Teresa Giudice shared new details about her move to reconcile with her long-estranged brother Joe and his wife Melissa Gorga ahead of filming for the 15th season of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
During a November 2025 appearance on Jennifer Aydin’s TV Gold podcast, the RHONJ OG revealed why she met up with the Gorgas after several years of no contact. Giudice shared that the move was prompted after she and her eldest daughter, Gia, appeared on Fox’s “Special Forces” and she decided to “let go of the past” with her ex-husband Joe Giudice.
“When I was thinking about that, then I started thinking about my brother,” Giudice explained. “[It’s] baby steps,” she added.
Teresa Giudice Said There Have Been Incidents With Her Kids & Their Gorga Cousins
GettyGiudice is mother to four daughters— Gia, Gabriella, Milania, and Audriana, while the Gorgas share kids Antonia, Gino, and Joey. The cousins used to be close—before their parents’ estrangement.
Giudice told Aydin that there were “incidents that happened the past few years” that also prompted her to fix things with her family members. “Audriana saw little Joey at a party,” she said. “And when they saw each other, they got teary-eyed, and I think they hugged, and it was so sweet.”
“And then Joey told Audriana he wanted to send Gia a message, which … that touched my heart,” she added. “Whatever happens with the parents shouldn’t affect the kids.”
Giudice also noted that her kids are close with the cousins on her ex-husband’s side of the family, despite her divorce.
Giudice’s daughter Gia chimed in to add, “Unfortunately, we’ve been in the public eye for so long that people are going to have opinions of our family, and that’s totally fine, but I think it’s more so of changing the story. Like, the story doesn’t need to end this way.”
Melissa Gorga Confirmed the Cousins Didn’t ‘Hang Out’
GettyMelissa Gorga addressed the family estrangement during a May 2025 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live.” At the time, host Andy Cohen asked her, “Do the kids still keep in contact with their cousins? Please say yes.”
“They text ‘happy birthday’ and all of that,” Gorga replied, per BravoTV.com. “They don’t hang out, but they text.”
Still, Gorga was shocked when Giudice appeared on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live in September and hinted that she might be ready to “move on” from the family feud.
Gorga told Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea that she hoped the family could have an “authentic and real” conversation away from Bravo’s cameras.
Speaking with Access Hollywood after the meetup, she agreed with Giudice’s stance that the cousins should have a relationship. “Obviously, I never wanted it this way,” Gorga said. “It’s always been team family for me. I come from a family that is very close-knit. My children are extremely close with their aunts, my sisters, and I’ve always been tight with my sisters. So, it’s always been a weird concept for me that they’re not together. But I will always root for them to work this out. Always. “
Giudice and Gorga have not yet been confirmed for the cast of RHONJ Season 15.
Comments
RHONJ: Why Teresa Giudice Reconciled with Joe & Melissa Gorga Ahead of Season 15