"It didn't feel celebratory": Melissa Gorga dishes on her emotional hug with Teresa Giudice in RHONJ season 13 episode 12

Real Housewives of New Jersey (RHONJ) star Melissa Gorga opened up about her hug with Teresa Giudice on last week's episode of the series. The duo shared an emotional moment when the former painted Teresa's family as part of an activity during their trip to Ireland. Both ladies reflected on the family drama and realized that their relationship was beyond repair.

During their appearance on the RHONJ After Show, Melissa opened up about the hug with her sister-in-law. She said:

"It didn't feel celebratory. It felt like we were saying goodbye."

Season 13 of the Bravo series has been dramatic from the get-go. This time, the cast members include OG housewives Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Jennifer Aydin, Margaret Josephs, and Dolores Catania. They were accompanied by newcomers Rachel Fuda and Danielle Cabral. Jackie Goldschneider joined the cast as a "friend" alongside newbie Jennifer Fressler.

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RHONJ star Melissa Gorga dishes on her dynamic with Teresa Giudice

In the RHONJ After Show clip, Melissa talked about how emotional she was about painting Teresa's life. The reality star had described the latter's journey with her brother Joe Gorga and parents from Italy to America when she was emotional. Teresa then went up to her sister-in-law and hugged her.

Speaking about the same, Melissa said:

"And we also see, guess like, my true feelings came out. I started crying. I was like emotional."

Teresa also noted that she was emotionally thinking about her brother and her parents and recalled how at one point, the four of them were really "tight," and that it wasn't the same bond anymore. RHONJ star Melissa further said:

"I got so emotional that...that family is, like, broken, you know? And that Joe (Gorga) doesn't have that family anymore. Anyone basically."

The Envy founder further explained that she would always look for her husband, Joe Gorga, during her interactions with Teresa as she felt that the ladies never had a tight relationship over the years. Teresa also echoed the sentiment and felt that she didn't really know Melissa.

Fellow RHONJ cast members also dished about the emotional hug between Melissa and Teresa. While Jennifer Fressler called the moment "heartbreaking," Jackie Goldschneider mentioned that Melissa would be able to live forever without Teresa as she wasn't "invested" in the relationship.

Margaret, for her part, explained that she and Melissa had been discussing the emotional moment until recently. She said:

"Anybody can say what they want. Teresa has been through hardship. Her life has come so far. Melissa has been there to see all those memories...At the end of the day, this is all you have, this is the people..they hold the key to your stories. So why are you not going to fix this."

The RHONJ housewife further explained that people didn't give Melissa enough credit and that the latter wasn't as cold as she seemed to be. Melissa said in a confessional:

"I've been through a lot with Teresa. The fact that we're not in a good place. She's about to get married and change her life to a different route...Maybe it just struck me in that moment that it's sad. Because maybe she (Teresa) remembered the people who were there the whole time."

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Season 13 of RHONJ has seen a lot of drama over the past few weeks. As the installment nears its end, the cast will be seen trying to resolve their impending differences. However, will they be able to reach a point of resolution, or will some bonds come to an end? Only time will tell.

RHONJ airs every Tuesdays at 9 pm ET on Bravo.