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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Melissa Gorga Celebrates Her Son Joey's 13th Birthday with Sweet Throwback Video

The RHONJ mom shared adorable moments from Joey's childhood.

By Joshua Espinoza
Everything You Need to Know About The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Melissa Gorga

Melissa Gorga celebrated her youngest child by taking a walk down memory lane.

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 premiere May 5th at 8/9c on Bravo and stream next day on Peacock.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey mom shared an adorable throwback video via Instagram on Thursday (April 27) in celebration of Joey Gorga’s 13th birthday. The post featured a mix of cute and milestone moments from the teen’s childhood, including his first day of school, family vacations, sporting events, and his karaoke rendition of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”

The video was accompanied by a sweet birthday message, in which Melissa reassured Joey he would “always be [her] baby.”

“It’s no secret that I’ve always been obsessed with you,” she wrote in the caption. “Happy 13th birthday … Mommy loves you so much. Xoxo.”

The post drew comments from other Bravolebrities, like The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Tamra Judge as well as RHONJ’s Margaret Josephs and Dolores Catania.

“He’s a teenager now!” Dolores wrote. “When did that happen omg! Happy birthday, Joey!”

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Melissa’s husband, Joe Gorga, also celebrated their son’s big day with an Instagram post that included both old and recent photos. One showed a younger Joey sitting on his dad’s shoulder, while another captured him during the family’s 2023 New Year’s celebration.

“Happy birthday to the man [Joey Gorga Jr.],” he wrote. “Love you, son.”

Melissa and Joe are now officially outnumbered by teens, as their oldest child, Antonia, is 17; and their first son, Gino, is 15. While the latter continues to make Joe proud with his wrestling skills, the former is in the process of choosing a college. Over the past several months, Antonia has been accepted into multiple top-tier schools, including Rutgers University, Penn State University, the University of Delaware, and the University of Rhode Island.

Melissa spoke about her daughter’s college journey in an interview with People magazine earlier this year, revealing her husband was “panicking” over Antonia’s potential move.

“Joe’s like, ‘All she’s going to do is party and drink and eat and [hang out with] boys,’” Melissa said in February. “I’m like, ‘Joe, there’s actually education in college.’ He’s this typical, he doesn’t want his daughter to go. He’s like, ‘She could just drive,’ and I’m like, no.”

Melissa continued: “She needs to know what it’s like to wash her own clothes and buy her own detergent. I just think she needs that. I do everything for her. It’s good for her to be independent and learn who she is, so I’m excited for her. It’s going to be a huge change not to have her bossing us around this house like she does, but I think it’s going to be great for her.”

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo Tuesdays at 9/8c and next day on Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo app.

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