Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga are opening up about what really happened when they finally decided to put their years-long family feud behind them, and it appears they still don’t agree on everything.
In a joint interview with Us Weekly, the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars reflected on the private conversations that led to their reconciliation, whether they apologized to one another and how they feel about people questioning their motives.
Teresa also opened up about the devastating loss of her daughter Milania Giudice’s childhood best friend, revealing how deeply the tragedy has affected their family.
When asked about the difficult year Milania has experienced, Teresa became emotional discussing the death of Victoria Zardoya, who had been part of their lives since childhood.
“Her ride-or-die best friend Victoria — they met in art class when they were 4 years old — passed away in a tragic accident at the end of July,” Teresa shared.
The loss has been particularly difficult for Milania, who recently opened up publicly about her mental health struggles and revealed that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, PTSD and ADHD.
Milania has explained that she is receiving professional help and working through the challenges she has faced over the past several months.
Teresa admitted that watching her daughter grieve has been heartbreaking because Victoria was like another member of their family.
“I can’t even — I don’t even know what to say to her because she’s grieving,” Teresa explained.
“I felt like I lost another daughter because Victoria was always in my house. I can’t even believe she’s not here anymore. It’s been really hard.”
The tragedy has made family support especially important as the Giudices navigate a difficult period.
And with Teresa now back on speaking terms with her brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law Melissa, the family is in a very different place than it was just a year ago.
However, Teresa and Melissa admitted that repairing their relationship did not necessarily mean agreeing about everything that happened in the past.
When asked whether everyone apologized during their off-camera reconciliation, Teresa confirmed that apologies were exchanged.
“Yeah, we all said sorry,” Teresa revealed.
Melissa elaborated, explaining that the family acknowledged the hurt they had caused one another, even when they still had different perspectives on certain situations.
“We took accountability for the things that have hurt each other,” Melissa said.
“And we also took accountability for things I still don’t fully agree with, and vice versa. But we’re gonna move on and not talk about it anymore.”
Teresa then clarified that most of the conversation actually took place between her and her brother, rather than between her and Melissa.
“I don’t really think me and Melissa even talked about much,” Teresa admitted.
“It was me and my brother more so, because she’s gonna think what she’s gonna think. I’m gonna think what I’m gonna think.”
According to Teresa, the goal was not to force everyone to agree on the past but to find a way to move forward.
“With us, it was just move forward to keep the peace,” she explained.
Melissa agreed that reopening every old disagreement would have made reconciliation much more complicated.
“I was like, if we start rehashing, it’s going to be a really long week,” Melissa said.
Teresa also credited Louie Ruelas with having a forgiving nature and helping the family move beyond its previous conflicts.
“And Louie and my brother… Louie’s a forgiver,” Teresa said.
Melissa suggested that the time apart may have helped everyone gain perspective.
“Maybe it’s true when they say time heals all wounds,” Melissa reflected.
“This might have taken a couple years, but it does. Sometimes you look at the bigger picture and you’re like, ‘OK, we’re not getting any younger.’”
Teresa agreed that time can help lessen the anger people feel immediately after a disagreement.
“Then you’re not as angry as you were when it first happened,” she said.
The reconciliation came after RHONJ was placed on pause following a particularly divided Season 14.
By the end of the season, Teresa and Melissa were no longer speaking, and the cast had split into opposing groups, making it increasingly difficult for the women to film together.
Their family feud had become one of the show’s longest-running storylines, with years of accusations, arguments and failed attempts to repair their relationship.
Teresa previously revealed that she was the one who reached out to Joe Gorga in September 2025 after filming Special Forces with her daughter Gia Giudice.
The siblings later met privately at the cemetery where their parents are buried before arranging a second meeting with Melissa and Louie.
Although the reconciliation happened away from Bravo’s cameras, the timing prompted speculation that the family had made peace to help bring RHONJ back.
When asked which former castmates supported their reconciliation, Teresa named Jennifer Aydin and Dolores Catania.
“Jennifer Aydin, Dolores… everybody else I didn’t talk to, so you have to ask Melissa,” Teresa said with a laugh.
Melissa, however, believed some people may have questioned whether the reconciliation was genuine.
“I don’t think anyone was mad,” Melissa said.
“I think they were maybe a bit in disbelief and wondering if we were doing it for the wrong reasons. And I get that. I get the timing of it all.”
Teresa immediately disagreed with that perspective.
“No, people with black hearts think that,” Teresa responded.
Melissa acknowledged that there had been plenty of speculation about why the family suddenly decided to reconcile after years of conflict.
“Well, there was a lot of speculation out there,” she said.
When asked what people were suggesting, Melissa addressed the rumors directly.
“They just thought we were trying to bring the show back,” she explained.
But Melissa insisted that she and Teresa would not be capable of pretending to have repaired their relationship simply for television.
“I don’t care. We’re like oil and water if we’re not on the same page. We can’t fake it.”
Teresa agreed that she would not pretend to like someone for the sake of the show.
“I don’t lie, and I can’t fake things,” Teresa said.
“That’s one thing. If I don’t like you, everybody knows it,” she added with a laugh.
Despite their different perspectives on how much of the past needed to be discussed, Teresa and Melissa appear united in wanting to keep the family together.