‘RHONJ’: Melissa Gorga Addresses Teresa Guidice’s Claim That Joe Only Visited Her in Prison Once
The feud between Teresa Giudice and Joe and Melissa Gorga on The Real Housewives of New Jersey has become very toxic. The Gorgas have fought with Teresa before, but this time may just be the end of their relationship.
Joe and Teresa both say they were very close as children. But the relationship between brother and sister, and sister-in-law, has seemed shaky at best ever since Melissa joined RHONJ in season 3.
Their latest rift began with Teresa insulting her sister-in-law when she didn’t ask her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding to Luis Ruelas. But it escalated into so much more. One of the latest disagreements is about how many times and why Joe visited his sister in prison.
Teresa Giudice claims Joe Gorga only visited her once in prison
Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraud. She was released in December 2015 after serving 11 months. Her husband, Joe Giudice, then served a 41-month stint plus seven months in an ICE detention center before being deported to his native Italy.
Joe and Melissa claimed they stepped up to help their brother-in-law with the four Giudice daughters while Teresa could not be there. This was shown in the reality series.
On Melissa’s On Display podcast, the Gorgas said they helped “put food on the table” for the Giudice girls while their mom was in prison.
Teresa vehemently denied this and also said on Access Hollywood that her brother did not visit her often in prison. “My brother came to see me one time, and guess why? The cameras were rolling. He got paid for it.” she told the outlet.
She went on to say, “He didn’t come any other time, and he got paid for it. I’m getting the chills when I say it because it’s heart-wrenching.”
Melissa addresses why Joe only visited Teresa once in prison
Melissa was a recent guest on Two Ts in Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge and explained her version of the prison story.
“When Teresa went to jail, for the first six months, she did not speak to me or her brother, she didn’t write to us, she refused to put Joe on the list. He called her the morning she was leaving and she basically hung up on him and said, ‘You’re the reason I’m going to jail.’ Facts. He was insulted. Six months no contact,” she told Teddi and Tamra.
The “On Display” singer said that her sister-in-law finally reached out because she wanted to use Melissa’s attorney, which she did.
Bravo then began filming Teresa Checks In, a three-part television series that chronicled the life of the Giudice family and how they dealt with Teresa’s prison sentence.
Melissa continued, “She then, at that point, six months later, put her brother on the list because he needed to come visit her on Teresa Checks In.”
She went on to say, “We all got paid, but no one got paid like Teresa got paid.”
Did Joe and Melissa Gorga spend time with Teresa’s daughters while she was in prison?
According to Melissa, the answer is yes.
Joe’s wife said she looked through photos from the summer of 2015 and found many pictures with the girls.
“From the second she allowed me to have them the whole entire summer they were at my home,” she told the Two Ts.
She called Teresa’s narrative “bulls***.”
