Just days after "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Melissa Gorga and her husband, Joe, put their custom-built New Jersey home on the market for $3.8 million, rumors that they were broke flooded the Internet. Now, Melissa is firing back, telling HuffPost Celebrity that there's no truth to the harsh allegations.
“The rumors that Joe and I can't afford our mortgage payments and bills are 100 percent false," Melissa said. "Since when does selling your house mean you are broke? We moved to Montville to be closer to Teresa [Giudice] and the cousins. We gave Montville a try, but ultimately we want to move back to Franklin Lakes before the kids reach an age where changing schools will have an effect on them. Plus, it’s closer to Joe’s work, and that’s where we see ourselves living in the long run.”
Still, rumors that the couple were living beyond their means in the Jersey mansion, "pretending" to be wealthy in order to be cast on the Bravo show, have followed the family. But Melissa insists that public documents held under her husband's full name (Giuseppe Gorga) reveal the truth.
“For the record, we moved into our current house in 2008 and lived there for two years before I was signed to 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' in 2010," Melissa said. "Joe built our last house in Franklin Lakes, which we sold for $2.45 million to former New York Giant LaVar Arrington. When we sell our house in Montville, we will move into a rental while Joe custom builds our next house.
"Joe is a builder and a businessman. He will sell pretty much any property for the right price and build again, bigger and better. That’s the truth and it’s all available through public records, but I guess it doesn't make for as good of a headline."
