BravoCon 2022: Andy Cohen Gets Candid About Teresa Giudice And Melissa Gorga's Rift
Teresa Giudice has been at war with her sister-in-law Melissa Gorga for almost the entirety of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Per Bravo, for one reason or another, they have battled since Gorga joined the series in the show's third season. Gorga's first season featured a christening for her youngest son, which erupted into chaos after her husband got into a verbal altercation with Giudice. Following their showdown, the entire event erupted into chaos, with multiple attending guests coming to blows. For years, Giudice has asserted the belief that Gorga and her brother Joe came onto the show behind her back. However, Gorga has repeatedly maintained her story version, saying Giudice was aware of their addition to "RHONJ."
Per ET Online, eventually, Giudice and Gorga found peace before Giudice entered prison following her conviction for bankruptcy fraud. After Giudice's release, things appeared to be on a more harmonious path for the embattled family, but toward the end of the recent "RHONJ" season, things soured. Giudice's new fiancé, Louie Ruelas, had unflattering and concerning stories circulating, leading to Giudice's family questioning him.
The Jersey wives wrapped their Season 13 recently, with the finale reportedly the final straw in the relationship between Giudice and the Gorgas. The drama was so heated that Gorga and her husband elected not to attend Giudice's wedding to Ruelas (via People). However, all four parties are in New York City this weekend for BravoCon 2022, where "Housewives" executive producer Andy Cohen weighed in on the feud.
Andy Cohen says 'RHONJ' cast was split because of Giudice and Gorga's feud
BravoCon 2022 took over New York City this weekend, with nearly every Bravolebrity under one roof (via New York Post). With this many stars in attendance, Andy Cohen was spilling copious amounts of tea about the "Housewives." Per Page Six, a surprising alteration to BravoCon 2022 was the decision to split "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" panel into two separate groups. Teresa Giudice was joined by Dolores Catania and Jennifer Aydin, while Melissa Gorga's panel consisted of herself, Margaret Josephs, and Jackie Goldschneider. During the Ask Andy segment of the event, Cohen was asked about splitting the cast into two groups, not holding back.
According to a reporter from The List, when a fan brought up Giudice and Gorga pointing the finger at each other about why the "RHONJ" was split into two groups, Cohen responded by saying, "They're really not in a good place as you might have gathered."
Andy Cohen believes there is a 'balancing act'
Andy Cohen further explained the decision to host two panels for the stars of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey": "We want this to be entertaining for everyone and also we're on the precipice of a really great season of 'New Jersey' airing, okay?" As far as how Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga feel about each other, a reporter for The List said Cohen told the panel at BravoCon 2022, "They're in a really kind of limbo-y place where if you bring them all out together ... they're in a different place than they were the last time we saw them all as a group and I think it's better to let the show live on air."
It must be hard organizing a huge event with so many personalities, drama, and history, so it only makes sense for situations like this to happen. Ever the TV producer, Cohen also revealed, "Sometimes it's a balancing act because you want things to play out on TV." So, hopefully fans will get to see more on the next season of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," which may premiere at the beginning of 2023 (via Bustle).