The drama between former Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Kathy Wakile and Melissa Gorga is heating up once again. This time, it’s not about petty squabbles over dinner parties or rumors—it’s about a very real family rift, a “misleading” lunch, and some serious shade being thrown.
It all started when Kathy appeared on the Page Six Radio podcast on April 23, where she revealed that Melissa, her estranged cousin-in-law, had “lied” about the timeline of a lunch they shared. This lunch, which was meant to address their ongoing tension, has been a point of controversy after Melissa’s comments on Jeff Lewis’ SiriusXM show back in June 2024.
In that interview, Melissa claimed that Kathy and her husband, Rich Wakile, were building a new home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey—right across the street from her and her husband, Joe Gorga. Joe and Kathy are cousins, but their relationship has been anything but warm for some time. During the interview, Jeff Lewis suggested that Melissa should take the initiative to repair the rift between her and Kathy, to which Melissa agreed, saying she would “do it.”
But according to Kathy, that’s not the full story.
Kathy was quick to clear the air, claiming that Melissa’s version of events was inaccurate. Kathy revealed that she and Rich had actually run into Melissa and Joe at a charity event before Melissa’s interview on the Jeff Lewis show. The only issue? Kathy didn’t see them, but they saw her—and didn’t say hello.
The following day, Melissa allegedly reached out to Kathy via text, expressing disappointment that they had crossed paths without speaking. Kathy recalled, “She said how sad it was that we were at the same event and didn’t say hello.” Kathy, feeling frustrated, thought to herself, “Shame on Joe if he saw me and didn’t come up to me.”
From there, the situation escalated when Melissa asked to meet for lunch, and Kathy agreed. The two reportedly had a conversation where they “cleared the air,” though Kathy made it clear that she reminded Melissa of the past issues that had caused the rift between them.
However, the plot thickened when Melissa later appeared on Jeff Lewis’ show, claiming that the idea to meet for lunch was Lewis’ suggestion—not Kathy’s. Kathy felt that Melissa was trying to spin the narrative, making it seem like the lunch was part of a “storyline” for The Real Housewives of New Jersey, something Kathy wasn’t interested in. “I’m not a storyline,” Kathy emphasized. “I am my own life.”
Of course, Melissa wasn’t going to take this lying down. In a follow-up statement, Melissa claimed that she had kept the details of their lunch quiet because Kathy specifically asked her to do so. But that explanation doesn’t seem to sit well with Kathy, who believes that the whole situation was being manipulated for TV drama.
As the feud continues to unfold, Kathy took to Instagram to subtly throw some shade back at her cousin-in-law. She posted a cryptic message that seemed to address the ongoing drama: “Shout out to people whose kindness isn’t a strategy but a way of life.” It’s a clear dig at the notion that some people, like Melissa, might only show kindness when there’s something to gain—like a storyline for a reality TV show.
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