Lara Sophia 
This week’s episode of RHONJ picks up in the aftermath of Melissa and Joe’s Luau party.
It’s the morning after Melissa and Joe’s rager, with most of the men severely hungover. I bet John Fuda is regretting letting the guys wax his chest. That must have hurt like a b–ch.
At the Gorgas house, Melissa, Joe B, Jackie, Evan, and Joe discuss how drunk bill was. Joe notes that Bill couldn’t even walk by himself, which Margaret thinks is unbecoming. Jackie says that Jen and Bill were equally wasted, adding that she “doesn’t think they can be around each other either way.” Mean girl. She then tells the group that Bill and Jen aren’t doing good, but it seems no one has much sympathy for the Aydins, particularly mean girl Marge.
Speaking of the Aydins, their house guests, Danielle, Nate, Teresa, and Louie, are enjoying a traditional Turkish breakfast. Danielle admits she got pissed after Melissa told her that Jackie, Marge, and Rachel were talking about her issues with her brother. According to Melissa, the ladies think there’s more to the story than what Danielle is saying. Jennifer A confirms that is the case at breakfast, saying that Jackie said: “she didn’t buy [Danielle’s] story.”
Danielle’s relationship with her brother is the hot topic of the morning. Not only are the Gorgas and their guests talking about it, but so are Dolores, Rachel, and Jen F as they enjoy their morning coffee. Everyone thinks there’s more to the story than just a fallout over Instagram.
Back at the Aydins, Teresa, Jen, and Danielle agree that Rachel is a “sh-t stirrer” for telling Margaret about their warning concerning Marge’s arsenal. Danielle insists that Rachel completely twisted what she said about Marge.
Then Teresa says Margaret made her feel bad when she peppered her about not inviting Melissa’s mom to her wedding. At the Gorgas, Marge tells Melissa that Jen F asked Teresa about not inviting her mom to the wedding. According to Marge, Teresa confirmed that the snub was not an oversight and that Teresa claims she has a history with Melissa’s mom. Melissa angrily says that Teresa can never say anything nice about her mother. She insists that her mom and Teresa have never had any beef, so why is she making it out to be like that? However, we all know the truth. Melissa’s mom and her sisters (and her entire family, tbh) have spent the last ten years bashing Teresa on social media and liking mean comments about her. Jackie chimes in, saying that Teresa purposely picks the one topic that will get Melissa rilled up. Whatever, Jackie.
In a flashback scene from the party, we see that Marge already told Melissa all about Teresa’s comments, so why are they rehashing it at breakfast? In the flashback clip, Melissa says her mother has been nothing but good to Teresa and “shame” on Teresa for saying anything different. Oddly enough, it seems that Dolores has Melissa’s back in this situation. In her confessional, she says she wishes Teresa never brought up Melissa’s mom because everyone knows kids and parents are off limits. That’s funny because Melissa badmouths her nieces in her confessionals, and then Joe throws his deceased parents under the bus for how they allegedly treated Melissa during the early years of their marriage. If Joe and Melissa don’t play by the rules, why should anyone else?
Margaret then tells Melissa that Louie went looking for her mom last night to invite her to the wedding, but Melissa isn’t buying it. She thinks Louie is just doing it to make himself look good, not because he thinks Teresa was in the wrong. Joe B and Joey G believe that Louie is trying to make himself look like the good guy.
In Joey G’s confessional, he says he loved Louie in the beginning and was excited for him to be his new brother-in-law. In a flashback scene, Joey tells Teresa that “Louie blows him away.” Joey tells the camera that he was “happy” for Teresa and Louie before the camera goes back to the Gorga’s breakfast table, where Joey claims that some days Louie is nice, and other days he’s a “dick.”
A producer then asks Joe, in his confessional, “Did something happen between you and Louie?” Joe replies, “Yes,” but doesn’t offer any details.
Thankfully Teresa does. At the Aydins, Teresa explains where the “shift” in her relationship with Melissa and Joe occurred. At first, Teresa is hesitant to reveal the truth, but she eventually divulges the information, noting that she’s sick of covering for her brother. According to Teresa, she’s been protecting Joey for years to “keep the peace,” and she is finally “tired of it.”
Teresa explains that she and Louie had a falling out with Melissa and Joe over a business deal where Louie lost $250k. In her confessional, Teresa says that Joey came up with this idea for a pizza over, and he pitched it to Louie because he wanted to do it with her like a brother-sister project. So, Louie agreed and put out $250k. Then Teresa wasn’t sure about mixing family and money. Louie spoke to his attorney about what percentage to give Joey; they came up with 5% since Joey wasn’t putting any money into the venture. Joey went nuts over the offer because he wanted 50 % of the company. Louie says he never talked to Joey about it any further because he can’t have conversations with people who deflect conversations. Teresa adds that she eventually called her brother and asked him what the hell he was going. She told Joey if he wanted half of the company, he had to put half in, but Joey didn’t want to do that. So, Louie just took the loss.
As for Joey, he claims that’s why he was so angry with Louie last season and into this season. He says he never brought it up because he didn’t want to “bury his sister.” Joey then tells his house guests that Louie screwed him with the pizza over the business and that Teresa jumped ship to Louie’s side. Sure, Jan. Joey explains that he wanted half because it was he and his sister doing the pizza ovens to honor their late father and call it Nonno’s Pizza. He adds that they got Joey’s nephew ( on Melissa’s side of the family) involved, and they ordered the pizza ovens with Louie putting the money out. On top of that, Joe says that one day his nephew came over and said that Louie ordered boxes for the ovens and that Teresa did a photo shoot with her daughters for the box. He also claims that Teresa and Louie changed the name to Skinny Italian. Joet says he was pushed out of the project and screwed over by his sister and Louie.
Joey then says that Teresa called him out for not putting up the money for the pizza oven, and he balks at the insinuation he couldn’t put up $250k. Well, Joey, if you could have put up the money, then why didn’t you? Melissa then says Teresa is so “selfish” and that she “doesn’t want to share.” Joe notes that he and Teresa began arguing, with Teresa pointing out why you don’t do business with family. However, Joe says he disagrees and that you can do business with family as long as you into it with trust and the understanding you’re not going to cheat someone. He then tells his wife and friends that he wishes Teresa would make things right. Yet, Margaret claims that Teresa keeps doing things that make that impossible as Melissa pretends to wipe a tear from her eye.
In her confessional, Melissa breaks down in tears claiming she and Joe were so hopeful for a new beginning with Teresa. But says Teresa and Louie stole that from Joey, and now he has no one. At the breakfast table, both Marge and Melissa break into tears.
Later that day, everyone in the cast meets up at Rachel’s shore house for a BBQ. The party is pretty much in full swing, with Jackie telling Dolores that Jennifer’s marriage to Bill isn’t doing good. Dolores is sad to hear that but says she had no idea since being on the outs with Jennifer.
The camera moves to the guys with Joey G checking out the wax job he did to John F’s chest. Joey says he could have never initiated Louie like that because he would have cried like a little bitch. John asks Joey if he saw Louie’s Instagram video from the day prior and proceeds to show him. In the video, Louie, along with Nate, Jeff, and Bill, talk about forgiveness and how important it is. Joey isn’t buying it. Instead, hIM, Evan, Joe B, and John decided to make their own video mocking Louie’s video.
Jen F then asks Melissa how she is doing since she seemed upset the night before. Melissa said she’s upset over Teresa not inviting her mom to the wedding and claiming they have a past. The 43-year-old asks Dolores if she knows what Teresa’s reasoning is, to which Dolores explains that Teresa said that if she invites Melissa’s mom, she then has to invite other members of the Marco family. Jackie doesn’t understand the big deal about inviting five more people. Hey Jackie, maybe you would understand if you knew all the shit Melissa’s family has done to Teresa over the years, but you don’t want to have that conversation. Melissa says she doesn’t understand Teresa’s mindset, saying if she’s happy, why not just do the right thing and cover all her bases by inviting everyone she knows she should?
It seems that Jen F can’t help but stir the pot because she then tells the ladies that Danielle is upset the group was talking behind her back and questioning the reasoning behind her fallout with her brother. Marge says Danielle was the one talking behind her back, not the other way around.
The conversation quickly ends when Teresa, Danielle, Jennifer, and their men arrive at the party. The group makes their way around the party, saying hello to everyone. Jennifer and Dolores agree to meet for coffee during the week in order to catch up away from everyone else.
Marge and Danielle bump into each other at the bar, and Danielle suggests they have a little chat about the drama from Melissa and Joe’s party. Margaret says she’s confused by what Rachel told her Danielle said about her having an arsenal and so on. Danielle says she NEVER went to Rachel to bad mouth Marge when that’s the case. She then pulls Rachel into the conversation and asks Rachel why it seems like she told Marge that Danielle was attacking her character. Rachel says that she and Danielle talked about the claims that Marge has an arsenal, but Danielle notes that Rachel threw her under the bus to Marge. Danielle says all she did was voice her worries that she hopes the claims about Marge aren’t true – she never said any of it was, which isn’t what Rachel relayed to Marge. The Macbeth Collection owner says that she takes issues with Jennifer and Teresa meeting with her ex-best friend, claiming that’s what someone does when they are building an arsenal. Danielle insists that she and Rachel were both chit-chatting about everything they heard about Marge and nothing more. Rachel plays dumb, and Danielle’s body language makes it clear she’s not good with Rachel despite saying she is.
The party is in full swing. Jen F has a conversation with Louie and Teresa, where she admits she was happy to hear Louie was open to inviting Melissa’s mom to the wedding. Louie says he gets the family issues because he spent years on the outs with his sister due to a bad relationship he was in, and he doesn’t want that for Teresa. Teresa adds that if Joey would have called her about not inviting Melissa’s mom to the wedding and telling her how it hurt him and Melissa, she would have happily invited Donna. Jen F points out that Melissa is under the impression that her mother might have done something wrong to Teresa, who then admits that there is a history between both families. Jackie overhears the conversation and tells Dolores she can’t listen to Teresa’s lies after seeing Melissa cry earlier today.
Teresa insists her not inviting Melissa’s mom was not a slight. She then asks Louie to talk to Melissa about this because it’s stressing her out. Louie tells Melissa that her mom has been nothing but kind to him and his sons, with Melissa adding that her mom is obsessed with him. Meanwhile, Teresa walks into Jackie, Jennifer, and Dolores, having a conversation about how upset Joe and Melissa are that Teresa didn’t invite Donna to the wedding. Teresa is annoyed that people are talking about this and says that if Joe and Melissa have an issue with her decision, they should have come to her directly. Jackie tells Teresa that Melissa is very upset over Teresa’s claim that there’s a history with her mom. She adds that Melissa was crying. However, Teresa is over the conversation, saying that Melissa should call her if she has an issue with the guest list for her wedding. Teresa bites back at Jackie, saying she has a lot to say about everyone. Danielle then flips the conversation to tell the group that she was upset to hear that they were talking about her and her brother the night before. She insists that she has been nothing but honest with the group concerning her and her brother’s issues. Jen F says the story seems to be missing pieces because to cut someone off over Instagram is cuckoo. Danielle agrees.
Jackie, on the other hand, isn’t buying Danielle’s story. She says as someone who also had a falling out with a sibling, there has to be more to the story. Danielle insists that Jackie is reaching and that she’s telling the whole story whether or not the ladies believe her. Margaret dubs Danielle a drama queen, with Jackie saying she doesn’t understand how someone gets upset over people asking questions. Danielle leaves the party and insists she’s not a liar.
In her confessional, Margaret threatens to call Danielle’s brother and sister-in-law to get some dirt on her, saying maybe they will tell her some stories about Danielle. Gross. Rachel tells Teresa and Jennifer A that she is so upset that Danielle left. But Teresa says she gets it and expresses her anger at Jackie. Teresa says Melissa and Joey should have come directly to her to voice their anger over Donna not getting invited to the wedding instead of them telling everyone in the group but her and Louie. Rachel says that Donna should have been invited from the beginning out of respect for Melissa and Joe, but Teresa says Rachel should learn the whole story before opening her mouth. Teresa calls Rachel a shit-starter.
Teresa goes to find Melissa and questions why everyone is saying there’s an issue between them. Melissa explains that she’s upset over Teresa, saying she has issues with her mom. Teresa clarifies that she simply said there’s a history with Melissa’s family. Louie then scolds Teresa for coming over and interrupting his conversation with Melissa, claiming that she’s not making any sense. Melissa then makes some digs about Louie and claims he has an anger problem which is rich coming from her, considering how Joey G flies off the handle in the blind of an eye. As Teresa walks away, Joey G joins the conversation, and Louie invites him to sit down.
Louie tells Melissa and Joe that he’s sorry for the misstep in not inviting Donna to the wedding and that they didn’t mean any harm by it. Melissa admits she was hurt over the snub. Joe says he was hurt, too, and Louie points out that Teresa is also hurt by the current state of their relationship as brother and sister. Louie says he wants peace. Melissa explains that it’s hard when is the Teresa is one causing all the hurt. Joe notes that they all went backward.
Across the party, Teresa tells Margaret and the other ladies that Joey needs therapy because he keeps blaming her for everything. Teresa then says Melissa has daddy issues. This statement pisses off Jackie. The OG tells Jackie to “shut the f–k up” and to “get out of my f–king face.” However, Jackie doubles down, saying it’s wrong to say someone has daddy issues when they lost their father in a car accident. Teresa doesn’t see it and says Melissa has attachment issues with Joey because of her own father’s slick ways. In her confessional, Teresa explains that Melissa also claimed to have daddy issues because her dad would run around on her mom and disappear for weeks at a time. This is why Melissa always had a leash on Joey.
Teresa then explains that her own daughters have daddy issues because of what they went through with their dad being in jail for a chunk of their childhood and then being deported to Italy. Jackie claims that Teresa’s anger is displaced and that she’s not doing anything.
Everyone at the party is shocked by what is going down. Melissa goes to find out what’s going on with the rest of the girls. Louie then tells Joey that he is trying to be the best stepfather to his nieces and wears their Nonno pajamas to bring comfort to the girls and remind them of their grandfather. Teresa joins Louie and Joe, and almost instantaneously, sparks fly between the siblings. Louie tells them not to start fighting; however, Joey has no interest in listening to Louie despite Teresa explaining that this is what the therapist has told them to do.
Teresa tells Joe that he could have just told her that he and Melissa wanted Donna invited to the wedding, and she would have made it happen instead of him telling all these strangers how angry he is over it. The mom of four says she wants to hear from her brother directly instead of through a bunch of people in their friend group. Joe explains that he’s still upset that Teresa didn’t ask Melissa to be a bridesmaid. He claims he called Gia and Louie, begging them to encourage Teresa to change her mind for the sake of their family, but she didn’t. Joey says he’s so mad, and Teresa agrees, saying so is she. According to Teresa, she thinks that Joey and Melissa should have had her back more. Teresa explains that Margaret is Melissa’s good friend and that Melissa and Joe could have shut her down, but they didn’t.
Melissa joins the conversation. Teresa tells Melissa the reason she didn’t initially invite her to be a bridesmaid. Melissa fires back, saying that Teresa should have stuck up for Joey and put Jennifer A in her place when she bashed him. Joe says Teresa doesn’t understand, and she admits she must not be. Melissa tells Teresa to stop talking “bullshit” and be real, which sets Teresa off. She decides to walk away, which leads Melissa to make a dig that this is what Teresa always does when she’s wrong. Louie chimes in that Teresa isn’t wrong in this instance. Melissa claims she proves Teresa wrong every time, and she gets so mad over it. Before leaving, Teresa asks Louie to fix this, but he only agrees to do so if Teresa stays.
Teresa circles back to Joe, Melissa, and Louie, saying that she feels sorry for her brother because he’s clearly tired from all of this. Melissa fires back that she’s the one always holding Joey up because of how much Teresa hurts him, but Teresa isn’t buying it. She says that Melissa should make it better, but Melissa believes that Teresa has deep hate in her heart, and she can’t fix that. Joe asks Teresa if she’s happy, and she confirms that she is, so Joey asks why she’s so hateful. Teresa is flabbergasted and says it’s not true.
“I’ve been happy for a very long time,” Joey claims to which Teresa says, “I don’t think so.” She adds that if Joey was truly happy, he’s want to make peace and for their family to be whole. Melissa interjects that Teresa is the one who has kept them out of the family, not the other way around. Louie accuses Joe of “playing up” the fact that he was hurt by Jennifer calling him a “bitch boy” and Teresa agreeing.
Joey tells Louie to shut up and claims he “f–ked” him over. Melissa mocks Teresa, saying they are going to go get therapy because they are so unhappy as she gets up to join Joey. Teresa tells Joey he could change being a disappointment to their family, then he mocks Teresa as being the matriarch of the Gorga family as he and Melissa exit the party.
While Jackie feels bad for Melissa and says, Teresa will never change because she can’t recognize that she’s the problem. Jennifer sees it another way and says that Joe and Melissa will take any opportunity to make Teresa look bad. Jen notes that Melissa puts on a sweet little face and gets away with it, calling Melissa a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Rachel and Marge go over to talk with Louie and Teresa. Teresa tries to explain her point to Marge, who insists that Melissa did stick up for her. Louie gets upset, noting that he can’t take it anymore. He’s also upset over the fact that Teresa isn’t listening to anyone and is instead talking over them. He says Joey is doing the same thing. This is why they can’t make any headway because neither will just shut up and listen to the other. Louie says that Teresa and Joey have the “same exact problem”; they get stuck on a loop and can’t get off it. Teresa disagrees.
Meanwhile, Joey has to return to the party to get Louie to move his car because it’s blocking Melissa in. He asks Louie to move his car, and he agrees, but Joe spoils things and questions why Teresa and Louie are sitting with Marge if she’s “so dirty.” Louie tells Teresa to not engage with Joey despite him taunting him and her. He tells Joe to calm down before they too riled up and do something they will regret.
Louie goes to move the car. He tells Melissa and Joe that Teresa was just trying to tell them how she felt, and she knows she can be wrong. Melissa says she’s always the scapegoat for their family issues. Louie tells Melissa and Joe they are playing ping-pong with bullshit at this point. Teresa tells Margaret that Melissa should want to make things right between her and Joey because they are each other’s, only siblings. Marge says that Melissa does want that, but Teresa isn’t buying it.
The episode wraps with Louie saying he doesn’t want to see this family learn the hard way how much they mean to each other. Louie insists he and Teresa want them in their lives, but Gorgas don’t seem to care at all.
RHONJ airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm on Bravo.
