Melissa Gorga, Joe Gorga Skipped Teresa Giudice's Wedding After 'Unforgivable' Betrayal: Sources

Mar. 15, 2025

PEOPLE previously confirmed on Friday that the Gorgas wouldn’t be attending Giudice and Ruelas’s nuptials, though questions as to just what happened remained up in the air at the time.

Two sources now tell PEOPLE exclusively what was behind their absence, explaining that Joe and Melissa had been planning on attending the wedding up until Thursday night, when false rumors about their marriage surfaced as the cameras rolled. Teresa’s part in the matter and Luis’s behavior amid their back and forth ultimately changed the Gorgas' minds.

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“Teresa betrayed them in a way that’s unforgivable,” one source reveals. “They’re not going to celebrate Teresa’s new marriage when all she does is try to tear apart theirs.”

“It’s telling that Teresa didn’t have one relative at her wedding,” notes the source,pointing to the absence of estranged cousins Kathy Wakile and Rosie Pierri too. “But that’s the choice Teresa made.”

Rob Kim/Getty

“Viewers will see, but after the continued attacks, it’s clear the healthiest thing for Joe and Melissa to do is walk away,” the insider says. “They just want to find peace, especially for their three children.”

“Melissa and Joe’s efforts to make family a priority with Teresa are exhausted,” the insider adds. “Sometimes removing the toxic energy from your life is the only way forward.”

Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas with Melissa and Joe Gorga.Teresa Giudice/Instagram

The Gorgas weren’t the only ones who skipped Giudice and Ruelas’s wedding. Her best friendDina Manzowas also absent, the formerRHONJstar — once said to be a bridesmaid — and her husband Dave Cantin missing the big day.

Rumors have been flying about a possible fallout between the two, others speculating that Manzo, who famously quitRHONJ, simply didn’t want to be on camera.

No official reason has been given as to their absence but as the wedding bells chimed, Manzo shared a cryptic post on Instagram about having “the courage to know when to end things.”

Dina Manzo/Instagram

Giudice and Ruelas tied the knot on Saturday in front of 220 guests at thePark Chateau Estate & Gardensin East Brunswick, New Jersey. Theevent was filmed for a special set to air on Bravo.

The Realtalk show host Loni Love, recently a guest onWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohenalongside Giudice, also made the cut.

Aydin, Catania and the Giudice girls were all bridesmaids, butTeresa famously made a point not to include Melissa, explaining at theRHONJseason 12 reunion “we’re not close. … we don’t have a relationship.”

“It’s sad for me,” Melissa told Teresa there. “We have a lot of memories, even if we’re not close. … You remember who’s been here through all the s— for the last 20 years. Me. … We have history, me and you. And I love you very much and I’m happy for you but I think you should remember what family is.”

Teresa Giudice, Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga.Paul Zimmerman/Getty

Joe is Teresa’s only sibling. Throughout the years onRHONJ, viewers have seen the ups and downs between Teresa and the Gorgas, which began well before the Bravo cameras even started rolling (who could forget Teresa’s infamous retelling of her decision to throw Melissa’s sprinkle cookies in the garbage?).

The Gorgas have long denied that, Melissa saying in the recent tell-allNot All Diamonds and Roséthat casting producers reached out to her with an inquiry and she talked with Teresa about it before she ever even interviewed.

Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice.Karolina Wojtasik/Peacock/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

It only got worse from there, escalating each season. The first year, Teresa accused Melissa of being a gold-digger only interested in her brother for money. The second, Melissa was accused of being a former stripper and the third, cheating on Joe — two sets of false rumors that Joe and Melissa alleged Teresa was behind (Teresa denied being aware of either).

At the height of their troubles, in season 5, a physical fight broke out between the two men while at a family retreat meant to mend their relationship after Joe Gorga called his sister “scum” during a therapy session. “Please stop hurting us,” Melissa famously pled to Teresa, who insisted that Melissa had turned her brother against him. “Stick with your blood,” Teresa told him.

Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga.Astrid Stawiarz/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

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But beforeTeresa went away for an 11-month prison sentence, the family seemed to bond, Joe and Melissa stepping in to help the Giudice girls in Teresa’s absence. Upon her return home in 2015, the two women agreed to put their disagreements behind them and made a pact not to fight. “I just want us to get back to how we were when you first met Joey,” Teresa told Melissa in season 7, Melissa saying, “I feel the same way.”

Whether or not that pact was genuine, it lasted for years. Sure, the two had some disagreements, like whenthey opened a since-closed family pizzeria togetheror whenTeresa criticized Joe for not spending enough time with their parents. But mostly, any back-and-forths never broke them apart until the season 12 reunion when it was revealed the two still had underlying resentments that they weren’t addressing.

It’s unclear how those bonds will play out in season 13. Melissa revealed in April that she and Joehadn’t spoken to Teresasince the reunion, stating onWWHLthat her sister-in-law has “a harder time being accountable for her actions.”

Teresa’s wedding special is expected to air on Bravo next year, following the finale ofRHONJ’s 13th season.

source: people.com