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The Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s Dolores Catania organized a second charity softball event, and it will air during the March 14 episode. The Bravo star, who successfully raised $100,000 during her first event in 2021, opened up about the special cause for an upcoming episode of HollywoodLife‘s Pay Attention Puh-Lease! podcast. “It is really exciting for me and it means so much for me because it’s the one time in the season that you will actually see — even if there’s some turmoil going on — when we hit that field, we’re still a team. I think you need to see that to understand there’s still hope for all of our friendships,” she said.
This season’s charity event, which was held in 2022 and raised $200,000, was held to benefit Maimonides Hospital — a care center that has “never turned one person away” in the 100 years since it opened. Dolores and her co-stars all participated during the Season 13 event, and they even brought their husbands and kids to play, too. And despite all the drama that’s been going on this season, everyone had a good time and laughed together.
“What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room,” Dolores told us. “It warms my heart to see that we’re a team [on the field]. What you [won’t] see [in the episode, however,] is this year they had one of the cancer survivors throw a ball out to us, and the doctors had such a good time, which they deserve. They are the heroes of the hospital … that hospital has a special place in my heart.”
She added, “The money that we raised at the event this year went to the breast center, so whether you have insurance or not, you can now get care.”
This week’s episode is definitely an emotional one, but not just because of the money the cast raised for those in need. Dolores’ ex, Frank Catania, also confesses to her that he misses the relationship they used to have — the one they had before her new boyfriend, Paul Connell, came around. And he reveals this with tears in his eyes. The episode will reveal how Dolores reacts, but for now, she told us, “[I’m now dating] Paul, who had to get used to the dynamics of me and Frank, [but] there had to be somewhat of a transition, and I allowed that because my kids are older now and they have their own lives, so this was kind of a life I was making. And I had to consider Paulie’s feelings about that, but also, it hurt my feelings to see Frank [get upset], which you’ll see [in this week’s episode] — I think people are going to be upset with me for that.”
She continued, “I’ve put everybody before me my whole entire life, and [my new relationship] was something I was putting my time into, I was enjoying, and it was a different dynamic with me and Paul. Paul wanted to spend a lot of time with me, and I’ve never had that. So I was kind of relishing in it. I knew things would work out [with Frank], which down the road you will see. But still, it’s hard to watch.”
Want to see more? New episodes of RHONJ air Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo. And Dolores’ full episode on the Pay Attention Puh-Lease! podcast will drop this Friday, March 17, on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.