I’ve always loved Dolores Catania on the Real Housewives of New Jersey. As the muscle of the group, she never strayed from her Paterson roots. Over the years, Dolores has done her best to help her co-stars work out their issues. The Garden State franchise has always been known for its rough and ready arguments, but for the most part, they always found their way back to one another through grudge-holding and forgiveness. However, Season 14 of RHONJ proved too much for the ladies, as Bravo is now seriously thinking of a reboot.
Dolores Catania is turning the tables on her friends
Shortly after Christmas, Dolores opened up to People about her real feelings regarding the end of an era. Even though the network has yet to confirm a reboot, fans know it is coming. Dolores is more than a “little mad” with her friends, who just couldn’t get their act together. She told the outlet, “We didn’t film last season, so we’re not coming back… we’re not going to be airing in January or February.” The 53-year-old reality star added, “Of course, I’d look forward to seeing my cast come back on the screen or even come back to film, but they made a mess. I’m a little mad that everybody couldn’t get it together. I really am.”
It was hard to miss the rifts deepening during Season 14. Melissa Gorga and Teresa Giudice refused to interact, and when Real Housewives doesn’t film, that’s an issue. According to Dolores, the franchise and its cast veered way off course. The mother of two noted, “We f*cking lost something along the way. I’m looking at Salt Lake City, and I’m looking at Beverly Hills and they fight, but they don’t go for the jugular. They’re not hitting below the belt. They agree to disagree and move on.”
Dolores Catania tried to keep the group together
It turns out Dolores tried everything within her power to get the ladies talking. She shared, “On my way to that finale, I spoke to a therapist and asked her for some tips on going in and speaking to the women. I wrote it down in the car ride on the way there. And no matter what I did on and off camera, nothing helped.” Real Housewives of New Jersey fans will recall that the finale was recorded in two separate rooms due to the tension. Dolo added, “You could see I was defeated. I sat there, and I knew you wouldn’t be seeing us for a while. I saw it coming.” Now, with the idea of seeing some fresh faces, Dolores is finding herself mad as hell.
It turns out she is not supportive of a recast. “I feel like we’re an ensemble and I can’t see anyone else but the people that I was with. It’s like a family. Can you see yourself with other people in your family?” quipped Dolores. I have to say I agree. I loved what the Real Housewives of New Jersey used to represent. But the franchise became a circus thanks to the Giudice/Gorga feud.
This Reality Tea writer agrees with Dolores Catania
I get it. Dolores is upset, and frankly, she has every right to be. For Dolores, the pause is like a divorce. She shared, “We’ve traveled the world together, we’ve cried together, we fought together. You have to move on. Otherwise, you’ll have no one in your life. Now we have no one. So what do you think? Do you think a full recast works? I’m not so sure.” But the more important point here is that Dolores worked her tail off to help the ladies overcome their issues, and most of them just threw it back in her face. Dolores never had to step up and be the peacekeeper. Hell, I’d argue she was at her best when she was throwing punches and arguing with Danielle Staub.
But every time Dolores fought, she went the extra mile to reconcile and move forward, making sure not to hold the Real Housewives of New Jersey back. You would think the other women would have taken a page from her book in order to keep their Bravo paycheck. Dolores is right about one thing. “It’s time to put egos aside. You don’t throw something like this away. We had great ratings. We did well—we just have to learn how to act. This is what life is. It’s about fighting and making up.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is available to stream on Peacock.
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