Melissa Gorga Shares Secret to 20-Year Marriage Ahead of Wedding Anniversary

Melissa Gorga is sharing the key to success in her marriage!

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star, 45, revealed in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE that one of the ways she and her husband Joe Gorga have kept their marriage strong after 20 years is by going on “date nights.”

“I do give a lot of the credit to Joe on this,” Melissa tells PEOPLE ahead of celebrating her 20th wedding anniversary this August. “He is a preacher when it comes to relationships and how they should be handled. He truly believes in compliments and coming home and really having … We have date nights.”

“I know this sounds so cliche, but we do. We still have date nights. We’ll still go see a movie.”

The mom of three adds that the pair also keeps their relationship strong by taking trips together, whenever they can find the time outside of their long work schedules.

“We don’t spend a lot of time apart,” Melissa tells PEOPLE. “We spend time apart all day long while we’re at work. I don’t see Joe from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. ever, so our days are apart. When he does come home and I come home … we spend weekends together, we plan trips together.”

Hanging out with other couples helps too, she explains. “I always say that is a huge little trick of the trade,” she says. “Find couples that enjoy each other’s company as much as you enjoy each other’s company and … go on vacation and go to dinners and go see a show … that’s a great remedy for a healthy marriage.”

The Bravo star says that a little bit of tension between the couple also keeps the spark alive, adding that they’ve had their fair share of “cute arguments.”

Melissa and Joe tied the knot back in 2004, before joining the franchise in 2011. The pair share three children: Gino, 16, Joey, 13, and Antonia, 18.

For their upcoming anniversary in August, Melissa tells PEOPLE she and Joe are planning a family vacation to the Amalfi Coast in Italy, where they’ll also celebrate his birthday.

“I’m very excited about that,” she tells PEOPLE. “I’m actually taking my two sisters and my mother and both brother-in-laws with us.”

“We got married on Joe’s birthday. On the night when it turned midnight, it was Joe’s birthday, so we’re celebrating Joe’s birthday and our 20 year wedding anniversary in the same week.”

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Season 14 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey premieres Sunday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes will stream the next day on Peacock, where previous seasons can also be seen.