Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas‘ “chosen family” gathered to celebrate their housewarming during the Feb. 28 episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, but not everyone was feeling the love. Following last week’s guys night, during which Joe Gorga and Luis got into a fight over Melissa‘s family not getting invited to the wedding, Teresa called her brother to try and “make peace”, while also reminding him about her upcoming party. She simply asked if Joe and Melissa would be coming, but Joe said he’d have to think about it considering all that was going on between them.
After Teresa hung up the phone, she breathed a sigh of relief because, honestly, she didn’t even seem to want to make the call — Luis pushed her to do it and then fed her lines to say by writing notes down on a piece of paper and shoving it in front of her while she was on the phone with Joe. He told her that it’s all about “baby steps”, but of course, in other scenes he can be seen talking trash about Joe and Melissa, so it’s hard to know what he truly wants for Teresa.
Teresa and Louie's "chosen family" gathers to celebrate their housewarming, but not everyone is feeling the love. Don't miss a new episode of #RHONJ tonight. pic.twitter.com/0tvZOUEQcW
— Bravo (@BravoTV) February 28, 2023
Anyway, when push came to shove, Joe ultimately decided not to attend the party — he didn’t want to feel uncomfortable and didn’t believe Teresa event wanted him there. He said he’s “tired” of playing games and he can’t “fake” his feelings like she can. Melissa, however, still went.
After learning her brother wouldn’t be attending, Teresa told her daughters that she was bummed to hear he’d be skipping yet another one of her big “milestones”, after he passed on attending her 50th birthday party, too. She claimed she “would have loved” for him to be there, but took no responsibility in potentially being the reason for him not wanting to attend. Teresa also drug Gia and Milania into the drama — yet again — by telling them that Joe and Melissa were upset about Melissa’s family not getting invited to the wedding. This, of course, comes a few weeks after Melissa and Joe asked their kids to go inside when they discussed their issues with Teresa on camera. But once again, Teresa got her kids involved in the adult’s drama and it wasn’t a good look.
Later, after everyone gathered at the party, and Melissa had a pleasant conversation with Gia and Gabriella, Luis and Teresa stood up in front of their loved one to give a speech. Luis first thanked everyone for being so “loving and supportive”, before Teresa cut him off and made it clear that everyone in attendance was their “chosen family”.
“Everyone here is really special to us, so thank you so much for coming. We love you from the bottom of our hearts, and wouldn’t want anyone else here but you guys,” she said. It was clearly a dig at her brother, and everyone knew it, which is why Jennifer Aydin‘s husband, Bill, quickly yelled, “We miss you, Joe!” But no one else knew how to react. Melissa was pretty upset by it all. So much so, in fact, that she broke down in tears and ran to the bathroom to compose herself.
“That was a d*** thing to say,” Margaret Josephs told Melissa. “What the f*** was that for?”
“It’s very sad,” Melissa said, while Teresa spent the remainder of the night boasting about her “love bubble” and how the night was all about “spreading the love”. Sure, Jan.
Want more? New episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey air Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo.