In New Jersey, blood is thicker than water. No one preaches this mantra more than Teresa Giudice and Joe Gorga. The brother and sister grew up thick as thieves in Paterson, NJ, but somewhere along the line, jealousy took over, and a fracture was created. Editing on the Real Housewives of New Jersey has shown Teresa as the main problem, often trying to break up her baby brother’s marriage.
But I don’t think Joe and his wife, Melissa Gorga, are one hundred percent innocent. Over the last few years, the Gorga/Giudice family has struggled to get along. Now, they are farther apart than ever before as they refuse to interact with each other. Both aren’t coming off smelling like roses and, in fact, need to reevaluate their choices. Nothing should break up a family, especially siblings, and as a viewer, I find it hard to watch the constant fighting for the last ten years. We need a break!
Where it began
For more than ten years, Teresa has been trying to take down her baby brother with no success. Teresa was the OG of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. She loved the spot, but in Season 3, Melissa and Joe joined the franchise, and everything changed. Apparently, Teresa wasn’t thrilled with her brother and sister-in-law agreeing to film on her turf. Teresa claimed Mel went to Andy Cohen and begged to be on the show. It was then that the lines were drawn in the sand.
The very first flare-up viewers saw occurred during Baby Joey’s christening in 2011. Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga got into a pretty heated altercation over Giacinto Gorga. Joe Gorga couldn’t understand why his father always took his brother-in-law’s side and finally cracked under the pressure. Plates and hearts were broken that night, leaving everyone riled and shaken. It didn’t help that Joe Gorga told his sister to “take a walk” and called her “trash.”
Joe vs Joe
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the family was the animosity between Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga. It always felt like they were competing against one another. However, there was no real competition, as Gorga was always the better man. During a trip to the Catskills, the group decided to try some family therapy, but Teresa couldn’t help but stir the pot. She was furious that she felt her brother had discarded them for his own growing family.
Instead of sticking with his sister, Joe noted, “I’m not sticking to scum like you.” Like raging bulls, they charged, hairspray everywhere. Viewers watched as the two men wrestled to the ground. It was then we all knew that the feud was going to be a thorn in everyone’s side.
C is for cookie
Who could ever forget the battle over the holiday cookies? Melissa was not happy about how her son’s christening had turned out and escalated the feud. During the holiday season, she made a dig about Teresa’s lack of cooking. To add insult to injury, she also brought sprinkle cookies to Christmas, knowing full well that Teresa’s favorite was pignoli cookies. Teresa did the unthinkable and threw Melissa, who was pregnant, offerings in the garbage.
Strippergate
Perhaps one of the worst moments in the feud came when Teresa tried her best to set Melissa up with the help of Kim D. In 2012; rumors were swirling that Melissa used to work in a gentleman’s club down the shore. Now, we all knew this story to be untrue, but Tre kept pushing it. Teresa went as far as to call Mel a “gold digger” finally opening up her brother’s eyes to her hate. Even though all was forgiven, tensions were still running high. For a few seasons, all was calm, but during Season 9, sh*t hit the fan.
The break
At the time, Teresa accused her brother of not being there enough for their dying father. By Season 13, Teresa had met a new man, Luis Ruelas, and a pile of new issues erupted. Luis tried to be zen, but he only made things worse. Things got so bad that Joe and Melissa refused to attend Tre’s wedding, and the family has not spoken since. Season 14 of Real Housewives of New Jersey was something of a challenge since both the Gorgas and Giudices refused to film with one another. Hopefully, they find peace.
