Power couple Melissa Gorga and Joe Gorga of The Real Housewives of New Jersey boast 21 years of marriage, and it all started with Joe first getting down on one knee decades ago — a moment Melissa recently reflected on while speaking to The Daily Dish over the BravoCon 2025 weekend.
“It was my birthday, and Joe told me that I was going to go to this hotel spa, and he’s like, ‘For your birthday, I got this for you,’” Melissa explained. “For the whole entire day, he’s like, ‘I got a hotel room.’ He’s like, ‘I’m going to work all day, but I’ll meet you at the hotel room. After you shower and get dressed, we’ll go to the nice restaurant that’s at the hotel.’”
Surprise, surprise, it was all a ruse because Joe planned the date in hopes of taking Melissa’s hand in marriage. “When I was done with my spa day, he was in there on his knee, with rose petals everywhere,” Melissa continued. “It’s really cute. It was just the two of us, and I thought it was just my birthday present, and I ended up getting engaged.”
Back at BravoCon 2019, RHONJ OG Teresa Giudice revealed Melissa was her brother’s third fiancée, referring to him as “the runaway groom.” Still, even Teresa admitted that her younger brother two years her junior “picked the right one” with Melissa.
Details on Melissa Gorga’s engagement ring
In a 2013 interview with TODAY, Melissa said Joe picked out her three-plus carat ring himself, a round diamond set in platinum and featuring “trilliants on each side.”
“We’d never talked about rings or particular styles. I had never let on about what size and style of ring I wanted,” Melissa stated. “He went with what he thought I’d like. Man, was he on target. I loved it.”
Melissa said Joe cleverly measured her other rings to gauge the perfect fit, because “my man thinks of everything,” adding, “the ring hasn’t come off since.”
“I kept asking myself, ‘I’m going to be a wife?’” Melissa continued. “The girlfriend-type girl was getting a big promotion. It really did take a while for it to sink in. While I was driving, I’d position my hand on the steering wheel so I could see it. I had to make sure it was still there.”
Thanks to a last-minute cancellation, they snagged Macaluso’s in Hawthorne, New Jersey, for what Melissa called ”the perfect place for a big Italian wedding.” The following year, they welcomed their daughter, Antonia Gorga, later followed by their sons, Gino Gorga and Joey Gorga Jr.
Related: Joe Gorga Shares the Major Difference Between Daughter Antonia and His Sons
Details on Melissa and Joe Gorga’s 21 year marriage
In August, neither Melissa nor Joe held anything back when putting their love on display for their 21st anniversary. In a family photo posted to Instagram, Melissa stated, “All I want to be is a beautiful example of what marriage is to these kids we made together. So far, I think we are doing a great job. Happy anniversary [Joe Gorga], I’ll always be by your side.”
Joe had a sweet message of his own, remarking how “21 years went by so quick.”
Check out Melissa’s recent declaration about how they raise their children.
