Why 'RHONJ' star Melissa Gorga has 'given up' trying to defend herself

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Melissa Gorga doesn’t feel the need to prove herself to anybody, at this point.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member has long been compared to her sister-in-law Teresa Giudice, but given their contentious relationship over the years and incessant accusations from fans, Gorga has “given up” on trying to convince anyone that her way is the right way.

Speaking with In The Know for its pop culture interview series We Should Talk, Gorga opened up about all things RHONJ Season 12, including her continued feud with Jennifer Aydin, whether she thinks the group actually gangs up on her, where she stands on Bill Aydin’s affair coming to light, and where she thinks Teresa Giudice’s head is, when it comes to her future on the show.

Listen to Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga’s full episode of We Should Talk here, and keep reading for highlights from the interview:

On what she thinks about Teresa Giudice’s future on the show: I personally think that if Luis has the means for it and they want to get married and be happily ever after, he should pull her off and they should go. That’s how they would be happiest. If she loves it, then no! But, she clearly says all the time [that] she hates it, so she doesn’t need to do it, and I don’t think she should.

On being “over” whether or not Teresa Giudice defends her and Joe Gorga enough: Mentally, I think we’ve given up. If I’m being honest, we don’t care. We’ve given up! We can only say it so many times. I don’t think we even have to prove that to anyone anymore, to be honest. I think it was more when the fans wouldn’t understand, or the people watching would be like, “How could you not defend…?” I’m like, “Is anyone watching the same show that we’re watching?” I think we’re at the point where we don’t feel like we have to defend ourselves. I think everybody knows exactly what they’re watching. Whether you’re a stan for whoever, you know what you’re watching — and that’s it. We don’t feel like we need to defend it.

On Margaret bringing up Jennifer Aydin’s husband’s affair on camera: It was not new information. It was something that we all knew, and you heard Margaret come out with it in Cabo. At that point, we all already knew. We knew the second Jennifer was joining the show, whenever that was. We all knew. We don’t want to go down that path. Nobody wants to go down that path; nobody wants to hurt that family. There’s children involved! I would never. It’s something that we don’t want to do, but I think Margaret’s back was up against the wall when she was really trying to explain, “Why is your husband such a great person? How is he any better than me? Why do you keep shaming me when you love your husband and you forgave your husband?” […] Listen, I feel horrible about it. I still think we could’ve done without saying it. I do, because who does it hurt? What does it do? Margaret owns her truth, she owns how her life came about and I feel like we probably shouldn’t have said — well, I didn’t say it — but Margaret didn’t have to say that.

On whether or not the RHONJ cast gangs up on Jennifer Aydin: I’m not down with that! To be honest, when I’m having a conversation with someone, I never want someone to jump in. I want to talk one-on-one. It just seems like everyone has their own beef, so once one person starts going in, then the other one is like, “Yeah!” But I don’t feel like I’ve ever jumped in — ever — to defend Margaret. I haven’t, if you watch! I’ve never jumped in to defend Jackie to Jennifer. I always just talk to her about what I have going on with her. I’m not there to defend Margaret and Jackie and everyone else in the middle of their heated argument. That’s not what I do. But, what happens is, everyone has something to say and it can look like that. That is never the intention. I never want to ice Jennifer out. I think Jennifer is good for the show!

Watch In The Know’s full interview with Melissa Gorga below, and tune in to The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET only on Bravo: