The April 28 episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey was supposed to center around Teresa Giudice‘s love life — it’s called “Teresa In Love” after all — but Joe Gorga must have wanted to secure his wife, Melissa Gorga‘s, spot on the show or something, because he took matters into his own hands and made sure the cameras were on him at all times.
After Joe told everyone that Teresa was “in love” with her new boyfriend, Luis Ruelas — she actually got mad at him for spilling so many details about her new romance — he then focused his attention on Dolores Catania when everyone gathered at Michelle Pais‘ house for a party.
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Believe it or not, Joe, 46, called Dolores, 50, a “broken woman” in front of everyone, when the topic of her relationship with David Principe came up. Everyone had heard that David bought her a new car for her birthday and they felt as though it was David’s way of “stalling” or “postponing” an engagement.
Dolores wasn’t aware of the fact that everyone was discussing her relationship until Joe brought it up. Dolores kept insisting that she’s “happy” with her current situation with David, but Joe wasn’t convinced. He said she only feels that way because she’s “broken” after her ex-husband, Frank Catania, cheated on her.
“Listen, I love Frank Catania but he was doing his thing,” Joe said in front of the party, which included the entire cast and Frank. “Listen, hold on, I love you like a brother, but you ruined her.”
“I don’t think I’m ruined!” Dolores said, as Melissa looked on with a horrified expression on her face. “This is a broken woman,” Joe continued before Margaret Josephs cut him off and said he was acting “chauvinistic”.
Jennifer Aydin and Jackie Goldschneider also looked disgusted by Joe’s comments, and Jackie wondered whether Joe’s sentiments were really a message for Melissa, who’s been trying to break out from the traditional roles in their marriage.
“Joe may look like he’s talking to Dolores, but I think he’s trying to send a message to Melissa. [He’s saying,] ‘You might think that you want all this independence, but without a man stabilizing you and calling the shots, you’re going to be broken too’,” Jackie said in her private confessional.
Afterwards, when the episode went back to the party, Joe was seen harping even more on how he believes Dolores is broken, so she called him a “Neanderthal.”
“If I got cheated on, if Melissa cheated on me, I’d be broken,” Joe tried to explain. “I’d be like, ‘Listen, I don’t need no body. I like my space.’ Just like Dolores.”
Joe then turned to Dolores and asked her if she wants to be “loved”. She said, “I feel loved!”, but he asked, “By who?”, to which she clapped back and said, “By David! I’m happy where I am right now.”
Then, when Melissa told Dolores that everyone was trying to figure out why David bought her a car instead of a ring, she bugged out and said she was leaving the party. She also threw some F-bombs and then stormed out.
Want more drama? New episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey air Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo.