Heavy/Bravo/NBCUniversal Stars from "The Real Housewives of New Jersey."
Dolores Catania said she begged her “Real Housewives of New Jersey” co-stars to reel in the drama months before talk of a reboot began this year.
During an appearance on Jason Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast on August 19, 2024, Catania addressed rumors of a cast shakeup should the reality show return for a 15th season.
“I mean NBC is going to shake things up with us,” she said of Bravo’s parent company. “There was some stuff that happened off-camera they weren’t happy about and it just got too ugly at the moment. And I think it got so hot it needs to cool down.”
Catania, who is the self-described “Switzerland” of the cast, also revealed that she spoke with each of her co-stars individually in an attempt to stop them from ruining the show.
In addition to Catania, the 14th season of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” starred Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral, and Rachel Fuda, and “friends” Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler.
Dolores Catania Told Her Co-Stars the Fighting Had to ‘Stop’
Bravo Jennifer Aydin, Dolores Catania, Jennifer Fessler of RHONJ.
The infighting among RHONJ cast members reached a new level during season 14. Feuding sisters-in-law Giudice and Gorga refused to speak to one another, and there were two physical altercations between Aydin and Cabral, one of which resulted in their temporary suspension from filming.
Amid the cast toxicity and an explosive finale filming at Rails Steakhouse, Cohen promised on his Sirius XM radio show “Andy Cohen Live” that RHONJ will be rebooted in some way.
Catania saw it coming. She told Tartick that during filming in the summer of 2023, she warned her friends to reel it in. “I told everyone a year ago, ‘Pull in your horns, chill out. All separately off camera, just sit back, stop,’” she said. “’Whatever is going on, it’s gonna get the network to a breaking point with us. Just stop.’”
Catania noted that the cast for RHONJ is “a really good group.”
“We’re number one show a lot of times, we’re the most relatable but we can’t do it if we’re just ripping each other apart,” she added. “It’s gotta stop.”
She also shared that she advised her feuding co-stars to “just ignore each other” if they couldn’t get along. “I saw it coming,” she said.
“They don’t even know if the show will be back,” she added. “Maybe from some divine intervention something good will happen.”
Catania noted that the thought of the show being rebooted takes her “breath away” because she has worked so hard over the past eight years. “We’ve shared so much,” she said. “And one thing about us all is we’re very family-orientated. There’s some things that we all have in common. Why couldn’t we just pull it together? When I tell you begged, [I] begged them all.”
Dolores Catania Said All Real Housewives Have an ‘Expiration Date’
BravoThe cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Catania has been a main cast member on RHONJ since season 7 in 2016. In an August 2024 interview on “Jeff Lewis Live,” she admitted that Real Housewives all have an “expiration date.”
“I always said no matter how our expiration date happens—because everybody has an expiration date as a housewife, it is not a forever thing—I would leave gracefully with a lot of gratitude because this has done so much for me,” she shared. “Did I ever belong to be on TV? … How did I get to this beautiful life? So, I was always grateful every year, like, thank you.”
On Tartick’s podcast, Catania confirmed she does not know her status on RHONJ for next season. “I don’t know the fate of the show,” she said. “But you never know from year to year whether you’re getting signed up again.”
READ NEXT: Jackie Goldschneider Reveals What She Did After Awkward RHONJ Exit
Comments
RHONJ Star ‘Begged’ Castmates to Stop Fighting Before Bravo Threatened Reboot