It was the feud that pushed the franchise into hiatus, so can a family reconciliation revive The Real Housewives of New Jersey?
After saying repeatedly that things had finally reached the point of no return between them, The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga have apparently decided to bury the hatchet — or is that cookies?
The sisters-in-law celebrated Christmas Eve together with family, and sprinkle and pignoli cookies in a clear nod to cookiegate (just one of their many, many feuds over the years). In one video shared to TikTok by Antonio Gorga, her mother presents Teresa with a box of sprinkle cookies.
Teresa Giudice Details Joe and Melissa Gorga Reconciliation: ‘Time Heals All Wounds’ (Exclusive)
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The video landing on TikTok is totally appropriate, too, as the original incident — that saw Teresa throw away a box of sprinkle cookies then-pregnant Melissa had brought to her home on a previous Christmas Eve sparked a viral TikTok sound byte.
In the video, Teresa trying the cookies was followed by her daughter Gia Giudice and husband Luis Ruelas, before the whole family transitioned into sampling Melissa’s crumb cake, which got even higher praise.
The women’s reconciliation has been slow coming but seemed to be something they were determined to work through for the holidays. Us Weekly notes that they enjoyed a luncheon together in November alongside their husbands, including Teresa’s brother (and Melissa’s hubby) Joe Gorga.
“I saw my husband’s relief, and for me, that’s the most important thing. It’s the siblings, and it’s the kids, and this trickles down,” Melissa told the outlet about the family working to come back together. “To see the relief in Joe’s eyes and in his face, to me, I’m like, ‘I’m game. Let’s go. Let’s do this.”
As for Teresa, she admitted that she’s “old school,” in that she’s known to hold a grudge, so it’s a big deal for her to step back and be open to reconciling. “For me to do this, it’s real. He said he was waiting for me because he knew how upset I was about things,” she told the outlet. “Everybody should want family to be together. I want to show America what a real Italian family looks like.”
She also said that she wanted to show her children that it is possible to reunite and be together. Gia was excited to be reconnecting with family that she’d once been so close with, including her Uncle Joe, who she described as her “best friend.”
“I think it’s a relationship that we’re both excited to rebuild and work on,” she said of Joe. “It’s refreshing. It’s like a weight lifted off of my chest … ’ve always wanted this, and I’m just so happy that we’re coming to this place.”
Feuds within the family have been nothing new and have been a part of the DNA of RHONJ almost since the beginning, and especially after Melissa joined Teresa in the cast with the long-running Bravo series’ second season.
Check out some more moments from the not-at-all awkward family reunion in some TikToks shared by Antonia and Gia from the momentous evening — as fans wait to see if this might lead to a RHONJ revival with both Teresa and Melissa in the cast!
