Getty Jacqueline Laurita, Teresa Giudice, and Melissa Gorga.
“Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum Jacqueline Laurita began starring on the Bravo franchise during its first season, which premiered in 2009. She last appeared on the series during season 7. In the February 23 episode of the “Two Ts In A Pod” podcast, hosted by Tamra Judge and Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, Laurita acknowledged that she had rekindled her friendship with RHONJ star Teresa Giudice. She also shared her thoughts about Giudice’s ongoing feud with her brother Joe Gorga and his wife, Melissa Gorga. The mother of two revealed she believes Giudice’s claim that the Gorgas began starring on RHONJ during its third season without informing her. The former Bravo personality claimed Melissa was privately messaging the show’s producers and stars to try to join the series.
Laurita also noted that the Gorgas were featured in the show’s first and second seasons. She claimed Giudice instructed her co-stars to not speak to Melissa while filming the first two seasons.
“Teresa would say ‘don’t talk to Melissa on camera because she just wants her face on camera, like don’t film with her, like don’t talk to her,’” stated Laurita.
The former RHONJ star then claimed Giudice’s insistence on not including Melissa in scenes ended up helping the Envy boutique owner secure a position on the show.
“[Giudice] would say this while she was mic’d so producers are like, ‘who’s Melissa? Where is she? Who is the girl you don’t want on camera?’” said Laurita. “And then they saw them fighting on Facebook over sprinkle cookies or whatever the h*** it was, plus she was DMing them and trying to get on through Danielle [Staub] and whatever and then that’s how they ended up getting her on.”
The 52-year-old also noted Giudice asserted that she did not want to co-star with the Gorgas as she felt the show would ruin their relationship.
Teresa Giudice Claimed that Melissa Gorga Contacted One of the Show’s Producers on Facebook
Giudice appeared on a November 2022 episode of former RHONJ producer, Carlos King’s podcast, “Reality With The King.” During the “Reality With The King” episode, King confirmed that Melissa had contacted him over Facebook before she was cast on RHONJ. Giudice shared she appreciated that King “validated the truth.”
“[King was] like ‘she keeps contacting me’ and I was like ‘why is she contacting you, that’s so weird’ and I didn’t even back then — that’s how naive I was, I wasn’t putting two and two together that she was trying to get herself on the show and meanwhile, I was telling her everything that was happening on the show,” stated Giudice.
The mother of four also claimed that her relationship with the Gorgas changed once she began starring on RHONJ.
“Once I got on the TV show, that’s when I got really busy and my family was like ‘what happened to Teresa?’ Because I wasn’t around as much as I was and that’s when all this jealousy happened,” stated Giudice.
During a panel at the 2022 BravoCon, held during the weekend of October 14, 2022, Melissa denied Giudice’s claim that she and her husband became RHONJ stars “behind [her] back.”
Teresa Giudice Shared That Her Strained Relationship With Joe Gorga Has Been Painful
While speaking to Us Weekly in February 2023, Giudice shared that her strained relationship with her brother has been painful.
“It’s like a feeling that, you know, I never want any brother of sister to go through,” stated Giudice.
She also asserted that she does not hold a grudge against the Gorgas.
“I wish them well. I swear, I wish them all the best, I need to heal myself and you know, I’ve been through a lot the past 10 years with them,” stated the “Skinny Italian” author.