‘RHONJ’: Andy Cohen Blames Show For Joe and Melissa Gorga’s Marital Trouble
Joe and Melissa Gorga are having a knockout war this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The usually happily in love couple are battling it out over Melissa’s busy work schedule. Bravo honcho Andy Cohen says the show is to blame for the couple’s marital trouble. Still, Cohen is optimistic that things between the Gorga’s will work out.
Joe and Melissa Gorga are arguing over Melissa Gorga’s busy schedule
When Joe and Melissa Gorga first began appearing on RHONJ in Season 3, Melissa was a proud housewife to Joe and their three young children. Working was never considered until their children grew older. Meliisa began exploring opportunities presented to her from her platform on the show.
Ever the fashionista, Melissa opened her New Jersey boutique, Envy, in 2017. Since then, she admits to spending more time working and less time preparing dinner for Joe every night. Melissa’s increasingly busy schedule is an issue in her marriage. Joe says he initially thought Melissa’s boutique was a hobby.
Related: ‘RHONJ’: Why Melissa Gorga Says She’s ‘Done’ Defending Teresa Giudice
This season, Joe and Melissa bicker about Joe wanting Melissa home more. She refuses to slow down, calling Joe spoiled and old fashioned.
“I’ve been with Joe since I was 24 – that’s very young,” Melissa told Access Hollywood in a recent interview. “You do change as a woman from 24 to 40.” But change isn’t something that Joe prefers. Throughout the current season, he complains often that he wants things to go back to the way they were. But Melissa says Joe needs to compromise.
Andy Cohen blames Melissa Gorga’s success on the show
Things became so tense between the Gorga’s that divorce was even considered. Melissa told Access Hollywood that Season 11 is the “lowest” point in her marriage.
“I don’t know how seriously it’s come up,” she says of divorce. “Have we brought it up and gasped about it? Probably. But, nothing has ever happened to us other than these highs and lows. I’m busier than I’ve ever been and that probably affects him. He admits that there’s insecurities…men need to understand that we don’t necessarily need you, we want you. It’s just different. He doesn’t like change.”
Cohen agrees that Melissa has changed since being on the show. In fact, he blames the show entirely for the Gorga’s marital trouble.
Related: Melissa Gorga Gushes Over Teresa Giudice’s New Boyfriend in an Instagram Post
“He [Joe Gorga] keeps saying, ‘You’re busy and you’re not around,’ – I think it’s the show,” Cohen told Wendy Williams in a recent interview. “I think she has had so many opportunities as a result of the show, and fame…but I think it’s the red carpet thing and going out and there’s an Us Magazine party and there’s this. So I think that kind of played into this.”
Still, Cohen says he doesn’t necessarily think Joe wants Melissa to give up her career. “I don’t know if he’s asking her to, by the way,” Cohen says. “We’ll see. I love them as a couple.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs every Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Bravo.
