Getty Images A rumor started on RHONJ claims that Melissa Gorga kissed actor Nick Barrotta.
After Melissa Gorga and her husband Joe Gorga decided to skip out on Teresa Giudice and Louie Ruelas’ wedding, “Real Housewives” fans started wondering what happened that caused that decision to be made, knowing it had to be something big.
Turns out, a fight erupted at the taping of the RHONJ finale and a source told People magazine that Teresa did something “unforgivable.”
“Teresa betrayed them in a way that’s unforgivable,” the source said, adding “they’re not going to celebrate Teresa’s new marriage when all she does is try to tear apart theirs.”
Shortly thereafter, there were rumors that someone on RHONJ brought up that they had heard that Melissa had been unfaithful to Joe, kissing a guy named Nick Barrotta while out and about in New York City a few years ago — but it wasn’t Teresa that brought it up, according to a new report by Page Six.
Sources close to Barrotta deny that he had any inappropriate interactions with Melissa, according to the Daily Mail. Heavy has reached out to Barrotta for comment but has not heard back.
Here’s what you need to know:
Margaret Josephs’ Former Friend Brought Up the Rumor Off Camera & Says it Was Marge Who Told Her About it
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Margaret Josephs’ former friend Laura Marasca Jensen explained what happened and how everything ended up coming out on the show.
Marasca Jensen told the outlet that it was Josephs who shared the cheating rumor about Gorga and Barrotta. Josephs told her off-camera “a while ago” and it wasn’t talked about again — until more recently when Marasca Jensen was trying to get on RHONJ. Marasca Jensen went out with Teresa and Jennifer Aydin and the rumor ended up coming out — still off camera.
However, the rumor did end up coming out on camera. A source told Page Six that it was Jennifer who brought it up. So, why were Joe and Melissa so upset with Teresa? They supposedly felt as though she had a hand in the rumors coming out on-camera.
“The intention was for me to talk to Melissa alone and let her know what was being said about her because I felt I was probably not the only one that knew. I didn’t think Margaret only told me [the cheating rumor]. It had nothing to do with being on-camera at all,” Marasca Jensen told Page Six.
Marasca Jensen does not think that Teresa wanted the rumor to come out and doesn’t think there was anything malicious on her part because she knew it would destroy her relationship with her brother.
“I stand by my truth. I never said [the rumor] was true. I said I was told by Margaret that someone saw that. I never said that Melissa did that,” Marasca Jensen said. “I would never, ever try to hurt someone and their family,” she added.
The Gorgas Follow Barrotta on Social Media
So, who is Nick Barrotta? He’s an entertainer who had a role on “Divorce Court” from 2018 to 2020 and was on several episodes of BET’s “The Oval.” In his Instagram bio, he calls himself an “entertainment host.”
A source told the Daily Mail that the Gorgas have been friends with Barrotta for years. Moreover, he is married and his wife is also friends with the Gorgas — and this seems to check out. Aside from Melissa following Barrotta on Instagram, Joe follows him — and so does the couple’s daughter Antonia Gorga.
“This is just completely ridiculous. Nick and his wife Liz have been close friends with the Gorgas for years,” a source told the Daily Mail. “There is absolutely zero truth to this nasty rumor and it’s comical that it even needs to be addressed,” the source added.
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