To me, Dolores Catania has always been an enigma. The mother of two has a mysterious aura about her. And I often forget she lived about nine lives before landing on Real Housewives of New Jersey. The Bravo star was a pharmacy rep, gym owner, and corrections officer, so I doubt a lot scares this Paterson native. Dolores is one of the strongest housewives in the series. And she usually never backs down from a fight.
But for some odd reason, there are moments when it feels like Dolores might be afraid of upsetting Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas. And personally, I am curious why. When you see Dolo back down from confronting the OG, it almost feels like an oxymoron. Fans have never, ever seen Dolores scared. In a perfect world, I would like to see Dolores stand up to Tre, but we know that isn’t happening. So what does the couple have on Dolores that ensures she doesn’t step out of line?
Dolores Catania overreacted with Margaret Josephs during the RHONJ Season 14 finale
I still can’t get over Dolores and Margaret Josephs’ confrontation while snacking on a cronut. The explosion of anger came out of right field, and it got me thinking. Dolores’ reaction to Marge in the Season 14 finale was visceral. Her tantrum could be seen as her speaking the truth about Margaret lying. Or it could be seen as Dolo protecting herself. The argument was about Margaret’s pre-reunion meet-up the night before the Season 13 reunion was filmed.
Already, the details seem sketchy. I would wager that Dolores might recall being told about the get-together in passing. She just didn’t want Teresa to know she knew.
The Season 13 reunion was sketchy at best
I am immediately brought back to the Season 13 reunion as I think through moments. At the time, Frank Catania was adamantly against Luis as he called Tre’s husband out for digging up information on the group. However, Dolores insisted Luis and her son’s relationship ended on good terms. But fans weren’t buying that, as she shared, “He got another job, and that was it.”
But producers shared an unseen clip showing Frank Sr telling Joe Gorga that his son called, “‘They closed the company down.’ Frankie had no idea what was going on and said, ‘Dad, what do I do? I’ve been calling Luis. He won’t respond.’” Again, Dolores stepped in, arguing that Frankie Catania was “very happy” when he worked for Luis and “very thankful.” Dolores shut down the conversation, saying, “I don’t know what this rumor is, and I don’t want to talk about Frankie at all in this cesspit of anything.” If I am being honest, Dolores looked terrified that her ex-husband had overstepped.
Dolores Catania always gives Teresa Giudice a pass
It isn’t lost on Real Housewives of New Jersey viewers that over the years, Dolo has given her bestie many, many passes. There is a difference between being a good friend to someone and being blindly loyal. I feel Dolores has lost her footing within her friendship with Tre and no longer knows how to stand up to her. Dolores has this trait about her where she will go to bat for someone like Teresa over and over again until it personally affects her.
Season 14 showed Dolores once again standing up for Tre when Jennifer Aydin started yelling at her. For once, I think Jen had every right to be upset because Teresa didn’t defend her. But Dolores wasn’t having it and physically became a barrier between the two women.
Dolores can’t hide from the fact that she has overlooked pretty problematic things, all in the name of loyalty. It is admirable that the duo have a strong connection, which could be from knowing each other since they were kids. But I think Dolores is afraid Luis has information on her, too. If the series does get a reboot, I’d be interested to see if Dolores would speak out and finally share what she probably knew for years: Luis and now Teresa are bad news.
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TELL US — DO YOU THINK DOLORES IS AFRAID OF TERESA OR JUST BLINDLY LOYAL?
