'RHONJ': Inside the 'Painful' Moment Teresa Found Out Joe and Melissa Gorga Were Blackballing Her Wedding
While Louie Ruelas called Joe and Melissa's decision to skip "really f---ed up," Teresa Giudice’s four daughters got emotional after guests kept bringing up their Zio’s name and absence
Teresa Giudice's big day has finally come on Bravo!
The Real Housewives of New Jersey star has been enjoying wedded bliss with new husband Luis "Louie" Ruelas since the two tied the knot in August 2022, but fans finally got to see inside their big day when the show’s special, Teresa Gets Married, aired Tuesday night.
The wedding — which Teresa, 51, described as “sexy, hot and epic” — was complete with everyone but her brother Joe Gorga and his wife Melissa Gorga, whom had posted pointed Instagram stories about how "blood doesn’t make you family" while skipping Teresa’s nuptials.
"If these f---ing people put out one more message on Instagram, I swear to god I’m gonna f---ing bury them so bad,” Louie said after learning about the posts during the wedding reception. "It's so f---ing maddening... Her parents would go crazy if they saw his behavior!"
"Not coming to this wedding is really f---ed up,” he added, later calling the Gorgas behavior “disgusting.”
Teresa, however, remained blissfully unaware of the drama as Louie and her guests decided to keep the social media frenzy away from her so she could focus on enjoying her special day.
Related:Teresa Giudice 'Enjoyed Every Minute' of Her Wedding Despite Family Drama Before Saying 'I Do'
Instead, the bride was caught up with thinking about how she wished her late parents, Antonia and Giacinto Gorga, could’ve attended the wedding, and how she was happy to be with her “chosen family” in the wake of her brother’s decision not to come.
“It’s OK,” she told Jennifer Aydin as the bridal party got their hair and makeup done. “I’m done too, this is the way it’s supposed to be.”
Teresa did note, however, that having to tell her daughters — Gia, 22, Gabriella, 19, Milania, 17, and Audriana, 13 — that their uncle Joe wouldn’t be coming to the wedding was “disappointing.”
She added that it was “painful” how she, herself, learned the news.
“I found out through Dolores [Catania],” Teresa told her daughter Gabriella after the teen asked if her uncle had called or texted.
Gabriella even began to cry while the bridal party was getting ready because people continued to mention Joe’s name around her mom.
“My daughters are very overprotective of me since [their father] Joe [Giudice] left,” Teresa shared, growing emotional. “We’ve only had each other. We’ve been through a lot."
Related:Gia Giudice Says Mom Teresa Was 'So Beautiful' as She 'Walked Down the Aisle Alone' at Her Wedding
In the end, everything turned out to be a “fairytale" (even if the ceremony guests were sweating in the 98 degree summer weather!)
“I’m grateful to have Louie’s family, and I feel like that’s all I need. I feel pretty lucky, everything is so perfect,” Teresa concluded in a confessional.
After Teresa’s daughters toasted to Louie during the reception, the groom and his new bride cut the cake and proceeded to dance the night away with their friends and family.
"It’s only getting better,” Louie said definitively, adding that he’s looking forward to being grandparents with Teresa.
“Not yet!” she squealed.
At the time of the wedding, PEOPLE confirmed that the Gorgas wouldn't be in attendance. Two sources said Melissa and Joe backed out of attending two days before the ceremony when false rumors about their marriage surfaced amid filming. Both Teresa and Louie's actions at the time ultimately influenced the Gorgas' decision.
"Teresa betrayed them in a way that's unforgivable," one source said. "They're not going to celebrate Teresa's new marriage when all she does is try to tear apart theirs."
Both Melissa and Joe have since spoken out about their decision, with Melissa telling PEOPLE at BravoCon 2022 in October that "it's unfortunate" they had to miss the nuptials and she "didn't choose it."
Joe also addressed their decision on the Melissa Gorga On Display podcast, saying it was "so, so hard" for him to not attend the wedding, especially since Teresa is his only living immediate family.
"To me, it was devastating. It really was. It was one of the hardest days of my life. It was bad," he said. "But listen: let's go back to the reunion [in season 12]. She did this, you know? This was all on her. This is what she really wanted. She didn't want [Melissa] in the wedding, she didn't want any of my children in the wedding, she barely wanted me."
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The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 can now be streamed in full on Peacock. The three-part reunion kicks off next Tuesday, May 30 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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