Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania has chosen not to take sides in the Season 11 feud currently playing out onscreen between OG Housewife Teresa Giudice and Jackie Goldschneider.
In the Season 11 premiere, while at Evan Goldschneider’s birthday party, Teresa thought it would be a good idea to repeat a rumor she had heard stating that Evan was cheating on his wife, Jackie, while he was at the gym.
Although Dolores and Teresa have been friends for decades and Dolores has come to Teresa’s defense on more than one occasion over the years, this time it seems that she’s taking a more diplomatic approach.
During a chat with Hollywood Access’ Housewives Nightcap, Dolores confirms that she’s not choosing sides in what might be the current season’s most dramatic feud.
Dolores won’t take sides in the feud between ‘friends’
According to Dolores, choosing sides while her friends engage in a fight is the equivalent of picking one sibling over another, and she’s simply not willing to do that.
“We do have to ask you about the last – the premiere – episode because that’s really what everyone was talking about,” the ladies of Housewives Nightcap asked Dolores. “We do need your take on it. Whose side are you on with this whole thing?”
“Well, I never take sides with my friends. Because it’s like when sisters fight, you take a side– My mother taught me this a long time ago. I’m one of five [children], and my mother’s like, when I call her and complain about my sister or my sister will call and complain about me, she sits silently on the phone,” she explained.
“Because if you take a side, they’re gonna get back together and then where do you stand? So, but I try to like not let them really hurt each other,” she continued.
Dolores admits Teresa shouldn’t have mentioned rumor at the party, says Jackie should have chosen different analogy
Although she wasn’t willing to take sides, Dolores did weigh in on what started the conflict between her co-stars.
“So, I know Teresa. And I know what she did at that party. Was it wrong to bring it up at the party? We all agree it was wrong. We all agree it was a wrong thing to do. She should’ve told her in private. Right?” Dolores said.
She also pointed out that because she knows Teresa, she knows her motives weren’t to “eviscerate” Jackie.
Dolores then explained Teresa’s thought process, “I know, Teresa heard it, and it was in her head. And she just started talking about it. And I know that’s exactly what happened. And it got back to Jackie in a way it wasn’t supposed to.”
She admitted, “Now, Jackie was right until she was wrong. She was right to be upset. But I could have said five hundred thousand things other than what she said.”
Dolores concluded that while she understood that Jackie made the analogy about Gia in order to try and help Teresa understand how spreading the rumor had hurt her, she should have picked something else to use with Teresa.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays 9/8c on Bravo.