As fans of the Real Housewives franchise, we've seen many stars come and go. Some just weren't made for reality tv, while others couldn't get along with their co-stars. We've seen arrests, divorces, marriages, and so much more.
Early in the season, Melissa Gorga began opening up about her marriage troubles that are sure to be a focus of the new season.
Now, fans are wondering whether divorce is on the table.
Melissa Gorga and Joe have been going through it these last few months, and luckily for us, it was all caught on camera. Their marriage will be the major focus of Melissa’s storyline on this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and she’s explaining what fans can expect.
“This season, it’s very raw. It’s very real. It’s very different this season for Joe and I,” she told Us Weekly . “We’ve done very good for 11 years. We’re a great couple. We try really hard. We fight really hard for our family and it’s not easy to be on reality TV for 11 years and still stand strong.”
She continued to explain that a lot has changed for the couple since appearing on the first season of the show, and change is not Joe’s favorite thing.
“He likes things to stay the same. I’ve been with him since I was 24 years old. So I’ve changed and I feel like this is a scary part of marriage,” Melissa said. “Either you’re going to grow together or you’re going to grow apart. And I think we’re fighting really hard to grow together.”
She added that although she has no plans to leave her husband, they definitely are struggling.
“It’s not easy. We’re struggling. I’m not sitting here telling you that, like, I’m moving out of my house today but we were struggling and we show it. … We’re fighting out of it.”
“It just takes a little give and take,” Melissa added.
And her marriage isn’t the only one that’ll be the focus of the new season! Jackie Goldschneider opened up to Us about how she wanted to quit the show altogether.
“My family will always come first and when something threatens that, I take the time I need to make sure that it is something that is for me,” she told the outlet. “I don’t want to end up a statistic. I don’t want to be just another Housewife who ended up divorced.”
She explained that the show really put a strain on her marriage, and that quitting seemed like the best idea for her.
“I mean, my family and my marriage is beautiful and it’s wonderful and it’s built on a lot of respect and love and nothing is going to get in the way of that,” Jackie continued. “So, I had to really see if there was a way for the show to be a part of my life and still maintain the integrity of my family and my relationship. And you’ll see us figure that out.”
As for comments made about her life by fans, Jackie admits that she can be much more sensitive than her costars.
“When it comes to my family, I will never be okay with somebody trying to come between us. So, I’ll never have a thick skin when it comes to my family,” she said. “The fact that anybody could think that you could do something that potentially destroys a family with four young children, and then just be like, ‘Who cares’ to me? There’s no show I could be on long enough that that would ever happen.”
Ultimately, the star decided to stick with the show and said she’s “so happy with the decision that we made and the way we made it.”
These tensions aren't new. Back in 2018, Melissa opened up about her difficulties as well.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know that, and look at us like we are the perfect couple, but we do argue a lot. We argue a lot because I am such a working girl now. And he’s truly very traditional and he’s breaking into it slowly, but just me being here in L.A. for four days, you know, he’s losing his mind. So it’s like a very hard struggle,” she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. She even described their situation as "scary."
Do you think they'll make it through?