Teresa Giudice Claims RHONJ Co-Star Used Her Wedding ‘For a Photo Op’

Teresa Giudice

Bravo / YouTube Teresa Giudice

“Teresa was upset.”

“Real Housewives of New Jersey” stars Dolores Catania and Teresa Giudice sat down for a YouTube After Show where they reacted to Giudice’s wedding special, which served as the 16th episode of RHONJ’s season 13.

Giudice’s brother, Joe Gorga, and sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, were not in attendance at her wedding after a fight in the RHONJ season finale, where they claimed that Giudice and her then-fiancé Louie Ruelas were attempting to split up the Gorgas marriage with rumors that Melissa had cheated on Joe. In the wake of the Gorgas absence, fellow cast member (and close friend of Melissa’s) Margaret Josephs left the reception early with supporting cast member Jenn Fessler, citing her sadness over the feud between the family members.

“She came for a photo op, to check out the epic wedding, because I know she didn’t want to miss that,” Teresa said of the pair’s decision to leave the celebration.


Jenn Fessler Regrets Leaving Teresa’s Wedding Early

Many cast members had their own opinions of Josephs and Fessler’s sneaking out of Giudice’s wedding reception, making their voices heard in the After Show.

Giudice, for her part, said “I wasn’t upset,” with Catania having to remind her of how the moment transpired in the night.

“She comes over and she was so excited […] and she goes, ‘I can dance now, everything’s off. My mics are off, the cameras are down, I can dance.’ And she turns to me and I told her, ‘They had to leave,’ and she was very upset, and then she yelled at me for a minute,” Catania said, with Giudice adding, “My thing is if she didn’t want to come she shouldn’t have came.”

Josephs defended her decision, saying, “I celebrated her. I watched her get married, I watched her walk down the aisle. I stayed at the cocktail hour. I got to see her, she looked beautiful. I got to speak with her, but I can’t dance the night away and enjoy myself the whole night while Melissa and Joe aren’t there, you know what I mean?”

Josephs’ accomplice in leaving, Fessler, doesn’t share her same defenses, saying she regretted leaving the wedding. “It was the wrong thing for me to do. 100%. In hindsight, I felt really, really badly about it. A wedding is sacred, and you don’t go and you don’t make a statement,” Fessler said, with fellow supporting cast member Jackie Goldschneider adding, “If you’re not going to celebrate the person then don’t go.” Giudice confirmed that the next day, Jenn’s husband Jeff Fessler called her to apologize for leaving.


‘Housewives’ From All Different Cities Came to Teresa Giudice’s Wedding

Although not every member of the RHONJ cast was in attendance at Giudice’s wedding, there were plenty of other high-profile Bravolebrities at the event. Bravo reported in May 2023 that some of the big names who made the trip to New Jersey included “Real Housewives of Atlanta” stars Cynthia Bailey, Kenya Moore, and Phaedra Parks, “Real Housewives of Potomac” cast member Ashley Darby, “Real Housewives of Miami” star Alexia Nepola, “Real Housewives of New York” stars Dorinda Medley and Jill Zarin, and “Real Housewives of Dubai” cast member Chanel Ayan.

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