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Melissa Gorga isn’t planning to leave The Real Housewives of New Jersey anytime soon. Melissa, who joined the Bravo reality TV series in Season 3, is back to her 11th season. And despite critics who want her off the show, including seemingly a couple of her co-stars, Melissa has no plans to retire in the near future.
“I never decided I was leaving the show. No one’s ever asked me to leave. I think that people were wishing on stars and the stars were falling flat,” Melissa told StyleCaster while Season 14 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which premiered on Sunday, May 5.
Melissa is one of seven Housewives on The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14, along with Dolores Catania, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral, Rachel Fuda, and Melissa’s sister-in-law (and frequent rival) Teresa Giudice. Rounding out the cast are friends Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler. Even before Season 14 premiered, The Real Housewives of New Jersey made headlines when reports surfaced that Melissa, as well as Margaret, didn’t have a single conversation with Teresa throughout the entirety of filming, and vice versa.
Days before the Season 14 premiere, Teresa and Jennifer were also accused by a blogger of allegedly leaking negative information about their cast mates to them, including details from filming. (The blogger also accused Jennifer of sending them screeners of unreleased episodes.) Melissa called the allegations against her cast mates “karma.”
“There’s so much going on on social media right now about two of my cast members,” she said. “It’s just getting a little messy out there to the point, I’m a little embarrassed for them, honestly. I’m sure that’s going to be a huge part of our reunion. It actually ties into a lot of what’s going on currently in this season. A lot of our complaints and a lot of why half the cast doesn’t speak to a couple of the girls in the cast is all spelled out right now on social media. It’s very validating for us to be able to be like, ‘We told you so.’ There were a lot of devilish things going on in the background to really hurt cast members, and it’s not fair and it’s not right. When you do bad, karma is a bitch.”
SC: You and Teresa had a moment at the Season 13 reunion, where she said you were leaving and you went back and forth. Why did you in the end decide to come back for Season 14?
MG: I never decided I was leaving the show. No one’s ever asked me to leave. I think that people were wishing on stars and the stars were falling flat. It’s funny, because it’s like, “In I come!” It was silly [for her] to try and sit there and blast commands to your higher-ups.
SC: Have you ever considered leaving the show?
MG: I’ve definitely had moments where I’m like, “Am I doing the right thing? Am I happy?” As long as I’m not suffering or my family is not suffering, I’ve always said, “Let’s do it.” I have a great relationship with a network with Bravo. I’ve been working with these people for 14 years since 2010. I’m happy. It’s my livelihood. It’s my work. But if it got to the point where I’m unhappy and miserable, I would never stay because there’s no reason to.
SC: Andy Cohen recently said that he thinks it’s unsustainable for you, Teresa, and Margaret to film separately for future seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. What was your reaction to that?
MG: I don’t place demands. Joe [Gorga] and I have our own space. We’ve created our own persona on this show where I don’t care who’s in the room and who’s not in the room. I’m going to just do me. I don’t say, “I won’t. I can’t.” I’m honest about my relationship and say, “There’s nothing to talk about. It’s dead here.” You can do whatever you want over there with whoever you want. I’m not going to tell you what to do. I have my own situation, my own family. Joe and I are known as that couple on the show where we have our own relationship going, our own happenings with our own kids, and life outside of that. Whatever goes on on this show is fine with me. Who they cast, who they don’t cast, I’m still going to do me.
SC: Did you agree with Andy?
MG: I did agree with him. I do think it’s time to switch it up. 100 percent, I agree with him. I don’t know how [things will change] or which way, but I do agree.
SC: In the Season 14 premiere, we see Teresa claim at a dinner with Dolores that you, Margaret, and Frank met at Margaret’s house before the Season 13 reunion to go after her. What was your reaction to that?
MG: Everybody meets before the reunion. First of all, we had a private detective. As far as we knew, we were going into it like there’s a detective watching us. Hell yeah, we’re going to talk about it, like let’s go over the seeds. By the way, they do the same thing. I’ve had previous seasons, multiple meetings with Teresa and her attorney. The same exact meeting. So when you have nothing and you just pull from the sky to act like this is a thing, even Dolores calls her out in the episode. She’s like, “This is not a big deal. Everybody talks before the reunion.” There’s nothing shocking about this, because this is what we all do all the time. Like all the girls on all the franchises, I’m sure get together. You have one or two of your besties and you’re like, “Oh, what are we going to talk about tomorrow? What’s gonna go down?” It’s completely normal.
SC: The Season 14 trailer shows a falling out between you and Jackie. What can you say about what happened and where is your relationship now?
MG: I haven’t spoken to her. I feel like her issues with Margaret, she kind of tied into being issues with me. I think also she was looking for that angle. She was trying to find an angle for whatever reason. Disappointed is all I can ever say because I really liked her. I thought she was a true friend. I thought she was one of the real ones. Then when you see someone pivot for the wrong reasons, it’s disappointing. We didn’t even have an argument, so I don’t even know what happened. That’s what makes it very inauthentic to me with her new friendships.
SC: Teresa recently announced that she would be on Season 2 of House of Villains. What was your reaction to that?
MG: I never saw it. I didn’t even know what it was honestly. But from the title, it sounds correct.
SC: Speaking of other reality shows, Tamra Judge has said on her podcast, “Two Ts in a Pod,” that she thinks you would be good on The Traitors. Would you ever go on it
MG: Everyone says that to me about Traitors. What stresses me out the most is that I have no outside communication with my husband or my children for three weeks with zero cell phone usage. That is the only reason why I would ever turn down Traitors. If you don’t see me on Traitors, it’s literally because I don’t know if I can physically not speak to Envy, my husband or my kids for three weeks. I think you’re allowed a five minute phone call every couple of days. And you’re in another country. I would break down. But never say never. Maybe?
SC: Would you want to be a traitor or a faithful?
MG: God, that’s a hard question. I think I’d want to be a traitor. [Laughs] No, I mean, I don’t know. I’d have to see how it rolls. Whatever I’m blessed with.
SC: On your podcast, “On Display,” you address a comment made by Chanel Ayan from The Real Housewives of Dubai, where she suggested that you’re someone who needs “to be watched.” Have you heard from her since you responded on your podcast?
MG: No. Honestly, I’ve only met her once and that was at BravoCon. Tamra had a party and I met her there. Before that, she had said something about me too, and I didn’t even know who she was. I think she’s a beautiful woman. I talked to her for a little bit at Tamra’s party. She was very sweet. But then I found out that she’s a major, major Teresa fan, so I guess that’s how she thinks. God bless. I don’t know her. I have nothing against her other than the fact that she just keeps saying something negative about me, which is a little weird seeing we’ve never even had a lunch together. But it’s OK. Praise your queen, girlfriend.
SC: You’ve been on The Real Housewives of New Jersey for 11 seasons now. Have you put any thought into how much longer you want to be on the show?
MG: I think at this point, I’m in a headspace that is so great. I speak my mind. I hold back nothing with no one ever, to the point I have nothing to fear. I have nothing to hide. I’ll do it as long as Bravo asks me to come back. Unless something else comes along and I feel like I’ve done this enough and it’s time to switch it up. But for right now, I’m fine.
SC: Where do your relationships stand with all your cast members after Season 14?
MG: I think it’s very obvious. The writing is on the wall. There’s so much going on on social media right now about two of my cast members,” she said. “It’s just getting a little messy out there to the point, I’m a little embarrassed for them, honestly. I’m sure that’s going to be a huge part of our reunion. It actually ties into a lot of what’s going on currently in this season. A lot of our complaints and a lot of why half the cast doesn’t speak to a couple of the girls in the cast is all spelled out right now on social media. It’s very validating for us to be able to be like, ‘We told you so.’ There were a lot of devilish things going on in the background to really hurt cast members, and it’s not fair and it’s not right. When you do bad, karma is a bitch.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. on Bravo. Stream it the next day on Peacock.