After months of renovation, the updated home was finally revealed in Season 14 — and the details and decor did not disappoint.
On The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14, Episode 7, Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga threw a housewarming party that had us dreaming about our next warm weather getaway. The details were immaculate and very specific — hanging prosciutto slices should be a requirement for every event — and helped celebrate their stunning new home after months of renovation. At various points, guests thought the event was an "Amalfi Coast" night, a "Limoncello" party, or didn't realize there would be a suggested look to begin with — not that that mattered.
The guests arrived to "Villa Gorga" draped in summery shades and golden accents, and dripping with sparkles, RHONJ-style. They were also treated to specialty cocktails like the "Gorga spritz" from the moment they walked in the door. Even the suggested activities were cute: cards indicated how you could make a wish jar (with a lemon!) for the hosts to honor the finally finished house. As for the house itself? Dolores Catania put it best: "super f-cking nice...unbelievable...stupid beautiful, so gorgeous, and sick."
With the picturesque setting, outdoor fire pits, and platters of seasonal Italian crudites as far as the eye could see, you'd think it might be just serene enough to avoid any heated conversations among the guests. But that's never the way things go with this group, is it?
Melissa may have wanted a "classy party" to celebrate her new space, but there was only so much she could control. The tensions between former besties Margaret Josephs and Jackie Goldschneider continued. Danielle Cabral and Jennifer Aydin have yet to work things out. And of course, the recent clash between Teresa Giudice and Rachel Fuda's husband John Fuda regarding certain youthful indiscretions couldn't go unmentioned. As Rachel filled Melissa in on how the conversation went down, she added — to Melissa's shock — that Teresa and Luis Ruelas had a gift of expensive scotch, with "a card and a bow," that they wanted the Fudas to bring to the housewarming on their behalf.
"Thank god Rachel did not bring that bottle to my house," Melissa said in an interview, "I don't want anything to do with anything [Teresa and Louie] want to gift me."
She joked, "It probably has an AirTag in it. It's probably bugged," and added, "I don't want that karma, or bottle, or 'gift' in my home."
She spoke too soon. When Dolores and Paulie made their way in, it was...holding the exact bottle from Teresa that Rachel and John had declined to bring. "She asked me to bring it, so I brought it!" explained Dolores to Melissa, "It's not my place to say [to Teresa] 'What you're doing is weird.'"
Regarding the bottle, which a guest observed was Teresa and Joe's father's favorite, Joe said in an interview that the gift was "definitely not an olive branch." An olive branch, he offered, would be "knock on my door when no one's there, and come see me!" The gift remained a hot topic of the evening, with the men and women eventually splitting up to discuss it separately.
But if you're still in the mood to channel the Amalfi Coast vibes of Joe and Melissa's housewarming party after their swanky RHONJ soiree, we've put together a list of suggestions to help create your own luxurious night. Unfortunately, you'll have to create your own DIY Joe-covered-by-lemon tree cardboard cutout. But we believe in you!
As any fan of RHONJ knows, many of the show's most memorable moments have happened at the cast's parties and family events. For example: In the Season 9 finale, Margaret and Joe Benigno pushed Danielle Staub's then-husband Marty Caffrey in the pool at Jennifer Aydin's house. As if doing that at their friend's formal event to celebrate her wedding anniversary to husband Bill Aydin weren't enough to make RHONJ history, the amazingly casual way Marge said "your husband's in the pool" afterwards certainly did the trick. Or what about in Season 3, Episode 16, when a young Gia Giudice sang her "Waking up in the morning" song (aka "Sad Song")? It was mesmerizing then, and the audio went TikTok viral years later.
If you're feeling extra-inspired by the 'Wives after the latest episode, shop merch honoring these RHONJ classics, below.
RHONJ airs Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
