Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga says she understands why it can be hard to add new Housewives to their already stacked RHONJ cast roster. The longtime Housewife has seen her fair share of turnover during her seasons on the show, however, the RHONJ ladies haven’t seen any cast members come or go for the past three seasons.
The RHONJ cast is well-known for bringing their opinions and voices to the table. They aren’t afraid of a little confrontation and seldom back down when challenged by their co-stars. And while this all but proves how tough the RHONJ ladies can be, it also takes a particular kind of personality to fit in with the established women.
During a recent interview with AOL In The Know’s Gibson Johns, Melissa talked about the current cast dynamic and why she believes it can be so difficult to add a Housewife to their franchise in particular.
Melissa says casting for RHONJ is hard
Gibson delved into his compliment of the RHONJ cast stating that the women seem to be such a “balanced” group. And although he did recognize that their seemed to be two sides to the group — Teresa Giudice, Dolores Catania, Jennifer Aydin on one side; and Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Jackie Goldschneider on the other — he recognizes that there seems to be a good balance between them.
“I will agree with you. I do think it’s an awesome cast,” Melissa gushed. “It really, really is. And we all have a little something different. And I think this cast isn’t afraid to speak up.”
According to Melissa, although the cast is well balanced, she acknowledges that it can be hard to cast for their show given their different personalities and how long certain stars have been with the franchise.
“I was always hard to cast Jersey,” she continued. “[because] Teresa and I have been on for so long. And we’re a family and it’s very rough to, like, mix people in with us because it’s just — it’s too strong of a situation.”
The RHONJ ladies have ‘found their place’ according to Melissa
Casting for such a tightknit group is difficult, but Melissa gives credit to her co-stars for making the show work as well as they do.
“But they have all found their place. Everyone has, you know, found their spot. No one’s scared. Everyone says what they feel,” Melissa shared.
She continued, “And that, I think, is the most important cuz it’s very hard when you have, like, OGs there for a long time — you bring new people in and they’re like, “Ooh, we don’t really wanna say that. Even though we think they’re wrong.”
Over all, Melissa feels that the cast is awesome and they “work really well together.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.