Real Housewives of New Jersey's Melissa Gorga Is Making Her Big Feminist Stand

Melissa Gorga, feminist icon? We never really expected to type those words, but with what we’ve seen this season on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, it’s becoming undeniable.

As she’s ventured out on her own and opened her boutique Envy, we’ve watched as she’s struggled with the opposing forces of her desire to set a progressive example for her young daughter Antonia and her husband Joe’s expectation of an obedient housewife. As this sneak peek of Sunday’s new episode, exclusive to E! News, makes perfectly clear, things are finally coming to a head.

After arriving home from a long day at the store, Melissa was only looking for a warm, comforting welcome. What she gets is a husband whining about losing out on a deal after a last-minute auction proved to conflict with his responsibility of picking up his children from school. Why didn’t he just call her or a family member for help, Melissa asks?

“I wasn’t brought up to do this,” Joe replies, digging his heels into this unattractive caveman persona he’s crafted this season.

“You weren’t brought up to do what?” Melissa asks. “Have kids?”

From there, Melissa just goes HAM on her surprisingly unsupportive husband. “Who always backed you up so that you can do what you do? Do you know how ignorant you sound? Joe, welcome to the new millennium,” she says. “You’re so friggin’ old school. You’re so old school.” 

It doesn’t get any better from there. Joe tells Melissa he “put” her in their home, she takes offense to what she perceives to be a misogynistic interpretation of things, and then Joe really goes in for the unfortunate kill.

“What you do, you bring in crumbs. See, I bring in the cake,” he boasts. “I don’t want what you bring in.” Oh, Joe. No, no, no.

To see how Melissa handles that retort, you’re going to have to check out the clip above.

Are you Team Joe or Team Melissa? Let us know in the comments below.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.

(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)