The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Margaret Josephs has always maintained that she’s about as loyal a friend as there can be, and she says that explains how she handled Teresa Giudice’s wedding.
Teresa wed her now-husband, Luis Ruelas, in a lavish August wedding in front of their closest family and friends.
While many friends and several RHONJ co-stars were present for their special day, Teresa’s brother, Joe Gorga, and his wife, Melissa Gorga, were notably absent from the event due to current strains in their relationship with Teresa.
As longtime RHONJ fans know, Margaret is close with Melissa and can generally be found on her side of the couch (at reunions, at least.)
And according to Margaret, their close bond led her to leave Teresa’s wedding early on in the celebration.
While appearing on a live taping for the Virtual Reali-Tea podcast, Margaret shared her experience and revealed she chose to stand in solidarity with Melissa over her drama with Teresa.
RHONJ’s Margaret Josephs explains early departure from Teresa Giudice’s wedding
During her panel conversation with the podcast, Margaret shared that she attended Teresa and Luis’ wedding “for a little while.”
She went on to explain why she stayed for such a short amount of time.
“I tried to do the best for all parties involved,” she added. “I wanted to be supportive of Teresa, but Melissa and Joe weren’t there, and I’m so close with them, and I couldn’t dance the night away knowing my closest friends are not doing well.”
Melissa and Joe skipped out on Teresa’s wedding after alleging she spread vicious cheating rumor
As previously reported by Monsters and Critics, there was some serious tension between Teresa and her sister-in-law while filming for the upcoming Season 13.
While filming, Melissa reportedly confronted Teresa after she allegedly told Joe a rumor that Melissa had cheated on him with family friend Nick Barrotta.
The confrontation led to a screaming match between the women, which will likely be shown in full when the new season drops.
After their tense battle, Joe and Melissa made the joint decision to skip Teresa’s wedding and have been maintaining their distance ever since.
A source also shared with PEOPLE that the “healthiest” way for Melissa and Joe to handle the continued drama was to “walk away.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is currently on hiatus.