'Real Housewives' Melissa Gorga is 'The Karate Kid's' Cousin, Going Broke?
"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Melissa Gorga is related to actor Ralph Macchio, the boy who played Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 classic film "The Karate Kid."
Gorga recently confirmed the stunning revelation after Macchio, 50, appeared on Bravo TV's "Watch What Happens Live!" after show on Thursday evening.
The show's host, Andy Cohen, called on viewers to send in questions for Macchio and when a viewer tweeted Cohen asking whether he knew that Gorga was Macchio's cousin Gorga tweeted "Yes we are!!"
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"We are like really distant cousins. Never even met him. We always said it when we were little. It's like through marriage, my aunt Rosile," Gorga told the Huffington Post.
The news follows reports that Gorga, 34, and her husband Joe are selling at least two of their properties in an attempt to ease their debts.
The couple, who often flaunts their extravagant lifestyle on the hit Bravo reality TV show, is reportedly selling their Toms River home, which has been featured on the show, for $520,000. This comes just weeks after they put their lavish Montville Township home up for sale and critics say that the duo are only selling because they are desperate to eliminate their ongoing financial woes, according to Radar Online.
"Melissa and Joe are in way over their heads. Joe owes a lot of people money. They have the house on the market because they can't pay the mortgage now that the interest rate on it has exploded," a source close to the couple told Radar Online.
"They are portraying a life they that they really didn't live prior to the show. Melissa likes to drop name brands now and has become very arrogant. Joe loves the fact that Joe Giudice has financial issues, yet he's in the same boat!" the insider added.
While the couple has not publicly addressed the debt rumors, new reports suggest that the pair has been deceiving "Real Housewives of New Jersey" viewers in a bid to portray wealth that they have ever actually had.
"Joe built the house as a spec home, hoping to find a buyer. As a builder, he got an interest free loan for a period of time in which he was to sell the house," the insider said.
"When his wife was hired for RHONJ, the Gorgas decided to abandon their home and move in to give themselves an appearance of wealth that they don't really have," the insider added. "Now, the interest-free period on the loan has expired, so they have to move."
