Dolores Catania has been a cast member on The Real Housewives of New Jersey since season 7, despite being asked to join for season 1. The housewife has strong ties with the group that extends beyond the show. Dolores has been friends with Teresa Giudice since they were teenagers, and Joe Gorga worked with her sister at a restaurant. Fans are now wondering why Dolores decided to turn down the offer for RHONJ season 1 when she was initially approached.
The first season of RHONJ premiered in 2009 and starred Teresa, Caroline and Dina Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita, and Danielle Staub. In order to cast interesting people for the Bravo reality series, the producers scouted groups of friends at a local hair salon. Dolores was one of the women who was a customer at Chateau salon in Franklin Lakes, which has since been permanently closed. While the current RHONJ housewife made brief cameos on earlier seasons of the show, she didn’t say yes right away. Everyone in the group was locked in as a cast member, but Dolores wasn’t so sure about her potential reality TV fame.
As a recent guest on Tamra Judge and Teddi Mellencamp’s podcast Two T’s In A Pod, Dolores explained the backstory of how she got on the show. Bravo fans may not know that she was sought out from the beginning and ultimately declined the offer. “I decided not to do it because things got a little weird for me. I had not a great feeling back then about it because my kids were little. So Danielle Staub took my place.” Tamra and Teddi were shocked to hear this exclusive information. They know firsthand what it’s like to interview for a Real Housewives show, and it’s an extremely rare opportunity.
When Dolores finally became a housewife on RHONJ season 7, she knew it was the right time to have a place on the Garden State franchise. “Years later, I had a lot more to offer, I think. Timing is everything.” Dolores has been through a lot in her life, including her ex-husband Frank Catania losing money in a bad investment, working multiple jobs, and being engaged to someone for a short amount of time. The mom of two was also older and wiser, and Dolores’ kids, Gabrielle and Frankie Catania, were growing up. For Dolores, being on a reality show like RHONJ seemed to make more sense now than it did when season 1 was filming.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey might have been very different if Dolores was part of the cast during season 1 instead of Danielle. Teresa’s famous table flip probably wouldn’t have happened, which became one of the most iconic moments in Real Housewives history. In the end, Dolores was better off waiting until the later seasons of RHONJ when the show was more established. Everything happens for a reason, and that was definitely true for Dolores.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
