Getty Dolores Catania in 2021.
As fans of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are aware, Dolores Catania and her ex-husband, Frank Catania, have a close friendship. Dolores, who shares two children, Frankie Catania and Gabrielle Catania, with Frank, is currently dating Paul “Paulie” Connell. While recording a December 2022 episode of the “Behind The Velvet Rope” podcast, hosted by David Yontef, former RHONJ personality Kim DePaola claimed that Frank has a complicated relationship with his ex-wife’s boyfriend, who will appear in the upcoming thirteenth season of RHONJ.
According to DePaola, Dolores has not maintained a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Dr. David Principe, even though Frank and her children have remained close to him. The 61-year-old explained that “Paulie is a bit old fashioned” and shared she does not believe “he’s too thrilled with Dolores being buddy buddy with her recent ex.” She then asserted that “it took [Connell] a long time to handle the Frank situation.” When Yontef chimed in that he did not believe that “the Frank situation is handled,” DePaola clarified that the pair is not close and asserted that Connell does not love Frank. She noted, however, that the former lawyer and his girlfriend, Brittany Mattessich, were guests at Connell’s house during the RHONJ season 13 finale.
“It’s not handled, but when they were filming, they had never met before and then Frank was at his house with Brittany for the finale so it’s not handled, but it’s handled, if you know what I mean, there’s a gray area there,” explained the 61-year-old.
Frank Catania Discussed Filming the RHONJ Season Finale
Frank discussed filming the RHONJ season 13 finale at Connell’s home, where his ex-wife now resides, during an August 2022 interview with Page Six. He noted that Dolores’ boyfriend threw a theme party, where Melissa Gorga and her husband, Joe Gorga, had a heated interaction with Teresa Giudice.
“Paulie did an excellent job, his place was set up so beautifully for so many different — and we didn’t even get to all the themes that he set up because it got so crazy, it got so crazy, let’s put it this way, there had to be people in between the women, there had to be people in between the men,” recalled the father of two.
The bodybuilder then shared he attempted to “keep the peace” at the event but noted, “it’s a hard crowd to keep down.”
Frank Catania Spoke About His Relationship With His Ex-Wife’s Boyfriend
In an October 2022 interview with Us Weekly, Frank shared he is “not on the best of terms” with Connell. He explained that issues arose because “Paul isn’t used to the dynamic between Dolores and [him].” He asserted, however, that Connell does not need to feel threatened by his friendship with his ex-wife.
“If you spend more time with Dolores and I, you get to see there is nothing to worry about. I love her and I will always love her and I will always take care of her,” explained the reality television personality.
He then noted that he believed Connell has “been much more comfortable” with him.
“Any tension that was there before, I feel that it’s gone… When I see him, we hug now, it’s like a man hug,” stated the RHONJ star.