What’s the secret to a long-lasting marriage? If you ask Melissa Gorga, it all comes down to marrying your best friend.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey mom explained her position in a recent interview with The Daily Dish, in which she spoke candidly about all the “ups and downs” she and Joe Gorga have endured throughout their decades-long marriage.
Melissa Gorga sheds light on her and Joe Gorga’s dynamic
“I met him as a 24-year-old girl, and to think, you know, this many years later we’re still together,” she said. “I wake up every morning, [and] I’m like, ‘You’re still here. Here you are.’ No, honestly, we’re friends.”
Melissa, who celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary back in August, acknowledged that her marriage was far from perfect, but she and Joe managed to overcome their conflicts through empathy, understanding, and a shared love for life.
RELATED: Melissa Gorga Makes a Shocking Declaration on Raising Kids With Joe: “That’s a Problem”
“I do enjoy going to dinner with Joe,” she said. “We’re both fun people, so it works. And our lives are similar and, you know, we balance each other out in such a way where he lets me be the boss where I need to be, and I let him be the boss where he needs to be.”
Melissa Gorga says attraction and humor play a big role in her marriage
Melissa said she and her hubby have also maintained a healthy banter and mutual attraction throughout the years, which has also helped them through their occasional tiffs.
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“I wanna kill him sometimes, but we’re attracted to each other and we’re both fun people,” she explained. “It’s like if you can’t have fun with us, you can’t have fun with anybody because we’re lifers. We love life. We enjoy life. We don’t like the negative. We really don’t. It’s hard for us to do negative. It’s always been my struggle on the show (RHONJ), just keeping up with the negative, right?”
She continued: “It’s never easy, a marriage. We definitely have our ups and downs… We struggle, we fight, we battle. We’re both very strong-minded people.”
Melissa Gorga gives Joe Gorga “five days” to hold onto a “grudge”
Melissa underscored her point by briefly breaking down her and Joe’s argument pattern, which apparently includes a countdown.
“When Joe and I have an argument, we have an argument, but I’d be the first one to move on with my level head, and he’ll hold that grudge for, like, five more days,” she said. “You got five [days]. I start counting down the days until he’s gonna let it go.”
Get a closer look at the Gorgas’ 21-year marriage and their recent St. Barths trip that included an unexpected crossover.
— Additional reporting by Erik McIntyre