Just days after Joe and Melissa Gorga made the decision not to attend Teresa Giudice‘s wedding, the Real Housewives of New Jersey star was left with no other choice but to put a smile on her face and pretend like her family drama wasn’t affecting her. But as this week’s episode — titled Teresa Gets Married — played out, it became abundantly clear that the fallout from Dolores Catania‘s explosive Prohibition Party was being felt by everyone.
#RHONJ #losers Luis Ruelas threatens to 'f—king bury' people in explosive 'Teresa Gets Married' trailer https://t.co/DZHzrvT6x3 pic.twitter.com/04IW1Tw4Gj
— Brightly (@BrightlyAgain) May 16, 2023
First, Teresa told her daughters about Joe and Melissa not coming to the wedding when they all gathered for the rehearsal dinner. Gabriella Giudice couldn’t believe that Joe wouldn’t call or text Teresa to say they weren’t going to the wedding — instead, they had Dolores deliver the message. But it didn’t appear as though Teresa told her daughter why Joe and Melissa chose not to attend. We think that could have been pretty vital information that would have better explained their absence.
For those who may need a refresh — Teresa and Jennifer Aydin had Danielle Cabral shared a rumor about Melissa cheating on camera, while the group was filming the finale at Dolores’ house. They all claimed the rumor came from Margaret Josephs‘ former friend, so she should be blamed, but Melissa knew it was Teresa who really wanted it out there. And that’s because six months prior to the finale, Luis Ruelas and Teresa told Joe about the rumor in private and told him he should leave Melissa. It clearly didn’t work, as he didn’t believe the rumor, but it seems that Teresa thought putting it on camera might have a bigger impact. And it did, but instead of affecting Joe and Melissa’s marriage, the rumor just made them not want to attend Teresa’s wedding.
#RHONJ: Teresa Gets Married Sneak Peek! It airs tonight at 8/7c on @BravoTV! 👀 pic.twitter.com/NSYd6PjV5O
— jay (@JaysRealityBlog) May 23, 2023
Back at the rehearsal dinner, Gia Giudice told Dolores and Jennifer that her mom was pretty stressed about Joe and Melissa not attending the wedding. And later, when Dolores told Jennifer in private that it would have been nice for them to be there, Jennifer shrugged it off and said not everything has to have a happy ending. Clearly, she has no interest in Teresa making up with Joe and Melissa.
The next day, when Teresa was getting her hair and makeup done, her makeup artist made a big deal about Joe not going to the wedding. So much so, in fact, that it angered Teresa’s daughters. They couldn’t believe their her makeup artist was upsetting their mom with all the talk about it.
Fortunately, Teresa’s good friend sent her a text about her parents that put her back in high spirits. The text made her cry, of course, but she smiled thinking about her parents looking down on her and loving that she found Luis.
Later, when Jennifer joined the bridesmaids, she pulled Teresa aside and gave her a gift. It was a locket with a picture of Teresa’s parents in it. But before Teresa could really take it all in, and appreciate the moment, Jennifer took the opportunity to apologize for telling Danielle about the rumor. She said that it was her fault that Danielle said it on camera, which also made it her fault that Joe and Melissa decided to skip the big event. Teresa told Jennifer that all was okay and the day turned out to be the way it was supposed to be. But again, Teresa’s daughters heard more talk about Joe, and they became furious. Gabriella started crying while getting her hair and makeup done, so Milania Giudice started screaming. When Teresa and Jennifer rushed over to see why they were upset, Teresa’s daughters told Jennifer to stop talking about Joe and Melissa — they said it was their mom’s big day and no one should be speaking about the family drama.
Margaret, Danielle, Jackie Goldschneider and Jen Fessler attended the wedding as guests, and while they all supported Teresa, Margaret was torn between keeping the peace with Teresa and supporting her friendship with Melissa. So after staying for the ceremony and happy hour, Margaret dipped out. She told Jackie and Jen that she couldn’t stay and dance the night away, knowing Melissa was treated so poorly by Teresa. And since she was Jen’s ride, Jen left with her.
Finally, while Luis and Teresa were getting changed for the reception, Luis went on Instagram and saw some stuff shared by Joe and Melissa. Apparently, Joe said Teresa was “disrespectful” and “unapologetic” for the drama she caused at Dolores’ party. He and Melissa also shared videos on Instagram, showing them partying with Melissa’s family and Melissa wrote, “way better than a wedding.” Joe said, “blood doesn’t make you family.”
After seeing the posts online, Luis stormed over to Teresa’s best friend, Rosana, and said, “If these f***ing people put out one more message on Instagram, I swear to God I’m going to f***ing bury them so bad. Oh my God it’s so f***ing maddening.” He then added that if Joe “puts out one more message”, he’s going to punch him. He didn’t actually say the punching part, but he seemingly punched what sounded like a wall, so it’s certainly up for interpretation.
“Not coming to this wedding is really f***ed up,” Luis said. “And like him to be doing what he’s doing, it’s like f***ing crazy, man. Her parents would go crazy if they saw this behavior.”
Luis didn’t tell Teresa any of the stuff he saw online, as he wanted her to feel nothing but happiness on her wedding day, but we have a strong feeling it’ll all be addressed during the reunion.
Want more drama? The RHONJ season 13 reunion begins next Tuesday, May 30 at 8pm on Bravo.