they stepped in for the Giudice family. The pair often took credit through various outlets and podcasts, saying that they “put food on the table” while Teresa’s world crumbled, leading to a divorce, following their prison stays.
As Teresa moved on to date Luis Ruelas, Melissa (and Joe) were wary. Cue the uptick of drama once again. In 2021, Teresa and Luis were engaged and the discussion surrounding bridal parties began. However, questions began to surface about Luis, causing Teresa to see red.
Enlisting Danielle Cabral, a newbie on the RHONJ cast, Teresa’s accusations of Melissa’s straying in her marriage began anew. “She caught you in the back seat of a car, kissing a guy,” Danielle yelled at Melissa during a roaring twenties-themed party, repeating back Teresa’s gossip. Needless to say, Melissa was not chosen to be a bridesmaid, nor did the Gorga’s even attend the wedding.
At this point, the gloves came off.
The Reunion Where Melissa Fought Back
Newly married and livid over Melissa’s wariness of Luis, Teresa entered into the Season 13 reunion hot. Finally unearthing her claws, Melissa’s years spent defending her character and her marriage also came to a head, causing her own true (and harsh) feelings to finally be spoken.
Clocking Teresa’s aggression before filming even began for the first part of the reunion. Melissa—while casually applying lip gloss in an ultimate zero cares power play—calmly stated, “I know you hate me, but just try to control yourself.“
Hitting back, Teresa accused Melissa of being the one who called the FBI on her and her now ex-husband. “I called the FBI,” she said, before alluding that she was “put away” by her sister-in-law, yelling, “because of what you did!” That said, the rest of the cast, alongside host Andy Cohen, did not give Teresa’s accusations much weight.
If anyone was still holding their breath over a possible truce being called, the wait is over, and it’s a hard not gonna happen. By the reunion’s ending, viewers saw a bitter Teresa turn to face Melissa, saying, “I can’t wait to never f***in look at your face again after today.“ On this, the still un-phased Melissa only quipped, “Oh, why? Where ya goin’?”
TELL US – WILL TERESA GIUDICE AND MELISSA GORGA’S FEUD EVER END?
