Catfights and table flips may have put the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” on the map, but the stars say it’s the family dynamics that have kept viewers tuning in 10 seasons later.
“I think that’s why Jersey is so popular, people can relate to every aspect of everyone’s family,” Margaret Josephs told Page Six recently. “I think everybody relates on a different level. We’re all a different version of a family, but at the end of the day, we’re all amazing families.”
Married to second husband Joe Benigno for six years, Josephs, 52, bonded with co-star Dolores Catania, who remains close with ex-husband Frank and has dated Dr. David Principe for years.
“My ex is such a big part of my life, and he will always be,” Catania, 48, who shares two children with Frank, told us. “I’m very happy. They have a bromance, my ex-husband and my boyfriend, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Evolving relationships have long been part of the Bravo franchise, which also stars Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Jennifer Aydin and Jackie Goldschneider, and it appears this season is no different.
“We’re all going through something personally. And I think that [viewers] will be able to relate to each one of us,” Catania said.
Teresa is currently living apart from her husband, Joe Giudice, who recently returned to his native Italy to await a decision in his deportation case. Last month, Teresa and Joe spoke about the state of their marriage in a tell-all interview with Andy Cohen for Bravo. Teresa and the couple’s four daughters are expected to visit Italy in the coming weeks.
“It’s very admirable because [for Teresa] and Joe, it’s not about them being a couple, it’s about them being a family,” Josephs said. “And they love their family and they’re making the right choices for the girls and them as a whole. So I’m supportive of whatever choices they make, and they love their family and I’m behind whatever decisions they make and I’m always supportive of Teresa.”
Catania also noted for Teresa and Joe, “their children have always come first.”
“They both never want to see their kids cry, that’s Teresa’s Achilles heel,” she continued. “They’re crazy about their father, that’s a testament to the father that he is. Milania is very close to him, the girls love him, so I think at the end of the day, their decision will be based on what’s best for their kids.”
Teresa and Joe share daughters Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10.
The “Real Housewives of New Jersey” premieres Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. on Bravo.