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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Melissa Gorga Explains Why She Defended Jackie Goldschneider in Her Drama with Teresa Giudice

The Real Housewives of New Jersey sisters-in-law clashed over the topic at the Season 9 reunion.

By Laura Rosenfeld
Why Melissa Gorga Defends Jackie Goldschneider but Not Teresa Giudice

Perhaps one of the most unexpected moments this season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey came when Melissa Gorga defended Jackie Goldschneider after she made those comments about Teresa Giudice. Many fans wondered why Melissa appeared to back up Jackie, one of the newest Housewives in the Garden State, instead of her sister-in-law.

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14 premiere May 5th at 8/7c on Bravo and stream next day on Peacock.

Melissa explained all when she appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Wednesday night, saying that Jackie only brought up Joe Giudice in an effort to back Melissa up when Teresa complained about the amount of time Joe Gorga was spending with their father, Giacinto Gorga. "Jackie was defending me, so how could I not defend Jackie who's defending me?" she said (clip above).

Melissa shared a similar sentiment when the subject came up during Part 1 of the RHONJ reunion. "Once again, I was getting the blame for the relationship between your brother and your father," she explained. "She was backing up my argument with you."

The Envy boutique owner then offered up a theory about the root of all of this conflict. "Here's the bottom line — and I think it's the problem that Jackie and I have — people get very threatened by people who can think and reason rationally. And they're threatened by that," Melissa said.

After Melissa said that her sister-in-law wasn't thinking rationally, Teresa told her, "I'm not even gonna talk to her anymore. Don't even talk to me. Don't talk to me. Don't f--king talk to me."

Dolores Catania came to Teresa's defense, saying that she's under a lot of stress right now, but Melissa said she didn't feel like that was an excuse for her behavior. "No s--t! So that's right, Dolores? That's right, how she's treating her family? You're losing your minds!" Melissa exclaimed. "She's the one who claims, 'I love family, I love family,' and then [she] f--king goes 'boom' as soon as you sit next to her? Bulls--t, you know it. Bulls--t. You want family, you treat me with respect or you get no family."

Part 1 of the RHONJ Season 9 reunion ended with another intense moment between Teresa and Jackie, which we will see unfold in an all-new episode Wednesday at 9/8c. For now, check out a preview of Part 2 of the reunion, below.

Teresa Giudice Weighs in on Joe's Pending Deportation
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