The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania is weighing in on the apparent “plan” to ambush Teresa Giudice and her husband, Louis “Louie” Ruelas, during last year’s reunion.
“The meeting happened 100 percent. No one denied the meeting happened,” Dolores, 53, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting RHONJ season 14. “What the denial was [regarding was what] the meeting was about.”
Teresa, 51, and Louie sat down for dinner with Dolores and her boyfriend, Paul “Paulie” Connell, during the RHONJ season 14 premiere on Sunday, May 5. During the meal, Teresa claimed there was a “plan” in place for what would be said about her and Louie — which Paulie confirmed hearing.
In her confessional, Dolores explained that a “meeting of the minds” before filming a reunion is somewhat normal. However, she confirmed to Us that it’s not something she partakes in.
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“I don’t rehearse the reunion [like] Andy [Cohen]‘s going to come out and he’s going to say this and I’m going to say this,’” Dolores explained. “If that doesn’t happen, now you’re stumped. Now, you can’t think on your feet because you have already rehearsed something that’s going to happen. Now you have to take that minute to regroup and think about what you’re going to say. So, I would never want to even think about the reunion until I’m sitting on that stage.”
Dolores Catania Andrew Eccles/Bravo
Dolores also speculated why she wasn’t asked to join said meeting.
“There were probably things said in there that they wouldn’t want somebody who was friends with everyone to hear,” she explained. “Hence, why I wouldn’t really be privy to that meeting.”
The RHONJ season 13 reunion aired in summer 2023, and multiple cast members hurled allegations at Teresa and Louis. Rachel Fuda’s husband, John Fuda, claimed Louie had a private investigator look into their family. Dolores’ ex-husband, Frank Catania, even made a brief aside about Louie after their son, Frankie Catania, no longer worked with him.
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The allegations against Teresa and Louie, however, have not stopped Dolores from being a ride or die for them. (Teresa and Louie got married in August 2022, and combined their families. Teresa shares four daughters — Gia, 23, Gabriella, 20, Milania, 18, and Audriana, 14, with ex-husband Joe Giudice. Louis is a father to sons Nicholas, 21, and Louie Jr., 19.)
Rachel Fuda, Margaret Josephs, Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, Teresa Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, and Danielle Cabral. Andrew Eccles/Bravo
“He is good for Theresa, and they are good for each other,” she told Us. “Outside of that, from there on, I don’t give a crap about anything. I don’t care what his ex-girlfriend says. I don’t care what he does to me. I don’t care what he says. He can be reactive — probably shouldn’t be — that’s got nothing to do with me. What I care about most: Are those kids happy? Do they like him? Yes. Is he good to Teresa? Yes.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.