Real Housewives of New Jersey fans love to dream about star Dolores Catania rekindling her romance with ex-husband, Frank Catania. However, Dolores has made it clear that it will never happen.
The two have managed to create a platonic relationship that works for them. It has allowed them to raise their children together and support each other no matter what they’re going through. However, that support doesn’t mean that either of them longs for a romantic relationship with the other– they have been divorced for twenty-two years, after all.
Not to mention, Dolores has been in a relationship for the last few years with her boyfriend, David Principe. And, while on the surface it may seem that the two don’t have all that much in common, the truth is that they have managed to build their relationship into a stable place where they are both content.
During a recent interview with ET, Dolores explored the disconnect between what the RHONJ viewers see and what her relationship with David is actually about.
Viewers don’t understand the ‘independence’ in her relationship with David
ET correspondent Brice Sander started the conversation by pointing out how Dolores’ relationship comes off to RHONJ fans.
“Overall, the audience doesn’t seem to get you and David. There seems to be something that the audience is missing about this relationship. What do you think the viewers don’t get about your connection with him?” Brice asked.
Dolores responded, “The viewers don’t get my connection with David is the amount of independence that we both have from each other and still have the relationship that we have.”
“You have to understand, we’re at different parts of our lives. You know, we’re not a young couple and we both are very set in our ways. We both like our space. We both love our independence. And as much as people would like me to say, ‘Oh, I want more for you,’ I have everything I want right now, and that’s a hard thing for people to grasp,” she continued.
Dolores says if she wanted more she ‘would go find it’
“Because if I wanted more, I would go find it. But I really like being with someone who isn’t so dependent on me — that if I wanna get up and go away for five days, I can just go. And he’s fine. And he’s gonna be in the same spot I left him,” Dolores further explained.
Dolores also clarified where she sees her relationship with David moving to in the future, including whether or not they may consider marriage.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “That move wasn’t going to define my relationship at the moment. I may wake up one day and say, ‘Wow, you know what? Maybe I really wanna get married. Maybe I wanna live with somebody full-time. Maybe I want something different in the relationship department’ and then I’ll have to weigh out if this relationship is going to fit me for my next part of my life.”
She concluded, “But for now, it works. I mean, think about it. I’ve been divorced twenty two years. That’s a long time. I got divorced when I was 28-years-old.”
Dolores continued on to say that she has raised her kids, owns her own home, and has found success in her own right. According to her, she has “so much going” for her and she’s not always willing to share that.
“When you’re married, when you’re engaged, you share so much more of your life. And right now, I’m enjoying and I’m living off of what I built. So for the past twenty-five years, my whole life revolved around everybody but me… But I’m enjoying myself right now,” she admitted.
She added, “I was only married for a short time of my life. But I know my single life very, very well and I’m not unhappy with it.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.