“At the end of the day, they’re like Bonnie and Clyde — they’re a package deal and have to be together to be for the show,” the insider told the publication. “They do love each other immensely, but they’re finally just sharing with viewers that they have issues they have to work through. … They’re not a perfect couple.”
The source shared that the twosome has grown — both individually and as a couple — since their 2004 wedding.
“They got married when they were in their early 20s and it’s obvious that they’ve both changed. He’s certainly not thrilled about all of her ‘extracurricular activities’ and spending a lot of time working on her store Envy,” the insider noted. “He’d prefer her cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids. He takes the traditional approach when it comes to marriage and expects her to be the average housewife.”
In February, Melissa got candid about her marital issues with her husband Joe. “He likes things to stay the same. I’ve been with him since I was 24 years old. So I’ve changed and I feel like this is a scary part of marriage. Either you’re going to grow together or you’re going to grow apart. And I think we’re fighting really hard to grow together,” she told Us Weekly at that time. “This season, it’s very raw. It’s very real. It’s very different this season for Joe and I. … We’ve done very good for 11 years. We’re a great couple.”
In the midseason trailer for season 11 of RHONJ, Joe told Melissa, “Listen, go be whatever you want to be in life. We’re done.”
In a separate scene, the mother-of-three noted to her husband that they were “growing apart,” to which he responded, “maybe we are.”
Despite sharing their issues on the Bravo hit reality series, the couple is working on their relationship.
“We try really hard. We fight really hard for our family and it’s not easy to be on reality TV for 11 years and still stand strong,” Melissa told Us Weekly.
The couple share three children: Antonia (15), Joey (13), and Gino (10).
Photo Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
