Dolores Catania is no stranger to reality TV, so when she says The Real Housewives of Rhode Island is different from the other franchises she should be trusted.
“I’m very excited,” Dolores, 54, said of the newest Housewives franchise during the Tuesday, November 18, episode of the “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast.
The former Real Housewives of New Jersey star teased, “These girls are not going to try to emulate other Housewives. They are themselves and I love it.”
Dolores called the new show “raw,” revealing that her castmates are “not afraid of bloggers,” seemingly referring to the pitfalls that haunted The Real Housewives of Orange County cast during season 19 and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City stars during season 4.
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RHOC’s Katie Ginella made enemies of most of her costars this season after allegedly leaking information to a blogger. RHOSLC alum Monica Garcia was unveiled as one of the people behind the gossip account Reality Von Tease that was badmouthing her costars before she exited the show.
“They don’t know much about bloggers. They’re not big all over social media,” Dolores said of the RHORI newbies. “I’m sure they’re getting it now, but this first season, these girls are absolutely themselves and it reminded me of Jersey before things got crazy.”
Dolores explained, “These girls don’t know everything yet, so they were just all out 100 percent themselves.”
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The reality star went on to give a preview of some of the cast, calling Alicia Carmody the “pizza mama,” because she owns a bunch of pizza parlors. Dolores said Alicia is “very sweet” and “funny.”
Dolores identified Liz McGraw as her pick for “breakout star” of the season, noting the pair are good friends.
“Liz is the cannabis queen. They pioneered it,” she said of what Liz is known for. “She is the realist person you’ll ever meet.”
Dolores, who will be a “friend” of the cast for season 1, revealed that the RHORI group is so green that they didn’t know her track record as a former RHONJ Housewife.
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“Somebody on the cast tried to say I said something that I absolutely did not because I don’t repeat things. See they don’t know me yet,” Dolores explained on the podcast. “Liz knows me, and Liz said, ‘Not her style. My friend didn’t say that.’”
Dolores recalled Liz taking off her mic and then going straight to her to relay what was being said behind her back.
Bravo announced in May that The Real Housewives of Rhode Island will be the network’s 11th franchise.
“Set against the shores of the Ocean State, the Real Housewives franchise expands into the world of a tight-knit circle of Rhode Islanders who have deep community roots and families that go back generations,” the synopsis read. “With aspirational lives, thriving businesses and tangled family dynamics, these decade-long friendships prove that in a state this small, there’s no escaping your past … or each other.”
During BravoCon 2025 earlier this month, the network released the official trailer that featured the newest Housewives: Liz, Alicia, Rosie DiMare, Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, Kelsey Swanson, Jo-Ellen Tiber and Bachelor Nation’s Ashley Iaconetti. Dolores was confirmed as a friend-of role.
“In Rhode Island, everyone knows everyone,” the women said in a voiceover during the trailer. “People here, they don’t look down on other states, but they are weirded out that other states exist.”
The trailer teased that while the state is a “blip” to many Americans, to the Housewives it’s “the center of the universe.”
The first look also revealed that Ashley, 37, would be returning to her Bachelor roots as the cast’s biggest crier, which she was known for on the ABC series.
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island is set to premiere on Bravo in 2026.
