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Melissa Gorga just fired back at her Real Housewives of Miami counterpart for suggesting her Instagram followers were fake. In case you missed it, Bravo Fan Fest featured several shady Bravolebs. During one pane, Andy Cohen asked Kiki Barth from RHOM about some of her Housewife peers. When asked whether she knew if any had purchased Instagram followers, Kiki said yes. “Not Teresa [Giudice], the other one.” Andy replied, “Melissa?”
And to make matters worse, Kiki said it wasn’t just a baseless claim. “I’ve seen it myself!” she revealed. However, Melissa, who has nearly three million followers on Instagram, shot back and called Kiki “bothered.” So, what else did she have to say?
Melissa Runs Down Her Resume
Although the Real Housewives of Miami star told Andy Melissa Gorga bought her followers, that isn’t stopping the Jersey star from defending herself.
On her podcast, On Display, Melissa, who joined Real Housewives of New Jersey in Season 3, replied to accusations. “She’s (Kiki) seen that I buy followers, and I’m like … they’re bothered that I have more,” she told her husband, Joe Gorga. The reality star went on, reminding her listeners that she’s been on television for over a decade. “Maybe it’s a cute family I have,” she continued.
Melissa also mentioned a few of her businesses, like her Jersey boutique, Envy. “Or, you know, maybe it’s the extremely successful boutique that I own, that I have a huge customer base from, like hello that all buy from me and follow me.”
“Maybe listen to this podcast, Joe. Maybe they’re big fans of On Display, so they follow me,” she said. “I mean, what the heck [are] they talking about? I have multiple brand partnerships. Right? I don’t know.”
Joe Gorga Says Current Real Housewives Need To Be Thankful for His Wife
As the conversation continued about the Miami Housewife’s claims about Melissa Gorga, Joe also joined in.
If you’re familiar with RHONJ, then you know this isn’t unlike Joe. In fact, he’s known to get involved in the women’s drama from time to time. It’s one of the reasons he doesn’t speak with his biological sister, Bravo star Teresa Giudice.
During their podcast, On Display, Joe voiced his frustrations with other Housewives coming after his wife. After all, Kiki isn’t the only reality star to claim Melissa has purchased her followers. Alexia Nepola, also from RHOM, said Melissa’s followers were fake on an earlier episode of Watch What Happens Live.
According to Joe, they should “appreciate” Melissa for “the path that you created for them.” He went on, seemingly insinuating that his wife has done things on social media that other Housewives haven’t (which, by the way, isn’t true).
“I mean, you look at what look what you have done on Instagram and social media. It’s helping them,” he said. “It’s helping everybody. I mean, really, you’re you’re you’re self made. You did this all on your own. You achieved everything on your own, and you killed it.”
It’s unclear what exactly Joe is referring to, considering several other Housewives have more followers than Melissa. NeNe Leakes and Kyle Richards have over four million, while Kandi Burruss has 10.7 million.
Since the Gorga’s podcast episode, Kiki has kept silent. However, that doesn’t mean the Miami firecracker won’t pop back. Because of that, fans will have to keep a close watch on her social media to see what she says next.