Bravo Teresa Giudice
Teresa Giudice was caught trying to cover up a plan not to invite her brother, Joe Gorga, and his wife Melissa to a pre-wedding dinner party that took place in August 2022.
In the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” season 13 episode “Messes and Bridesmaid Dresses,” the OG Housewife took a call from her then-fiancé, Louie Ruelas, as she was driving her daughters Milania and Audriana.
But as Ruelas began to rattle off a pre-wedding dinner party guest list that didn’t include Giudice’s brother, she awkwardly put him on pause – and fans didn’t miss a trick.
Here’s what you need to know:
Teresa Giudice Told Louie Ruelas The Cameras Were on When He Called Her
In the scene, Giudice answered her cell phone while driving. Ruelas told her he was sending a text invite for a dinner party at the New York City restaurant Avra ahead of their wedding. He then rattled off a guest list that included “Dolores plus one, Margaret plus one, Jennifer plus one, Jackie plus one, those people.”
“Just to put the invite out to all of them — except Melissa and Joe, I’m not inviting them,” Ruelas was heard saying on speakerphone.
An agitated Giudice quickly interrupted him with, “You know the cameras are on, we’re filming, right?”
“Oh s***. OK!” Ruelas said.
The scene continued with Giudice taking Ruelas off of the speakerphone and telling him that everyone had to be invited. “If you invite….You have to invite everyone, you can’t just do some and not the others,” she said.
After Giudice got off the call, her daughter Milania wanted to know why her Uncle Joe and Aunt Melissa would be invited given the friction they were going through. Giudice explained that it “takes more energy” to stay angry. In a confessional, the RHONJ OG also revealed that she doesn’t like to tell her kids about the issues she has with the Gorgas.
But fans weren’t buying it.
“Busted…She’s a horrible sister & parent, she’s involved the kids in her feud,” one commenter wrote on Instagram.
“Loved watching her scramble to take her phone off speaker!! 🤣 then try to act like she’s a peacekeeper to her kids,” another wrote.
“Truth exposed now. Let’s see how Teresa spins this! She’s always been mean to her bro and Melissa!” added another.
Others noted that “the red flags are flying with Louie” and that he’s “starting to show his true colors.”
“Louie is really showing who he is. It is very apparent that Teresa and Louie never planned to invite Melissa and Joe to the wedding,” another fan wrote.
On “Watch What Happens Live,” host Andy Cohen did a “Work the Polls” segment and asked viewers if Giudice would have told Ruelas that they had to invite the Gorgas if the conversation hadn’t been on camera. Ninety-three percent of viewers said “no,” and RHONY star Rachel Fuda also agreed it would have not happened that way off-camera.
As of this writing, the Gorgas have not publicly commented on Giudice’s RHONJ scene.
Joe & Melissa Gorga Ended Up Skipping Teresa Giudice’s Wedding to Louie Ruelas
GettyMelissa Gorga and Joe Gorga in 2022.
Elsewhere in the episode, the cracks in the family’s foundation were getting deeper. In one scene, Melissa and Joe were seen talking about Giudice’s upcoming wedding and how they just wanted to get through it. Melissa admitted that she was just trying to “keep the peace” until the wedding but that after that she wanted “off the ride” after years of friction with Giudice.
In August 2022, Giudice wed Ruelas at Park Chateau Estate and Garden in East Brunswick, New Jersey, according to Page Six, but her brother and sister-in-law were not in attendance. The final falling out took place when Giudice and her only sibling got into an argument while they were filming the RHONJ finale.
Joe later said he regretted missing his sister’s wedding, but that it was inevitable following the drama that took place during filming.
“Listen, everybody knows we didn’t go to the wedding. There’s a lot of things that came out on the show,” he explained to Extra in an October 2022 interview. “I’m not happy about it. I’m not proud of it, and you know I love her, she’s my sister. …Do I wish I went to the wedding? Of course. You know, I want it to be normal… I want to be happy.”