There’s a new man in her life. Dolores Catania’s ex-husband, Frank Catania, is having a hard time adjusting to life with her new boyfriend, Paul Connell, in the picture.
During the March 14 episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Frank gets emotional during his ex-wife’s charity softball game over how his relationship with Dolores has changed.
“This is a hard time for [Frank], it’s a transition and he doesn’t like change. He’s taking it personal and he is hurt. I don’t wanna see him hurt,” Dolores, 52, explained to Us Weekly on Monday, March 13. “Then I’m mad, don’t make me feel guilty right now, just go along with this for me. I’ve always been there for everybody. Just let me enjoy somebody who is giving me a lot of attention. Paul wants to be so much a part of my life and he’s so good about it and I’m enjoying my time here. So please don’t take that away from me and make me feel bad.”
The New Jersey native and his ex-wife called it quits in 1998 after four years of marriage. The duo share daughter Gabby, 27, and son Frankie, 24.
“We’ll always be there for each other and the kids aren’t little anymore and there isn’t the call for that to be so much intertwined, but there’s a happy medium for everything and there’s compromises in relationships and we’re just not used to it,” Dolores explained to Us. “In 25 years we’ve never had to do this and he’s in a serious relationship and I’m very happy for them.”
Dolores and Frank’s drama isn’t the only thing trying to get resolved, however. In a recent interview with Extra TV, Melissa Gorga said she was hopeful that she, her husband Joe Gorga, Teresa Giudice and Luis “Louie” Rules could make their relationship “better” and eventually “be in the same room” amid their ongoing rift.
“If Teresa’s done, then it’s going to be done,” Dolores told Us. “I don’t know what’s in store for them in the future. I’m sure time heals, but I don’t know what they can ever be again. Maybe they can be people that are in the same room together, but not as brother and sister.”
Despite all this discord on-camera, Dolores did raise over $200,000 to benefit Brooklyn, New York’s Maimonides Hospital during her second annual charity softball game.
“This is so important to me because I love to support Maimonides Hospital. They’ve been open seven days a week for over a hundred years and never turned anyone away, whether they have insurance or not,” Dolores explained to Us. “You really need to help them stay open and keep going. The money that I raised at this softball game, that we raised, went to the breast center, which means that if you walk in there and you’re sick or have breast cancer, you can get a mammogram whether you have insurance or not. Nobody’s turned away, so, that means the world to me to be able to.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Tuesdays on Bravo at 9 p.m. ET.
