‘RHONJ’ Reunion: Joe Gorga Calls Luis Ruelas A ‘Woman Abuser’ As Cast Tackles Private Investigator Drama
The ‘RHONJ’ concluded on June 13, when the New Jersey men joined the ladies for a ferocious face-off!
Before the conclusion of The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 reunion aired on June 13, a lot of stuff from the episode was already revealed online. In various preview clips that were released just a few days prior, viewers saw Teresa Giudice storm out, Gia Giudice blast “sad” Joe Gorga for trying to call her a liar, and Dolores Catania shut down questioning about her son Frankie‘s job with Luis Ruelas. But what viewers didn’t see until the episode aired was the cast questioning Luis’ possible involvement with a private investigator.
Last week, Margaret Josephs and Rachel Fuda already made claims about Luis digging into their personal lives and threatening their family members, but this week, the husbands joined the ladies for a tense face-off, so Luis was finally questioned on that and so much more. It all started when Andy Cohen asked Luis to share his side of the story regarding the pizza oven business he started with Joe. Luis said the idea of the pizza oven business was pitched to him by Joe as something that would be “good for” Teresa. Luis said he ran with it and put money into it, but Joe got upset with him when he only offered Joe 5-10% of the company. Luis said he thought “everything was for” Teresa, so he felt the small evaluation was a good percentage for Joe. However, Joe said that wasn’t an accurate account of what happened. Joe said he was under the impression it was a joint business and they’d all be putting money into it. Joe said he kept trying to contact Luis about adding money to what was already invested, but Luis kept blowing him off and saying they’d get around to it. Joe claimed Luis eventually “screwed” him out of the deal, but he still chose to hang out with Luis for the sake of Teresa.
Then, Andy asked Luis about his alleged “falling out” with Dina Manzo‘s husband over a business deal — something Joe had claimed earlier in the season. Joe said he talked to Dina’s husband, David Cantin, who allegedly told him that just like Joe, he, too, was screwed out of a deal with Luis. Luis, however, claimed that wasn’t true and said Joe was “just lying”. Luis went on to claim that David called Joe and “threatened to sue” him over the alleged lie, but Joe said that never happened and he’d love for Luis to show him the lawsuit. Luis called Joe an “actor” and that angered him so much that he clapped back and called Luis a “woman abuser”. He didn’t back up his claim with any fact or proof, but Luis told him that in “due time”, he’d “regret” all of the drama between him and his sister.
#RHONJ Reunion Sneak Peek: Dolores does not want Little Frankie discussed. pic.twitter.com/0QSBmPbyn7
— jay (@JaysRealityBlog) June 13, 2023
Next, the topic of Teresa’s time in prison came up. She had previously said she was told by Jacqueline Laurita that Joe and Melissa Gorga used to hang out with Joe Giudice‘s ex-business partner. That ex-business partner was the one who turned her and Joe Giudice in to the FBI. Basically, Teresa thinks because Melissa and Joe spent time with him, they had something to do with it as well. But Frank Catania revealed he was Joe Gorga’s attorney at the time. Frank said Joe was asked to go to the authorities in West Paterson to “discuss Joe Giudice”, but he chose not to go. “Joe never showed up and [never] said a word,” Frank told Teresa. However, Teresa said it was Joe Giudice’s ex-business partner who gave the information to the FBI, and even though Joe Gorga didn’t talk to the FBI himself, he very easily could have urged Joe Giudice’s ex-business partner to do so. Teresa told Joe that he broke her heart, but Melissa told Teresa that she was the one who “broke the whole family”.
Teresa said “Jacqueline has no reason to lie”, but Andy told her it’s “the biggest joke of the century” to see her “suddenly stanning for Jacqueline” — a woman who she spent the last 10 years vilifying on national television.
Joe went on to say that if Teresa had met someone normal — someone who wasn’t “a disaster” with questionable videos circulating on the internet, things might be fine between them today. And that obviously angered both Teresa and Luis. Luis first said it’s “just a matter of time” before stuff from Joe Gorga’s past starts leaking, and when Joe questioned whether Luis was “threatening” him or not, Teresa jumped up and got in Joe’s face, telling him he needs to stop bringing up the videos because he also has stuff from his past that they could talk about. Then, when she sat back down, she thanked Margaret. “You ruined the family,” she told her, referring to the fact that Margaret was the first one to bring up Luis’ odd videos on camera last season. Andy basically laughed the comment off because it was so ridiculous. And maybe that’s the best way to get through these episodes with Teresa because let’s be real — Teresa never takes any accountability for anything.
Anyway, Joe further said that he didn’t regret skipping Teresa and Luis’ wedding because it came after the pizza oven drama and them accusing Melissa of cheating on him. Luis, however, said they never believed the rumor — they just wanted Joe to be aware of it so he could “get ahead of it”. But if they didn’t believe it, why didn’t they include Melissa in the conversation? Andy asked that very question and Luis said it was an oversight. He didn’t have an answer and said his first instinct was to just call Joe.
Joe said they tried painting a picture of Melissa hooking up with multiple men and told him about more than one rumor pertaining to Melissa allegedly cheating, so if they didn’t believe it, why go to that length?
Anyway, the thing with Gia came up next, and during a phone call with Teresa, Gia claimed she never told Joe to leave Melissa. Joe insisted she did, though, and Teresa got so upset that she stormed out. Backstage, she said she wants nothing to do with Joe and Melissa moving forward. She actually didn’t want to return to the couch if Joe was going to be out there, but Andy asked her to come out so he could send the husbands off in a more official manner. However, before they returned, Frank told the group that things never got this ugly between Joe and Teresa until Luis came around. Melissa said they’ve never “suffered” like this before or had a private investigator causing drama for them, and when Jennifer Aydin said Luis insisted he didn’t hire one, they told her he’s “lying”. After all, Luis openly admitted during part 3 that Bo Dietl hired a security guard to attend the reunion with him. Clearly, they’re working together in some capacity. Also, John Fuda and Margaret had receipts to show Luis was involved in the outreaches to their family members.
Andy asked why Luis would even want to reach out to the cast’s family members and exes, and Melissa theorized that it’s “because there’s so much out on him that he’d like to have a little folder on everyone else,” and Frank agreed. “Exactly,” he said.
In the end, Andy said it was “obvious” that they weren’t “going to resolve anything”, but he wanted Joe and Teresa to exchange some final words before the episode ended. Teresa told Joe she was “heartbroken”, and he said he’ll “never say never” about squashing their feud in the future. Then, Frank asked Luis to promise that he won’t investigate anyone any further, and Luis said he “never” did. But still, he promised nothing would happen from that point forward. He even shook Frank and Joe’s hands as a sign of him wanting to make peace. But when it came to John Fuda, he wanted nothing to do with it. He basically called Luis a liar and said he knows for a fact that Luis looked into his ex, who’s currently in prison, and spoke to her. He asked Luis to apologize, but Luis refused, so John called him a “conman”.
When the ladies were left alone in the final moment of the reunion, Teresa said she still wants nothing to do with Melissa moving forward. Melissa, on the other hand, told Teresa that she’ll always love her, but she’ll respect whatever the family decides to do.
Catch the uncensored and extended edition of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion part three exclusively on Peacock now.