Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice have a complicated past. Sure, they star on Real Housewives Of New Jersey together, but they’d be fighting whether or not the cameras were focused on them — they’re sisters in law, and being family means myriad complications to even the most basic and kind of relationships. Melissa and Teresa may be at odds right now, but the timeline of Melissa and Teresa’s relationship on RHONJ shows that there’s always room for these two to come back together.
Melissa and Teresa have been family for years, but it wasn’t until the third season of Real Housewives Of New Jersey that the public was privy to all of the drama going on in the Gorga and Giudice houses. In Season 9, the women are again at odds, as Teresa wants her brother, Joe, to spend more time with their dad, Giacinto. Joe says he works a lot and just doesn’t have the time. Somehow, this translates to Melissa being caught in the middle, as Teresa says that Melissa should just tell her husband what to do.
I mean, any viewer who has ever seen Joe Gorga on screen knows that he will not be told what to do by anyone, including his wife, but Teresa is insistent. The family is at odds yet again and there's no telling how it will go, so let’s inform the future by looking at the past.
Season 3
Season 3 (the first with Melissa) of Real Housewives Of New Jersey starts with a brawl between the Giudice and Gorga families, and all because Teresa didn’t say “congratulations” early enough to the Gorgas at their son’s communion. Yes, that happened.
The fight is mostly between Joe and Teresa, and Melissa thinks that the siblings should talk. Teresa is also mad about a card that Melissa sent her, and also some cookies she brought over for Easter? That doesn't sound so bad.
Season 4
Teresa wrote a cookbook between Seasons 3 and 4, and there weren’t very many nice things about Melissa in it, so that’s a point of contention there. Throughout this season, the family drama about nothing (honestly) continues, Melissa is, as always, stuck in the middle between her husband and his sister. Are you sensing a pattern here?
There is also a rumor toward the end of the season that Melissa was a stripper in a past life, and she thinks Teresa is to blame for that. At the reunion, Joe and Teresa have an emotional reunion, so for now, they’re OK. Sort of.
Season 5
A lot of healing happened at the Season 4 reunion, but it’s not enough to make Season 5 completely drama free. Again, that stripper stuff comes out, and Melissa is convinced that Teresa is telling lies about her.
Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga have a physical fight, and I don’t know how these people are all family. Eventually, they head to family therapy, and they all cry and hug and scream and work it out. Also, Teresa is in a tanning add and Melissa releases a song.
Season 6
This season was pretty quiet in regards to relationship drama between Teresa and Melissa. Here, Teresa had bigger fish to fry, as this was the start of all the legal issues with her and Joe, her husband. Melissa was as supportive as can be toward Teresa, and eventually, Teresa and Joe are both sentenced to jail time.
Season 7
Melissa was on her own journey of self-discovery in Season 7, because she wanted to open up a boutique and her husband kept poo-pooing the idea. If anything, this was the best season for Melissa and Teresa, as they united against a common enemy — Jacqueline Laurita. Melissa and Teresa ended the season as pals, which is more than we can say for most other seasons.
Season 8
Teresa is mourning the loss of her mother and her husband’s incarceration, but at least she and Melissa are close again. There are some problems during the opening of their restaurant, but who among us can work and play with family? They fight, sure, but the real enemy of the season is Kim DePaola, who returns during the reunion to talk about Kim’s allegations Teresa is a cheater.
There are clear patterns here — Teresa flying off the handle in regards to her brother and Melissa being stuck in the middle. History is bound to repeat itself, sure, but maybe these two can take a walk down Real Housewives Of New Jersey memory lane in order to make their future relationship better.
