Melissa Gorga blasted her sister-in-law Teresa Giudice for saying the OG “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star’s late parents gave her signs she is on the “right track” by ceasing communication with her brother, Joe Gorga.
“This is a sick statement that she made. That’s a sick statement,” Melissa told “Extra” in an interview published Wednesday. “What I’m saying is, you even want to take that away from [Joe]? Make him feel they’re not approving of his actions? It’s a control aspect.”
Melissa, 45, added that Giudice, 52, is “not the controller of me, my husband or my family.”
“So she can take the drama. You can be the queen of your show, but you’re not the queen of me, my life, my house or my family, and that’s that. But she doesn’t like that, and that’s how it’s always gonna be,” she said.
“You can keep the drama You can keep the queen of toxicity. That’s on you. But I don’t want to be the queen of toxicity. I’m happy with what I have and living a happy life.”
Joe, 49, chimed in to say he is going to continue to “take the right road and not do anything” because Giudice is still family.
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However, Melissa doubled down that “certain things have happened that are just really hard to come back from,” so she has “ended that” relationship.
“Right now, no one is on talking terms with anyone because of the things that have happened,” she said. “To come after my marriage, for some reason, she’s never been happy for us. She’s never wanted to support us.”
Melissa’s response comes months after Giudice said her parents, Giacinto Gorga and Antonia Gorga, have given her “validation” from beyond the grave that she should remain estranged from her brother.
“I see my parents now around me all the time –– especially what’s going on in my family life. And I’m getting validation that I’m on the right track,” she said on her “Namaste Bitches” podcast in October 2023.
The Gorgas and Giudice have been on rocky terms for years, but they completely stopped speaking after the cookbook author and her husband, Luis Ruelas, accused Melissa of cheating on Joe during the explosive “RHONJ” Season 13 finale in 2023.
Melissa, who vehemently denied the allegations, and her family ended up skipping Giudice and Ruelas’ August 2022 wedding.
The two have filmed a few group scenes together on the current season of “RHONJ,” but they have both shared the sentiment that they no longer have a relationship.