Dolores Catania says Bravo viewers will “finally understand [the] family dynamic” with her ex-husband Frank Catania and current boyfriend Dr. David Principe this season on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
“If you’re a friend of mine or if I’m dating you, if you’re my boyfriend, you don’t really have me, but you have a whole family behind me of really good people,” she told Page Six. “That’s why I’m very picky with who I let in my life. Not everybody deserves it.”
Dolores then gets candid about her relationship with Frank Sr., who has been divorced for roughly two decades but they remain close friends and often spend time together - without their kids, as seen on the Bravo hit reality series.
Dolores shared that it didn’t take long for her and Frank to get in a good place after their split all those years ago.
“There wasn’t a lot of time to play games when you have two children involved who can get hurt by their parents fighting. After my divorce, I decided I was going to make the best of whatever family I had. So I put a lot of things — my frustration, my resentment — that would happen with any kind of infidelity in a relationship, aside,” she said. “I made myself be the bigger person, which I, to this day, am very proud of — and it worked out for the best for everybody.”
Dolores and her boyfriend David were first linked in 2017 and made their red carpet debut together in 2019. Since then, Frank and Principe have gotten close and Principe even cared for Frank after he needed surgery. Dolores' son Frankie also lived with Principe while studying for his exams amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was always like this,” Dolores told Page Six of how close they are. “It took a while for David to get used to the fast pace of my life and the people in and out [of my house]. That took him a little getting used to. But like anything else, it’s all positive. It’s good energy.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy via Dolores Catania/Instagram (2)