“Ridiculous” name-calling and wild insults were thrown Melissa Gorga’s way when she first joined The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The reality star reflects on her early days of Bravo fame this September and recalls some of the hurdles she had to overcome in her early thirties.
Speaking on #NoFilter with Zack Peter this fall, Zack recalls Melissa Gorga being dubbed “a cheater,” a “stripper,” and much more. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star laughs off the remarks now, adding how “she forgets other things,” including how she was accused of “breaking up the family” and being “money hungry.”
Melissa Gorga ‘was thrown to the wolves’
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 3 saw the arrival of Melissa on the cast.
She joined her sister-in-law, Teresa Giudice, on the show and the two have famously feuded since day one.
Appearing on the #NoFilter podcast this fall, Melissa takes a moment to remember her dramatic early days on the Bravo show: “So many things, I think people forget, in the beginning seasons. There was even more, the most ridiculous things.”
Zack tells Melissa: “You were thrown with the wolves since your first season. That was ‘stripper-gate’, right?”
Melissa pitches in: “I was thrown to the wolves is an understatement. I really went into the show that was at its top at that time, right? And it was just, they threw me in, I had no idea of how bad it was gonna be, I was a young mom at the time. Joey was two months old, I was 31.”
These days, the RHONJ star says she’s “unaffected” by people’s remarks: “I feel like I’ve really evolved. You can almost say anything to me right now…”
RHONJ star has ‘evolved’
Reality TV star and entrepreneur Melissa has remained on the show for the past 13 years. She explains she’s “happy” she “took the opportunity” to appear on the show.
The mom of three does look back and think she’d change some of the ways she acted, however: “I would do so many things now to speak up for myself, to defend… I’m just watching it and I’m almost like ‘oh my god’ I’m so happy those years are over and I have evolved.
“And I am a true example of how, for any young moms out there or girls that are struggling in any of that, like, you will come into your own, you will find your voice, it does get better.”
Melissa says early scenes of the show are “sometimes hard to watch,” adding:” I’m like ‘Why did I just take that?’, ‘Why did I forgive that?’, ‘Why am I not mad?’.
She continues: “Watching it back, it’s frustrating.”
Melissa now has a social media following in the millions as well as a huge customer base for her clothing brand, Envy.
Related Topics