Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania is hopping over to another franchise. During RHONJ’s never-ending pause, Dolores is appearing on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island. She will be a friend of the Season 1 cast.
As if that wasn’t enough, Dolores’s boyfriend, Paulie Connell, finally popped the question. He asked Dolores to be his wife in an Apple store, which is where they first met. And then Paulie presented her with an 11-carat sparkler. Of course, I have been rooting for Dolores to find her happily-ever-after. And now the bride-to-be is spilling some tea about Bravo’s newest franchise.
Dolores Catania says the RHORI cast “did not hold back”
During BravoCon’s Days of Our Wives: 20 Years of The Real Housewives special, Andy Cohen asked Dolores for some details about RHORI. “They reminded me of us when we were just starting out. They’re very green,” Dolores explained. “They don’t do a lot of social media. They weren’t really privy to all the shows, so they are really, truly themselves.” She added, “They don’t try to be anyone else, and I love that about them.”
Dolores continued, “So, I think we’re all going to embrace that part of them, but they’re very green, so I don’t know. They did not hold back. Unfiltered, to the max.” Well, that certainly sounds promising.
According to the RHORI trailer, there are seven full-time cast members in the new series. Bachelor star Ashley Iaconetti, Rosie DiMare, Alicia Carmody, Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, Jo-Ellen Tiberi, Liz McGraw, and Kelsey Swanson are the newbie housewives.
For his part, Andy seems stoked about the new series. “It’s gonna be really good,” Andy teased in September. “We’re almost done filming the season, and it’s popping!” He added, “You do not wanna [f*ck] with the people from Rhodie.” I’m interested to see, with the cast’s deep family roots, how similar this show will be to RHONJ.
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island arrives on Bravo in 2026.
TELL US – ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT RHORI? ARE YOU GLAD THAT DOLORES WILL BE A FRIEND OF THE HOUSEWIVES?
