The 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star opens up to ET about the new season, which apparently features some harsh truths.
Melissa Gorga says, prepare for some surprising truths to be revealed on The Real Housewives of New Jersey's 10th season.
"This season, you’re going to have a lot of truth," Melissa teases to ET. "Things you’ve watched in previous seasons, you’re going to see the truth come out. Things Teresa [Giudice] was hiding, things I was hiding. It all comes out."
“It’s definitely the most honest season yet," she adds. "It's raw and honest."
A big through line for season 10 will be Melissa's sister-in-law, Teresa, facing the reality that her husband, Joe, may never be able to live in the United States again. Earlier this year, a judge ordered for him to be deported to his native Italy after finishing a three-year prison sentence for his federal fraud conviction in 2014.
"I mean, obviously there's a lot of drama with Teresa and what she's going through, and deportation, and the rumors that are going on with her," Melissa notes, referencing allegations of infidelity that have floated around since Joe entered prison, which Teresa has denied.
"I feel like this year -- especially for her -- she’s unraveling," Melissa offers. "She’s kind of unraveling and there's so much going on, and she’s making a couple decisions that are not the smartest, and that's where I come in and I have to, like, man up with her and that’s where I'm happy that our relationship is where it is, because I let her know when I think she's wrong now and I put my foot down and I tell her that I think she's out of control."
"She's going through a lot," she adds. "I think you're gonna see her spiral a little bit this season."
Melissa says season 10, in a way, feels like "deja vu all over again," having to defend herself to Teresa and prove her "loyalty" as family. It's been a sticking point for the duo since Melissa joined the show in season three. They had seemingly worked through their issues, until season nine, when Jackie Goldschneider joined the cast and ruffled Teresa's feathers.
"I get put in the middle constantly, because Teresa is my family, but yet, I am really good friends with Jackie and Margaret [Josephs]," she says. "So, I get caught up in some issues with that, too. And, for me, it’s always hard, because I don't always agree with everything Teresa does or says, but she’s my family and I’ll back her up. So, it's hard for me to kind of find that line in between, you know?"
"After a while, I get really sick of having to try to prove myself, like, I wanted to go tell everyone to go scratch because it's super annoying to constantly have to prove myself all the time, you know?" she adds.
The whole season won’t be about Teresa’s troubles, though. Melissa promises "a lot of drama" between all the ladies for the fans.
"We just hate each other so much that -- no…," she offers, with a laugh. "We're really, we're, like, all over the place."
Melissa finds herself facing off with the other season nine newbie, Jennifer Aydin, multiple times this year.
"She does these ridiculous, stupid things, to be honest with you, and then tries to stand there and explain why she did them and tries to make sense out of what she did, when there is no sense in what she did," Melissa explains. "It makes zero sense. And she tries to talk her way out of it and use her, like, she puts this voice on like, 'Come on, ladies, let’s just have some fun!' And we’re like, 'Well, actually, no, you're not funny.' It’s, like, I don't let her get away with anything."
"It took me a while to navigate her and try to figure out, is this girl doing this for attention?" she asks. "Like, she has to know what she's saying is ridiculous. And then I started to tell myself, 'No. I think she thinks she’s right.' And so that’s where I just need to put her in her place and let her know that, sometimes she speaks out of both ends of her mouth. And she can be extremely rude at times to the point where it’s actually mind-boggling how rude she’s being to somebody."
Overall, Melissa says she feels like she’s found her voice and herself. It all came together as she turned 40, which she’s calling "the best time of my life." Her tagline this season is, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, I don’t think I look 40 at all."
"I've come into my own, I own my own business now, I'm very independent," she says. "I was so nervous coming up to 40, and I think with that, it was more of a number thing with me, just putting the four in front was stressing me out. And I felt like I was letting go of my 30s, and it was stressing me out, but it's actually, you know, you'll see me kind of go through it."
Part of that "going through it" includes a discussion with her husband, Joe, on whether to have more kids. The couple has three already, 14-year-old Antonia, 12-year-old Gino and 9-year-old Joey.
"It's definitely, like, s**t or get off the pot," she says of adding another to their brood. "So, Joe and I have been talking about it, and we know, obviously, my biological clock is ticking, so it's, like, now or never. So, you will see us go through the process of going to the doctors to find out if I'm even able to do it or not."
"It's a little scary, there's some twists and turns with that, too," she adds.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s 10th season premieres Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
RELATED CONTENT:
