Love 'em or hate 'em, Joe and Melissa Gorga have captured audiences throughout
their 11-years-and-counting on Bravo's "Real Housewives of New Jersey." As the story goes,
Joe first laid eyes on Melissa during a spring break trip to Cancun with his friends.
Upon seeing her he said, quote, "That's going to be my wife."
The pair later connected at a beach club in New Jersey and tied the knot in 2004. The couple
welcomed three children — Antonia, Gino, and Joey — and in 2011, Melissa joined "Real Housewives of
New Jersey" as a permanent cast member, launching the entire family's career in reality TV.
"I'm living the American dream. Thank you Jesus."
As anyone who watches the show can clearly see, the couple leads a lavish lifestyle. But that
often leaves fans wondering just how the duo pads their bank account. Considering that Joe
isn't afraid to let his boutique-owner wife know that he'd prefer a more traditional housewife,
it's fair to assume that he is the breadwinner in the family. But even so,
Joe is often depicted as a homebody with few obligations outside of the family household,
causing some fans to wonder if he works at all.
"Our motto has always been work hard, play hard."
But as it turns out, Joe makes the bulk of his income as a business owner,
running several firms within the sanitation, real estate, and landscaping industries. And with all
of these corporations under his belt, Gorga has earned the right to call himself an entrepreneur.
It appears that he also tried his hand at running a restaurant, but that was a venture that went
south rather quickly. He opened a place with his sister and fellow "Real Housewives of New
Jersey" cast member Theresa Giudice as an ode to their late mother. Unfortunately,
Gorga's Homemade Pasta and Pizza was forced to shutter its doors
due to an unforeseen volume of guests as well as the deterioration of their relationship.
Years after the restaurant went under, the siblings still haven't managed to
make amends. In late 2020, Joe and Teresa got into a fight that was heard around the world,
airing on Season 11 of the show. As grim as it looks,
fans will likely never taste Gorga's Homemade Pizza and Pasta ever again.
But thankfully for the Gorgas, Joe was able to bounce back. These days, his most lucrative
venture is flipping homes for profit. He regularly posts his flips to Instagram — price tags
included — and often turns a profit to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars. He also offers
classes on how to be successful in the flipping biz, which cost his students up to $10,000.
While flipping houses may sound like a successful venture for this Real Husband,
the gig has its own unique setbacks. Joe was once busted by his followers for posting fake
"before" and "after" photos of homes on Instagram. But according to Joe, the snafu
was a simple misunderstanding. He confirmed that the photos featured two different homes,
but insisted that he did fund the renovations on the home in the after picture.
Still, the homeowner says he had nothing to do with her house.
"It was a new construction, the foundation was new.
Everything about it was new. It was built from the ground up."
Despite the blip,
Joe continues to sell millions of dollars worth of real estate through his company.
But even though he might be hard at work without a shirt on, there's still that thing about
getting the coverage for the Bravo cameras. And while you might think that appearing on a major
reality series would bring in the big bucks, Joe is reportedly paid just $45,000 per season. Though
it's a sizable sum, it's pennies compared to his wife Melissa's $600,000-per-season price tag.
Still, with a joint income that is hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the average
American family, the Gorgas have reportedly amassed a debt of around $1.5 million.
And they hope to sell their New Jersey home to offset the tab.
But in addition to the debt, Joe has run into costly legal issues related to his businesses.
He was sued by a tenant of a property he was leasing for a slip and fall incident,
and later was sued by a window company for an outstanding bill that reached $17,000. While
Joe clearly has a keen eye for business, he may not want Melissa to quit her day job just yet!
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more List videos about your favorite Housewives hubbies are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.