Melissa Gorga Posts Filming Photo, ‘RHONJ’ Returning Without Teresa Giudice?

Has Season 7 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey started filming despite the fact that Teresa Giudice, arguably its biggest star, is still in prison? On Tuesday, Teresa’s sister-in-law Melissa Gorga, who has starred on the show alongside Teresa for four seasons, from Seasons 3 through 6, posted a hint to her Instagram account.

Melissa posted a photo of her son inside their home, sitting on a chair in front of a TV camera. She included the hashtag “#rhonj” to her comment.

“Gino is totally cramping my style today…. #setlife #rhonj #cutie#hedoesitbetter.”

The fact that the setup looked as if Melissa was about to share her thoughts on a particular scene and/or subject, known in the Real Housewives world as a “talking head interview,” and that she included the show’s name as a hashtag prompted many people to assume that Season 7 has begun filming. Many celebrated the return of the show after such a long hiatus. The last episode of Season 6 aired in November 2014.

Some people, however, said that the photo doesn’t necessarily mean that Season 7 has begun filming. They said that Melissa could be filming for Caroline Manzo’s spin-off Manzo’d with Children. After all, Melissa and her husband, Joe Gorga, attended the wedding of Caroline’s daughter, Lauren Manzo, on Saturday. Yet on Sunday, Caroline shared her son’s tweet that filming has wrapped after Lauren’s wedding.

??????@chris_manzo
Annnnnd that's a wrap on Manzo'd season 2!!! Can't thank everyone who worked on… https://t.co/yAyTqH4gQu

— Caroline Manzo (@CarolineManzo) July 19, 2015

Some people also speculated that Melissa is actually filming for Joe Giudice’s special that will show him taking care of his and Teresa Giudice’s four daughters alone as she serves her prison sentence. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Melissa has filmed at least one scene for Joe’s special – getting a manicure and pedicure with her nieces. Since the special is about how Joe and his family are coping without Teresa, it would make sense for it to feature Teresa’s brother, sister-in-law, and nieces/nephews. Melissa has shared photos of her children hanging out with Teresa’s children.

In March, during a Watch What Happens Live appearance, Melissa Gorga praised Joe Giudice, who will serve his 41-month prison sentence when Teresa Giudice gets out, for rising to the task of being a single dad. She also said that she was ready and willing to help him and Teresa however possible.

“It’s heartwarming to see him. It’s heavy on his heart. It’s a lot. He’s manning up, and he’s doing what he has to do… “I’ve seen them [Joe and Teresa’s children]. They see my mother-in-law a lot. My mother-in-law helps out a lot. And I see my mother-in-law a lot. And I’m constantly saying, ‘What can I do? [Who] can I drive? Where can I bring them?’ But they keep saying they got it, they got it. Everybody’s good.”

[Photo by Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images]