Dolores Catania explained why she can remain friends with all of her castmates from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
In a January 2025 interview with The Sun, the Bravo veteran said she does not have to choose sides amid the deeply divided cast because she has known everyone for so long.
“I feel like I have diplomatic immunity here where I can just be their friends because I knew them back when,” Catania explained of her separate friendships with Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, and more. “I knew them when they were close, when they weren’t close and when they were close again.
“No one really tells me who to be friends with,” she added. “Whether it’s the popular opinion or not, I’ve always stood my ground that I would take my stand against a stranger, not against a friend group.”
Catania is known as the “Switzerland” of the RHONJ group. Her season 14 tagline was, “I’m a girl from Paterson, playing Switzerland, dating an Irishman.”
The 14th season of RHONJ featured Catania, Giudice, Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Jennifer Aydin, Danielle Cabral, and Rachel Fuda, and “friends” Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Fessler.
Dolores Catania Explained Why She Refuses to Take Sides
The 14th season of RHONJ was so toxic that the cast didn’t even gather for a traditional reunion with host Andy Cohen. Instead, they watched and discussed the finale in two separate rooms at Rails Steakhouse. Catania was the only cast member who spent time in both rooms.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Catania admitted that Giudice probably isn’t thrilled that she is friends with her estranged sister-in-law, Gorga.
“Listen, does she love it? I’m sure she doesn’t love it,” Catania told the outlet in December 2024. “But she doesn’t hate it either, because there’s no reason not for me to be friends with Melissa. I was there from the beginning, and I’ve been friends with them through their ins and outs, so Teresa’s not really one to tell people who they can be friends with.”
Catania noted that it would be even worse if she picked sides. “Because what happens when they get close again if they get close again?”she said. “And I’m not just saying them, but other friends in groups. When they get into fights you pick a side and then they make up, then where do you stand?”
Catania did tell The Sun that she had little hope that Giudice and Gorga would ever reconcile.
Dolores Catania Is ‘Mad’ Her Co-Stars Can’t Get Along
In July 2024, “ Real Housewives” executive producer Andy Cohen confirmed on his Sirius XM show, “Andy Cohen Live” that there would be a rebrand for RHONJ. It has not been announced if there will be a full reboot or a partial cast shakeup, but Cohen made it clear that something must change amid the cast divide.
Catania told People magazine she was disappointed that her castmates made such a “mess” of things last season, thus putting them all in jeopardy. “I’m a little mad that everybody couldn’t get it together. I really am,” she said in December.
She also told The Sun that she continues to keep in touch with everyone as they await their fate. “Everything is pretty good. I was out to eat with Jennifer and Bill last week. I was in Miami and Joe and Melissa were there. Margaret called me on my way here. Jenn Fessler, I speak to regularly. I speak to literally everybody. Rachel Fuda has a baby shower coming up, I’ll be there.”
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Dolores Catania Opens Up About Her RHONJ Friendships