Forever family. JoeAnd Melissa Gorga’s three kids have grown up on The Real Housewives of New JerseyFans have enjoyed keeping up over the years with them.
The couple got married in August 2004 and have three children together: Antonia and Joey. Their busy family life is also featured on RHONJParents often share photos and videos of their children from school to sporting events to birthdays.
Melissa considered trying for baby No. 2, even though three kids can be quite a task. 4 and shared on a May 2020 episode that she was thinking about freezing her eggs.
“I think we were really deep into, like, leaning towards yes for a minute … [but] the time has passed,” the Envy store owner revealed to Us WeeklyOnly in July 2020. “I feel like we’re in a spot where I’m like, ‘OK, let me just, like, be happy with what I have.’ I have three healthy children.”
The “I Just Wanna” singer added at the time that she threw herself “hard” into motherhood thus far and was comfortable shifting her focus toward other aspirations as the children have grown into young adults.
“I feel like, you know what, I’ve done that. That was my goal. I now have three healthy children. Thank God,” she explained. “It’s like, now I’m at [a]time when I can work, be successful, and do my own thing. So it’s like … I think I’m good.”
Speaking of those “young adults,” the Bravo personality also revealed to UseParenting teenagers can be challenging at times.
“She’s just that age,” the New Jersey native shared with UseHer oldest child, Antonia (who was in her sophomore year at high school at that time), is what she remembers. “She’s vicious. It’s so much harder parenting a teenager.”
She added: “Everything I say is wrong and she’s always, like, growling at me. I’m always like, ‘You good? Is your face OK?’ It’s a dirty look.”
When it comes to raising the high schooler and her younger brothers with Joe, Melissa noted that she considered herself to be the “tougher parent.” Her children, however, tend to be “more scared” of the Gorga Guide for Success author.
“I’m the one that’s like, ‘Move it. Brush your teeth. Let’s go,’” the influencer shared. “If Joe gets mad, it’s on … but I’m definitely the one that laid down the law. It’s fine. It’s okay. I’m always the bad cop.”
While Melissa may take on the “bad cop” role from time to time, she was the more lenient one when it came to Antonia’s dating life.
“He just doesn’t get it,” the TV star told UseFebruary 2021. “He just looks at us all cross-eyed, like, every time we talk about anything with Antonia and a boy. The fact that she’s a sophomore. Hello? This is when it happens, and the sex talks happen. It’s just a real-life thing. He gasped for air, he can’t even say the word. It’s so ridiculous.”
Scroll down to view photos of the Gorga family through the years.