The drama continues between the Gorga and Giudice families this season. The Season 12 reunion included a storm off and not from an actual Housewife.
Last week, it was reported by RHONJ super villain Kim DePaola that Joe Gorga stormed off stage during the reunion. She was a guest on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast, where she shared the news of his set exit.
Now it has been confirmed that this rumor is accurate, and we have details on what made Joe so angry that he walked out of the reunion.
Andy called the reunion ‘upsetting,’ and now we know why
In an exclusive new interview, fans are finding out why Joe left the reunion, with sister Teresa chasing after him. Joe Gorga had a heated conversation about his relationship with his niece and goddaughter, Gia Giudice, after a season of turmoil between the two over Joe’s negative comments about Gia’s father, Joe Giudice.
A source with knowledge of the reunion events said Joe was “so upset over the family drama with Gia” that he yelled, “I quit. It’s not worth it. This is my family. I’m done!” before exiting filming. Andy Cohen begged Joe’s sister, Teresa Giudice, to follow him, “Go get your brother. We cannot have him quitting the show. Go get him.”
No word on whether or not the conversation between Joe and Tre was filmed, but it was reported that Joe didn’t actually quit the show. Multiple sources stated that Gia didn’t film for the reunion, despite having her own confessionals this season, almost like a “friend of” in the Housewives universe.
Kim D’s interview reported much of what has not been revealed. “[Joe] storms off the stage [during the reunion]. He storms off, and Andy makes Teresa go chasing after him,” Kim told David Yontef. “I heard it was ugly. Like, really bad. Really bad. Joe Gorga is really over it. He just really is over it.”
According to Kim, the incident concerned Andy, who reportedly said, “’We can’t lose this guy.’ I guess something must have happened that Andy felt Teresa needed to go get him,” she said of the “ugly reunion,” noting that she doesn’t think Joe is “leaving the show for good.”
Gia and her Zio Joe have not repaired their relationship
Joe has had issues with Joe Giudice ever since Teresa had to serve time in prison due to his fraudulent practices. Joe Gorga has been very vocal about blaming his ex-brother-in-law for his parents’ deaths, saying that the stress of Teresa being in jail weakened their health.
Unfortunately, that affected his relationships with Teresa’s daughters, Gia, Gabriella, Milania, and Audriana. Gia had a blow-up fight with her Zio Joe in a recent episode when they started talking about her father. They soon made up afterward, but Joe was visibly heartbroken over their fight.
While appearing on Melissa Pfeister’s Side Piece podcast in March, Joe admitted that he was shocked by his fight with Gia and revealed that he didn’t film for some time due to the altercation and actually considered leaving the show entirely.
“I’ll deal with my sister. I’ll deal with my brother-in-law. I’ll deal with all that nonsense, right? But not my niece. You know what that did to me?” he said. “I wasn’t filming after that. I didn’t film for, I don’t think I filmed for a month. Three weeks. I was quitting…. I was like, ‘I’m not doing this. I’m not going to sit on the show and argue with my nieces now.”
As for where they stood at that time, Joe said, “We’re okay. I mean, listen. Is it okay? I mean, deep down inside you look at ’em like, ‘do you really feel that way?’”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.