Dolores Catania isn’t sure Teresa Giudice and Jackie Goldschneider‘s newfound friendship will last.
While appearing on Sunday night’s Watch What Happens Live, Dolores, 53, raised questions about the intentions behind her Real Housewives of New Jersey castmates’ relationship, confirmed that Frank Catania, 59, met with Margaret Josephs, 57, before the season 13 reunion, and hinted that Teresa, 51, and Jennifer Aydin, 47, frequently meet before filming to “[plan].”
When asked about Teresa’s surprising new friendship with Jackie, Dolores questioned if it was based on a mutual dislike of someone.
“We don’t know what will last. I’m happy to see anyone make up, always, I’m always an advocate for that, but a friendship that’s based on the dislike for another person doesn’t usually last,” Dolores explained on the May 5 episode of WWHL after being asked about Teresa and Jackie, 47. “It has to have a strong foundation. So I just hope it’s all for the right intentions, that friendship.”
After Teresa and Luis Ruelas, 50, were seen discussing Margaret’s alleged takedown plot against Luis on the premiere episode on Sunday night, Dolores said that while the meeting did happen, she couldn’t say what exactly went down.
“He was invited to the meeting. Was it to take Luis and Teresa down? I couldn’t say that. But I can say it was a meeting before the reunion,” she shared.
She then seemed to suggest that Teresa and Jennifer are known to discuss their plans ahead of reunion specials.
“I have a theory: You cannot practice what you’re gonna say before you get in the reunion because it throws you off. You can’t go in with a script like, ‘[Andy Cohen]’s gonna say this and then I’m gonna say this,’” she noted. “But conversations happen, honestly, not with me. Teresa and Jennifer, I’ve never had conversations with them before the reunion. They might be more into that kind of stuff. I’m not into planning things.”
Ahead of the premiere episode of RHONJ, rumors began swirling regarding Teresa’s relationship with Frank and the family after she was noticeably absent from his fiancée Brittany Mattessich‘s bridal shower, which Melissa Gorga, 45, attended.
“Brittany and Frank and Melissa, and also [Rachel Fuda] was there. Margaret had a wedding. They don’t really speak, Teresa and Brittany, they’re not that close,” Dolores explained, then, moving on to Teresa and Frank, Dolores clarified, “They don’t really speak.”
“I don’t think there’s any animosity between the two of them but there’s just not that close. They’ve spoke since [the reunion]. I think he’d sat and spoke with Luis since. There’s just no friendship but there’s no animosity,” she added.
When Andy, 55, then asked if Luis had taken ownership of hiring PI or threatening Margaret’s son at work, Dolores confirmed he did not.
“He never said that it was him … It kind of [went away]. They stopped asking, they stopped talking about it, everything went away and I want it to stay there,” she noted.
Looking back at the premiere episode, Dolores reacted to boyfriend Paul “Paulie” Connell‘s drama with John Fuda, 37.
“I knew I had to defuse it. I think that John came in hot. He’s very emotional, and Paul was trying to talk reason with him. I know the group and I know the dynamics. You can’t talk when people are emotional,” she revealed. “I also know when something’s gonna escalate. I’ve been around enough.”
As for the rumors about John from his ex-wife, including claims of a past arrest on gun and drug charges, Dolores didn’t seem to take the report too seriously.
“I don’t believe them, but I think, you know, you do things when you’re 18 that you don’t really know what you’re doing,” she reasoned.
Also during the live broadcast, Dolores was asked if Teresa should have spoken to John about the rumors at Jennifer Fessler‘s party.
“No that’s not possible, not when something just came out about him, and he’s already worked up about it, and he’s probably saying it came from there,” she replied. “I think that I’m sure somewhere through the party he got the word that that was being said and he was already worked up about it.”
Later, on the WWHL: After Show, Dolores was asked if Rachel was being petty when she cropped Teresa out of a group photo she shared on Instagram to promote season 14.
“Well I wish that she hadn’t but they had done that to her. It wasn’t petty. It was retaliation,” Dolores clarified. “Teresa cropped out, it was everybody but me, Jen, and her, so then Rachel, I’m not big on doing the same thing back because then it makes you wrong too. I like being able to say, ‘Why’d you do that?’ You can’t say, ‘Why’d you do that,’ when you did the same thing.”
“It was getting her back for her doing,” she added.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 airs Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.