Dolores Catania Responds to ‘Broken Girl’ Bethenny Frankel’s Attacks on ‘RHONJ’: ‘She Tries So Hard’

Dolores Catania has thoughts on Bethenny Frankel’s attacks on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

“I mean, she’s a broken girl. She’s a very broken person,” Catania, 54, said of Frankel, 54, on the Wednesday, March 26, episode of iHeartRadio’s “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast. “I remember 14 years ago when this whole thing started I went to a party with the other girls, it was like season 1. She was, like, standing in a doorway and, I don’t remember her because she’s [memorable], I remember her because I’m an empath and I felt a s— energy from her. Yeah, so that’s how she’s pretty much known across the board. But you know, to knock the same platform that made her, it made her.”

After news broke that Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas allegedly owe approximately $3 million in taxes, Frankel took to her TikTok to share that she “can not believe” that Teresa, 52, is “in another marriage with financial, legal issues.” (Frankel was referring to Teresa’s past issues with ex-husband Joe Giudice, after they both served prison time in 2015 for bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion.)

Us Weekly reached out to Teresa regarding the reports at the time.

“In the beginning, I remember someone talking with me about Teresa and Luis and, like, that he was flying her places and he was showering her with everything. And there was something about that was, like, too much,” Frankel said via Instagram. “And then I said, ‘But he’s on The Real Housewives of New Jersey?’ So he’s, like, a major bag alert but he’s on that trash bin of a show. Doesn’t make any sense. You only do that show if, like, you’re a broke ass trying to get somewhere. And then once you get there, you get off.”

In response to the comments, Catania noted that if Frankel thinks the shows are “so s—” then she should “stop talking about it.” “Two Ts in a Pod” cohost and RHOC star Tamra Judge noted that Frankel wants to be “the Howard Stern of Housewives” on Instagram.

“She wants to be like the shock jock that says things,” Judge, 57, said. “And a lot of times she does say some very interesting … things on Instagram. But then sometimes it’s like we don’t need to be that mean, we really don’t.”

When it comes to Frankel’s comments about Teresa, Judge said, “What I feel with that, you don’t do that because karma is a bitch and you don’t know when something like that might possibly happen to you in a different form or whatever, or hardship might come your way. Like, when it comes to financial hardship, that’s one thing, like probably not a great thing to go after somebody about.”

RHONJ cast member Jen Fessler also replied to Frankel’s remarks, sharing in a video that the comments “pissed” her off.

“First off PS I wasn’t broke and I don’t think any of the women were broke that went on it,” she said. “It afforded me opportunities, yes, and it was an incredible adventure but also I’m sorry that New York was so classy and New Jersey is so trashy. But honey, they aren’t that different. And the first time you went on, you might have been broke but from what I remember the second time you had made a lot of margaritas and you went back on it. Give me a break. That woman is nasty.”

Catania, who said that she’s never met Frankel, noted that it “wasn’t nice” what she said about RHONJ — and she was “glad” Fessler, 54, spoke up about the remarks.

“But that person [Frankel] just does not shut up. I feel like she tries hard and she wouldn’t have one day in her on Jersey, not one day,” Catania alleged. “I’ve seen her fall apart and cry and unravel on New York Housewives for little to nothing. So don’t don’t talk about something you could never handle, Bethenny.”

Judge pointed out that Frankel sold part of her Skinnygirl business and went back to RHONY. (Frankel rose to fame as an original cast member on the Bravo show in 2008.)

“I’m not going to give it light because she dies for attention,” Catania said. “So that’s what I see when I look at her. Yeah, I kind of pity her.”