RHONJ’s Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram; Shutterstock (3)

RHONJ's Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga: A Timeline of Their Relationship

A marriage that was built to last! It’s safe to say that Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga’s love has managed to survive the reality TV curse. The Bravo couple forged a life together long before they set foot on the cable network in 2011 for The Real Housewives of New Jersey. They tied the knot in 2004 and welcomed three children: Antonia, Gino and Joey. “I have learned that I am actually a great dad and my whole life revolves around my children. Everything I do is to benefit them and my wife,” Joe told Bravo’s The Daily Dish in June 2020, explaining what he’s learned about fatherhood. “The most important lesson you can teach your kids is to be kind and to work hard in life. Anything is possible if you are willing to put in the time and work hard.” The entrepreneur also said that he tends to be the “easy parent” of the two, adding, “I go with the flow. I don’t want to baby them, and I want them to learn from the mistakes they make. However, when they are in trouble, Melissa is sometimes too easy on them, so then I need to step in.” After all these years together, the longtime pair have found ways to keep the love alive. Joe told Us Weekly exclusively in May 2019 that they have sex “more than the average” married couple. [jwplayer Ur8EaJFe-zhNYySv2] “I don’t think of her as my wife. I think of her as my girlfriend, and we just keep it real,” he revealed at the time. “The key is as much sex as you can have. It keeps us together.” From cheating allegations to the death of Joe’s father, the duo have stuck by each other through thick and thin. In February 2021, the New Jersey Housewife revealed that the pair were “struggling” as they worked through a rough patch. “We’ve done very good for 11 years. We’re a great couple,” the businesswoman explained to Us. “We try really hard. We fight really hard for our family and it’s not easy to be on reality TV for 11 years and still stand strong.” She added, “We were struggling and we show it. … We’re fighting out of it.” Scroll down to see how the Gorgas romance has evolved over the years. [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

August 2004

Melissa and Joe tied the knot.

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

August 2005

The Gorgas welcome their first child, daughter Antonia.

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

September 2007

Melissa gave birth to the pair’s second child, son Gino.

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

April 2010

The duo’s third child, son Joey, was born.

Credit: YouTube

June 2013

During a season 5 episode of RHONJ, Joe’s sister, Teresa Giudice, brought up rumors about Melissa’s alleged affair with an ex-boyfriend. The drama came to a head during a retreat at Lake George when Joe and Teresa’s now-ex-husband, Joe Giudice, got into a physical altercation after he called his sister “scum.”

Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Starpix/Shutterstock

July 2013

After Melissa’s former BFF Jan DeDolce told people that she cheated on Joe with her ex, she denied the accusations to Us exclusively. “I’ve never cheated on Joe,” she said at the time. “This is all disappointing.”

Credit:

September 2013

Melissa authored a relationship book, titled Love Italian Style: The Secrets of My Hot and Happy Marriage. The book, which also included passages written by Joe, drew criticism for providing unconventional romance advice.

“Even when I’m exhausted and not really in the mood, if it means a lot to Joe that we connect physically, I’ll say, ‘I’m not so into it tonight, but let’s go,’” she wrote. “If it’s a hard ‘no,’ I try to be nice about it. Don’t swat him away, or say with a tone, ‘Leave me alone!’ Eventually, he will leave you alone at more than you wish he would.”

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

May 2017

The couple opened Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza in New Jersey along with Joe’s sister, Teresa, but the establishment abruptly closed the following year.

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

May 2019

Joe candidly dished on his sex life with Melissa while speaking to Us, saying, “We still are obsessed with each other. I mean, we still have sex more than the average [couple].”

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

August 2019

The longtime pair celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary.

Credit: Courtesy Joe Gorga/Instagram

April 2020

When Joe’s father, Giacinto Gorga, died at age 76, Melissa honored her father-in-law with a heartfelt tribute. “Heaven just got another angel. You’ve been the only Dad I’ve known for the past 16 years. You were such an incredible man and such a loving Nonno.. they don’t make them like you anymore,” she wrote via Instagram. “Thank you for teaching my husband how to treat his wife the way you treated yours.”

She continued, “Thank you for teaching me how to cook everything I make. Thank you for all the energy you’ve always brought everywhere you went. Run to your wife. She’s waiting for you RIP we will miss you forever.”

Credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com

July 2020

Melissa revealed that she and her husband would likely not have any more children down the road. “I think we were really deep into, like, leaning towards yes for a minute. I think it’s just, like, the time has passed,” she told Us. “I feel like we’re in a spot where I’m like, ‘OK, let me just, like, be happy with what I have.’ I have three healthy children.”

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

August 2020

The duo celebrated 16 years of marriage with sweet Instagram tributes. “The happiest day in my life Was the day you finally became my wife. We are so lucky to have each other,” Joe captioned his post, while Melissa simply thanked her husband for the “beautiful life” they forged together.

Credit: YouTube

January 2021

In RHONJ’s season 11 trailer, Teresa accused Melissa of cheating on Joe again. “Last night, the owner of the restaurant asked Melissa for her number,” Teresa said in the sneak peek. “They’ve been texting all day.”

The longtime pair were then shown fighting as Joe said, “Be careful what you say, because I’ll never talk to you again.”

Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Gorga/Instagram

February 2021

Melissa revealed to Us exclusively that the pair were “struggling” amid a rough patch in their marriage. “He likes things to stay the same. I’ve been with him since I was 24 years old. So, I’ve changed,” she said. “And I feel like this is a scary part of marriage. Either you’re going to grow together or you’re going to grow apart. And I think we’re fighting really hard to grow together.”

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

February 2021

Melissa revealed to Us that the twosome were working on the problems in their marriage. “Whoever said marriage is easy is a liar,” she explained. “Joe and I have a beautiful thing because we both always wanted the same things in life: a successful, healthy family and [we make] sure everyone around us is happy. Our kids are our life and they are the reason we work so hard, try so hard and fight so hard for our marriage.”

Credit: Aaron Kopelman/Bravo

May 2021

Following a season of RHONJ that was full of fights between the couple, Melissa got honest about where she sees the relationship going from here.

“I don’t want to die unhappy,” she said during the season 11 finale in May 2021. “I wanna feel fulfilled. Not just as a mom. And I’ve never seen Joe fight so hard against something that I want. So I am feeling really scared about our relationship because I’ve never felt this exhaustion and feeling of giving up.”

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

July 2021

Melissa told Us that her work life made things “strenuous” between her and Joe. “I know we’ve been married for 16 years, but we are still learning [about] each other. There’s different turning points, I would say, in marriages,” she said. “Joe is not big on change and he likes things to stay the same. He likes to know that everything’s going to be intact and probably that’s what makes him a great husband. But for me, I’m all about change right now.”

Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

February 2022

Melissa assured Us that the couple were “doing great” after their previous struggles. “The pandemic was a little rough,” she added. “I think it brought out a lot of our real feelings.”

However, communication saved them. “It was probably good for us to talk it through,” she noted. “I didn’t know how he was feeling, and I don’t think he was getting where I was coming from.”

Credit: AFF-USA/Shutterstock

June 2022

Melissa and her husband posed on the red carpet at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards in California, where she presented the nominees for best competition series.