Melissa Gorga

Melissa Gorga
Gorga at New York Fashion Week in 2016
Born
Melissa Ann Marco

(1979-03-21) March 21, 1979
Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationNew Jersey City University (BA)
Occupations
  • Television personality
  • entrepreneur
Years active2011–present
Spouse
Joe Gorga
​
(m. 2004)​
Children3
RelativesTeresa Giudice (sister-in-law)
Gia Giudice (niece)
Kathy Wakile (cousin-in-law)
Websitemelissagorga.com

Melissa Ann Gorga (née Marco; born March 21, 1979)[1] is an American television personality, entrepreneur, and businesswoman. She is best known for being a cast member on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, joining the show in its third season in 2011.

Beyond her career in television, Gorga is the owner and founder of Envy by Melissa Gorga, a fashion boutique which has locations in New Jersey and New York, and the bakery brand Let's Sprinkle by Melissa Gorga.

Early life

Gorga was born on March 21, 1979. She is of full Italian descent and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey.[2][3] She attended New Jersey City University and lived in Bayonne, New Jersey, while in college.

Career

Gorga first gained notoriety in 2011, when she joined Bravo's reality television series The Real Housewives of New Jersey; filming alongside sister-in-law Teresa Giudice.[4][5][6][7] That year, she appeared on the cover of the Boardwalk Journal for its August issue.[8]

Gorga embarked on her career in music, releasing her first single "On Display", which was released on iTunes on August 13, 2011.[9] Other singles were previewed on several season four episodes, and Gorga issued a four-song EP. As of July 5, 2012, she has released two additional singles on iTunes: "How Many Times", released April 29, 2012,[10] and "Rockstar", released June 10, 2012.[11] Her fourth single, "I Just Wanna", was released September, and was featured by hip hop singer Santino Noir, who also wrote the song.[12] The official music video was released on October 12, 2012 via YouTube.[13] In January 2016, Gorga told E! News she wouldn't be continuing her music career, but expressed interest to returning to music in the future.[14]

In September 2013, Gorga published her relationship, self-help book, Love Italian Style: The Secrets of My Hot and Happy Marriage, with St. Martin's Griffin.[15][16] The book received a mix of negative reviews, with some critics finding the book sexist, and promoting outdated gender roles. Rachael Berman of The Humanist cited the book as "anti-feminist," while Tracie Egan Morrissey of Jezebel accused Gorga of advocating "marital rape."[17][18] Gorga argued that while she knew the book would be controversial, her intent was to advocate "putting your partner first."[19]

In 2014, Gorga introduced her jewelry line, the Melissa Gorga Collection, on HSN.[3][20] In late 2015, she, along with business partner Jackie Beard Robinson, opened the Envy clothing boutique in Montclair, New Jersey, with its interior built by her husband, Joe.[21] In 2016, Gorga (with sister-in-law Teresa Giudice) appeared in pictorials for Us Weekly and Paper magazine.[22][23] In January 2017, Envy was temporarily closed due to a dispute with Robinson;[24][25] it re-opened later that month, with Robinson no longer a partner.[26] In December 2017, Robinson sued Gorga, alleging Gorga falsely accused Robinson of stealing merchandise from Envy.

In May 2017, the Gorgas opened a restaurant in East Hanover, New Jersey with Teresa Giudice named Gorga's Homemade Pasta and Pizza.[27][28] In January 2018, the restaurant closed in search of larger space and new management.[29][30]

In November 2021, Gorga starred in the first season of The Real Housewives spin-off,The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, which premiered on Peacock.[31][32] From December 2021 to July 2025, Gorga hosted her podcast with PodcastOne titled On Display, named after her first single.[33][34]

In March 2024, Gorga opened the second Envy by Melissa Gorga boutique in Huntington, New York.[35] In December, Gorga launched her sprinkle cookie company Sprinkle by MG (later rebranded to Let's Sprinkle by MG), specializing in sprinkle cookies.[36][37] Within three months, the company brought in $500k of revenue.[38] Additional products including coffee cake, almond vanilla coffee, oven mitts and mugs.[39] In September 2025, Gorga and husband Joe appeared in the Fox celebrity game show, Celebrity Weakest Link.[40] The following month in October, she appeared in an episode of Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition, a spin-off of the global Wife Swap format.[41]

Personal life

She is married to Giuseppe "Joe" Gorga, who also appears on The Real Housewives of New Jersey and is the brother of cast member Teresa Giudice.[42] The Gorgas have 3 children: Antonia (b. 2005), Giacinto "Gino" (b. 2007), and Giuseppe "Joey" (b. 2010),[3] and reside in Montville, New Jersey.[43]

Filmography

Television appearances
Year Title Role Notes
2011–present The Real Housewives of New Jersey Herself Series regular; 151 episodes
2012–24 Watch What Happens Live! Guest; 17 episodes
2015 Teresa Checks In 3 episodes
Manzo'd with Children Episode: "Do You Take, the Manzo Family?"
2018 Lip Sync Battle Episode: "Ramona Singer vs. Melissa Gorga"
2019 The Real Housewives of Atlanta 2 episodes
2020 The Real Housewives of New York City Episode: "Not So Model Behavior"
2021 The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 1; 7 episodes
2023 Kitchen Nightmares Episode: "Max's"
2025 Jersey Shore: Family Vacation Episode: "Jamaica Bound"
Celebrity Weakest Link Episode: "Reality Couples"
Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition Episode: "Too Cool for Gabagool"

Discography

Songs
Title Year
"On Display" 2011
"How Many Times" 2012
"Rockstar" 2012
"I Just Wanna"
(featuring Santino Noir) 		2012
"Never Let Me Go" 2013
Work Done | Fiber One (featuring: Melissa Gorga, Porsha Williams, Sonja Morgan) 2019

Published works

  • Love Italian Style: The Secrets of My Hot and Happy Marriage, St. Martin's Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1250041487

References

  1. ^ Rohan, Virginia (May 15, 2011). "Two new members join the cast of 'Real Housewives of New Jersey'". The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2016. The former Melissa Marco, 32, grew up in a "100 percent Italian" family in Toms River...
  2. ^ D'Onofrio, Mike. "Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga visits Liberty Science Center", The Jersey Journal, December 13, 2014. Accessed November 22, 2017. "Gorga grew up in Toms River. While attending New Jersey City University, where she graduated from on 2003, she lived in Bayonne."
  3. ^ a b c "Melissa Gorga". Bravo TV. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Real Housewives of New Jersey Returns – with New Ladies!". People. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. ^ "Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" Heads to the Shore in Season Four Premiering April 22 at 10PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. March 22, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Takeda, Allison (April 3, 2013). "See The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Cast Picture From Season Five". Us Weekly. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  7. ^ Petski, Denise (February 8, 2016). "'Real Housewives Of New Jersey' Renewed; Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga & Jacqueline Laurita To Return". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Says, Phyllis Volpe (September 2, 2012). "New Jersey Housewife Teresa Giudice Takes a Swipe at The Boardwalk Journal". The Boardwalk Journal Magazine: Atlantic County's Best Source for News, Media and Advertising. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "On Display" at iTunes
  10. ^ "How Many Times" at iTunes
  11. ^ "Rockstar" at iTunes
  12. ^ "Santino Noir's website". Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  13. ^ "I Just Wanna" at iTunes
  14. ^ Harrison, Lily (January 14, 2016). "Melissa Gorga Reveals Why She Named Her New Store Envy—Get the Scoop". E! News. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  15. ^ "Melissa Gorga Cannot Believe People Think She Promotes Marital Rape". HuffPost. September 28, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  16. ^ Moeslein, Anna (September 9, 2013). "Real Housewives of New Jersey Melissa Gorga Talks Her Book Love Italian Style". Glamour. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  17. ^ Berman, Rachael (October 2, 2013). "The Most Disturbing Anti-Feminist Statements by Real Housewives". The Humanist. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  18. ^ Egan Morrissey, Tracie (September 24, 2013). "'Real Housewife' Melissa Gorga's New Book Advocates Marital Rape". Jezebel. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  19. ^ Switcher, John (September 30, 2013). "Melissa Gorga Says Critics Are Taking Her New Book "Out Of Context"". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  20. ^ Tanenbaum, Sharon (April 23, 2014). "Melissa Gorga to Debut Jewelry Line on HSN". Us Weekly. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  21. ^ "Melissa Gorga Put Joe Gorga to Work on Her New Boutique: "I Had a Vision"". December 11, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  22. ^ "Talking Fashion With Teresa Giudice & Melissa Gorga From Real Housewives of NJ". Paper. October 27, 2016. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  23. ^ "RHONJ's Teresa and Melissa Show Off Curves in Iconic 'Baywatch' Suits". Us Weekly. May 26, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  24. ^ Stone, Natalie (January 5, 2017). "RHONJ's Melissa Gorga Temporarily Closes Her Boutique Following 'Difference of Opinion' with Business Partner". People. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  25. ^ Vulpo, Mike (January 3, 2017). "Here's Why Real Housewives of New Jersey's Melissa Gorga Temporarily Closed Envy Boutique". E! News. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  26. ^ Veron, Joan (January 24, 2017). "Melissa Gorga boutique to reopen Saturday". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  27. ^ Spence, Shay (May 19, 2017). "'We're Back Together'! Teresa Giudice, Melissa and Joe Gorga Just Opened Up a Restaurant". People. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  28. ^ Jennings, Rob (May 19, 2017). "'Real Housewives' stroll the red carpet at restaurant's grand opening". NJ.com. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  29. ^ Mizoguchi, Karen (January 6, 2018). "Teresa Giudice and Joe Gorga's N.J. Restaurant to Close After Being Open Less Than a Year". People. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  30. ^ Aciz Stanton, Leanne (January 6, 2018). "Joe Gorga and Teresa Giudice's New Jersey Restaurant Is Closing Less Than a Year After Opening". US Weekly. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  31. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (April 26, 2021). "The Real Housewives Are Planning the Ultimate Series on Peacock". Bravo. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  32. ^ Gugelimi, Jodi; VanHoose, Benjamin (April 26, 2021). "Ramona Singer, Teresa Giudice, More Real Housewives Stars Confirmed to Appear in All-Stars Spinoff". People. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  33. ^ "Love, Trust…and Lie Detectors (With Joe Gorga) | Melissa Gorga on Display (Episode 1)". YouTube. December 20, 2021.
  34. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (July 10, 2025). "Melissa Gorga Confirms She's Ending Her On Display Podcast "After Much Reflection"". The Daily Dish. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  35. ^ Suglia, Casey (March 25, 2024). "Go Inside "Boss" Melissa Gorga's Envy Store Opening Complete with RHONJ Cast Cameos". Bravo. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  36. ^ Aciz Stanton, Leanne (December 9, 2024). "Melissa Gorga Launches New Sprinkle Cookie Company, Says 'It's Been a Long Time Coming' (Exclusive)". Us Weekly. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  37. ^ Robinson, Cynthia (December 10, 2024). "Melissa Gorga Launches a New Business: "Never Going to Believe This"". The Daily Dish. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  38. ^ Andaloro, Angela (April 1, 2025). "Melissa Gorga's Last Laugh: How the RHONJ Star Turned a Sprinkle Cookie Diss into a Thriving Business (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  39. ^ "Melissa Gorga Serves Up New Flavors with Launch of Coffee & Accessories from Let's Sprinkle by MG". PR Newswire. September 16, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  40. ^ Weaver, Stephanie (September 29, 2025). "'Celebrity Weakest Link': Reality TV's biggest couples to compete against each other". FOX Local. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  41. ^ Petski, Denise (September 16, 2025). "'Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition' Gets Premiere Date At Bravo". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  42. ^ Schnurr, Samantha (May 23, 2023). "'RHONJ's Teresa Giudice on Where She Stands With Joe and Melissa Gorga". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  43. ^ Stiansen, Laura Adams. "Jersey Girl; Franklin Lakes Real Housewife Melissa Gorga shines in the spotlight", (201) magazine, November 2013. Accessed May 11, 2016.
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