Melissa Gorga spoke out about the state of her marriage during a confessional seen during the season finale of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
She claimed that she was unsure how she and Joe would move forward as a couple after hitting a major bump in their relationship. The couple was seen arguing a lot throughout Season 11 as Melissa wanted to become more independent, and Joe wanted their life to remain the same.
“I don’t want to die unhappy,” Melissa explained.
“I wanna feel fulfilled. Not just as a mom. And I’ve never seen Joe fight so hard against something that I want,” she lamented.
“So I am feeling really scared about our relationship because I’ve never felt this exhaustion and feeling of giving up,” Melissa concluded.
After one of Joe’s most heartbreaking comments during this season, he admitted to his wife of almost two decades they had grown apart.
What caused Joe and Melissa’s relationship issues?
Melissa shared that the couple went through a rough year-and-a-half shortly after the pandemic began.
She admitted in an interview with Page Six that they were working through personal issues.
“I feel like as I become more and more independent in certain ways, it really is a struggle for him. I hate that. It shouldn’t be a struggle and it really is. And we really go through it and we’re very raw and real and honest with it. So you’re going to have to see how that all unfolds. But it’s very real for us,” she claimed.
“We’re fighting for our marriage and we’re fighting to keep it strong. And it’s not easy. It’s really not easy. It’s not. And we’re one of the longest standing Housewives couples. So whatever we’re doing, I’m going to pat us on the back. Our kids are happy. Everybody’s living. So we’re doing good. It’s just, it’s a struggle. It’s been a little bit more of a struggle the last two years than it’s ever been, and we’re honest about it,” Melissa concluded.
Melissa and Joe are parents to three children: Antonia, 15, Gino, 13, and Joey, 10.
Her statement on the finale came after an on-camera fight that shocked their co-stars
The couple’s most recent disagreement came after Melissa walked ahead of Joe to get to their vehicle at the end of the night. This caused Joe to remark that Melissa was no longer the stay-at-home housewife he married.
Melissa told Joe that he was “spoiled” and that she “kissed his a**” for years.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.