Sibling Rivalry! Teresa Giudice and Joe and Melissa Gorga’s Biggest Fights and Shadiest Moments

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Sibling Rivalry! Teresa Giudice and Joe and Melissa Gorga’s Biggest Fights and Shadiest Moments

Nobody wins when the family feuds. Teresa Giudice's relationship with brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga may be fractured beyond repair after they skipped her August 2022 wedding to Luis Ruelas. “Joe and Melissa made a last-minute decision to not attend Teresa’s wedding after a blowout fight,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively at the time, adding that the couple "planned on attending" the ceremony before their argument. "Teresa may not forgive Joe after this and vice versa," the insider shared, noting that the Turning the Tables author “continues to attack Melissa, and Joe isn’t standing for it anymore." Teresa also appeared to throw shade at her family during the big event. “At the wedding Louie was making a speech and thanking the family that was at the wedding," the source told Us. "Teresa chimed in and said, ‘Chosen family.'" Shortly after the wedding, Melissa and Joe addressed the drama on an August 2022 episode of her "On Display" podcast. "Obviously, we did not attend your sister’s wedding. We have a laundry list right of reasons in our heads [of] why and I will let all my listeners know this — obviously, there was something that went down at the finale of filming The Real Housewives of New Jersey," Melissa explained, teasing that there has been some "crazy" family drama behind-the-scenes. “Those exact details, I obviously cannot say today. Anything that we have filmed is something that I am not able to talk about." Implying that there had been some kind of fight between her and Joe and the newlyweds, she continued, "There was a little aggression from certain people that could have been a little scary. There definitely were moments." After the fight, Melissa explained, they felt it would be "strange" for them to show up to the wedding as if nothing happened. [jwplayer R2AQmg9X-zhNYySv2] Ruelas later shut down rumors that the Gorgas had been asked to pay after bailing on the wedding. “We would never in a million years ask for money from Joe and Melissa – we are not petty. Joe and Melissa were missed,” he wrote in the comments of an Instagram post at the time. Drama between Teresa and her brother has been brewing for quite some time, with Joe even storming off the set of the Real Housewives of New Jersey season 12 reunion after the pair got into an argument. “You gotta stop putting me down,” he said at the time, before telling the Celebrity Apprentice alum to "Act like a sister." "Andy Cohen asked me a question and I gave my answer," Teresa told Us about the heated moment in May 2022. “So, when I gave my answer, my brother’s like, ‘There you go putting me down.’ And I’m like, 'First of all, I would never put my brother down. I love my brother.’ He’s my only sibling. I absolutely adore him. Like, he’s my baby brother [and] no matter what, I’ll always take the fall for him [because] I’m the older sister." She continued: "I’ll take the blame. I don’t care. Blame it on me. … Andy asked me a question, I answered the question. It was my opinion and he didn’t like my answer." Keep scrolling to relive the most dramatic moments between Teresa and the Gorgas: [podcast_block]

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The Christening Fight

Before Melissa joined RHONJ in season 3, Teresa teased that she had a terrible relationship with her sister-in-law, which became clear when an argument between the pair at Melissa and Joe's son's christening escalated into a physical brawl. "Take a walk, you garbage [person]," Joe said at one point in the fight, which was chronicled on a 2021 episode of the Bravo reality show. He ultimately had both Teresa and her then-husband, Joe Giudice, removed from the celebrations and tensions between the two families were at an all-time high.

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The Giudices Call Melissa A Gold-Digger

The following season, Teresa and Melissa butted heads once more, when the cookbook author defended her then-husband after he called Melissa a gold-digger. "This was a conversation between my [family] and I, this was not a conversation between me and all of my America," Teresa said during the season 4 reunion. "[Melissa] dated my brother's best friend. She didn't want anything to do with him [initially]." While Teresa did acknowledge that she no longer believed that Melissa married her brother "for money," the two women were still at odds with one another.

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Teresa Gets Involved In Stripper-Gate

In the season 4 finale, which aired in September 2012, Melissa learned that Teresa had conspired with Kim DePaola to make it look like she had worked as a stripper when she was younger. After Joe learned that his sister had tried to make his wife look bad, he swore that they would never speak again.

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Teresa Says Joe Broke Their Parents' Hearts

After Joe accused his estranged sister of badmouthing him and Melissa to their parents, Giancinto and Antonia Gorga, Teresa claimed that his accusations were "breaking mommy and daddy's heart." He fired back, "Don't start me with that s--t! That's the worst thing you f--king did to me. You understand? You took my parents away from me. My kids don't even have grandparents because of you!"

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The Infamous Therapy Brawl

In season 5, the Guidices and the Gorgas went on a therapy trip to attempt to work out their differences. Unfortunately, things took a turn when — in the midst of a verbal argument — Joe called his sister "scum." In response, Joe Giudice stormed back inside the room, and the two men began fighting one another while Melissa pled for Teresa to "help your brother" before they were physically separated.

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Bridesmaid-Gate

In March 2022, Teresa stated during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live that she would not be asking her sister-in-law to be a bridesmaid at her wedding to Ruelas — which the aspiring singer confirmed later revealed was how she learned about the situation to begin with. “I did find out on TV that I’m not going to be in Teresa’s wedding and I’m not a bridesmaid, which I’m OK with. I’m fine with [it]," Melissa told  Cohen during her own appearance on WWHL later that month. “I understand. To each their own."

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Joe Says Teresa Won't Stop 'Putting Me Down'

Joe stormed off the set of the season 12 reunion, which aired in May 2022, after Teresa declined to defend him against Jennifer Aydin's rude comments. “You gotta stop putting me down,” he fired back, calling her a "moron" and claiming that she didn't act like "a sister."

Teresa later apologized for the situation, writing in the comments of an Instagram post, “I am so sorry did not mean that at all there was so much going on during the taping that I lost myself. Love you tons ❤️ XOXO."

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Joe Says 'Blood Doesn't Make You Family'

The night before Teresa and Luis' August 2022 wedding, Joe threw shade at his sister on social media, writing, "Blood doesn’t make you family," alongside a since-deleted Instagram post. Us confirmed at the time that he and Melissa would not be attending the nuptials the following day.

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Joe and Melissa Skip Teresa's Wedding

Days after the wedding, a source told Us that the Gorgas decided to skip the event after Teresa allegedly encouraged newcomer Danielle Cabral to confront Melissa over rumors that she had been unfaithful to Joe. “One of the secrets [that was shared on season 13] was Melissa making out with this guy while she was on a press tour in the city,” the insider said. “This ‘rumor’ was something that Teresa had known about for over a year and had been pushing for it to come out. Finally, the finale was perfect timing. ... Teresa usually uses someone to bring up drama, so she played a part in [Danielle's comment]."

During an episode of her podcast, "On Display," Melissa stated that while she was "not able to talk about" the reason she and her husband skipped the wedding, it involved some "crazy" family drama. "We have a laundry list right of reasons in our heads [of] why and I will let all my listeners know this — obviously, there was something that went down at the finale of filming The Real Housewives of New Jersey," she said at the time.

In August 2022, Teresa broke her silence on Joe and Melissa's wedding no-show. “Listen, I found out a few days before my wedding that they weren’t coming and I’m totally fine with it,” the Bravo star revealed on her "Namaste B$tches" podcast in August 2022, teasing, “You’ll see it play out on TV."

She continued: "The way that everything played out with my wedding, everything that happened is the way it was supposed to be. I’m all about that. … I’m all about good energy, and whoever wanted to be at my wedding was there.”

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No Regrets

In October 2022, Joe reflected on not attending his sister's wedding. "I made a decision, and I don't regret anything I do," he exclusively told Us at BravoCon. "I would regret it if that was me and everything's reversed. I'd be kicking myself in the ass every day."

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A Long Time Coming

Not being asked to be a bridesmaid was only the beginning of Melissa's issues with Teresa, the "On Display" singer exclusively told Us at BravoCon in October 2022. "From day one with all the wedding drama, I was told on national TV I wasn't gonna be a part of it," she explained. "I was told we are not close. I was told all of these things. So when you draw the line in the sand, well then, I have to stand behind the line. And then don't be upset when we're behind the line because you drew it."

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Moving On

Teresa opened up about her decision to focus on the future amid her feud with the Gorgas. "The day before [our wedding], I was in tears ‘cause I just found out," she told Us at BravoCon in October 2022. "It was heartbreaking [because] it’s my only family, and Luis was hurting for me. My children were hurting. But then [on] that day, that day was our day.”

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Hopeful for Peace

As season 13 started airing Melissa claimed she is ready to move on.

“I want her 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,” Melissa told Extra in March 2023 of her sister-in-law’s new marriage. “And I’m happy for her… Sometimes it’s just toxic and it’s like, at what point do you say, 'OK, I’m done with a back and forth? I just want to make it better at this point.' I want to be able to be in the same room.”

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Bad Business Deal?

During a March 2023 episode of RHONJ, Joe claimed that Luis "screwed" him over a business idea he had for a pizza oven called Nonno's Pizza, meant to honor his and Teresa's late father, Giacinto Gorga, who died in April 2020.

“Luis puts the money in … I’m figuring I’m giving 50 percent to my sister, he was getting 50 percent,” Joe explained during a confessional. "And then my nephew comes over to my house and goes, ‘Did you see the boxes were ordered?’ I go, ‘What boxes?’ He goes, ‘Your sister had a photo shoot with her and the girls, and they called it Skinny Pizza or something like that.'”

Joe claimed that when he confronted Luis about making changes to the business concept, his brother-in-law gave him "some lip" and Teresa backed up her husband. 

“My sister, out of nowhere, goes, ‘Did you put the f–king money up?’ I go, ‘What? You think I couldn’t put $200,000 up?’ I go, ‘It was my f–king idea!'" Joe recalled. “My sister was saying, ‘This is why you don’t do business with family!’ Bulls–t. You can do business with anyone if you go in with the trust and you’re not looking to cheat somebody.”

Teresa, meanwhile, shared a very different version of events. 

"My brother came up with this idea for this pizza oven," she recalled during the episode. "He was like, 'I want to do it with my sister,' and Luis was like, 'OK.' He put out 250K, but then he spoke to our attorney and was like, 'OK, what percentage should I give Joey?' And they came up with five percent, and my brother went nuts. He wanted 50 percent. And then I called my brother, I'm like, 'He put out all the money, what are you doing? If you want half, you need to put half in.' And he didn't want to."

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Reunion Preparations

Melissa revealed that she planned on being “very prepared” heading into the RHONJ season 13 reunion taping. “I want to have, like, my receipts this time because I haven’t felt like I’d need to have receipts in a very long time,” she revealed during an April 2023 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “But I feel like there’s a lot of accusations that aren’t true. There’s a lot of twists and turns, and they haven’t done that in a while. There’s a lot of, like — I need to prove a lot, which I’m so upset about.”

In addition to noting that she was still “baffled” by Teresa’s disappointment over her joining the series for season 3 in 2011, Melissa said that her and Joe’s invite to Teresa’s wedding felt like an “obligation.” 

Melissa went on to claim that it felt like her sister-in-law was done with her and Joe once she “got content and happy and found her life,” despite how much the couple had helped her through difficult times. “It was like, ‘Thank you so much. Bye, bye,’ and where I thought it was gonna be the complete opposite,” she added. “I thought it was like, ‘Now we got this all together.’”