{"id":2151942,"date":"2025-11-12T17:02:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T17:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2151942"},"modified":"2025-11-12T17:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T17:02:15","slug":"rhonj-star-dolores-catania-is-engaged-to-boyfriend-paulie-connell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/rhonj-star-dolores-catania-is-engaged-to-boyfriend-paulie-connell\/","title":{"rendered":"RHONJ Star Dolores Catania Is Engaged to Boyfriend Paulie Connell"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Real Housewives of New Jersey<\/em><\/a> star Dolores Catania<\/strong><\/a> is engaged to boyfriend Paulie Connell<\/strong><\/a> after nearly five years together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ecstatic!\u201d Catania, 54, gushed to People<\/em><\/a> in an interview published Wednesday, November 12. \u201cYou know when you feel that happiness down in your gut? That\u2019s where this excitement stems from for me. I feel so blessed, I almost feel guilty! Like I don\u2019t deserve to be loved this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connell, for his part, said Catania deserves \u201cso much more\u201d than she thinks. \u201cShe\u2019s an incredible woman,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd when I was proposing to her, I was able to articulate to her everything I see that she is, and everything I see that she does, and the impact she has on everybody around her. She\u2019s one in a million.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 51-year-old got down on one knee on Monday, November 10, at the Apple Store in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, where their love story began.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>RHONJ’s Dolores Catania and Paulie Connell\u2019s Relationship Timeline<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tA Jersey girl in love! Dolores Catania and Paul \u201cPaulie\u201d Connell were going strong before season 13 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey \u2014 but that didn\u2019t mean she wasn\u2019t hesitant about putting her love life on the Bravo series. \u201cI don\u2019t wanna put him on. Absolutely not. But I know what I signed [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want anything over-the-top and staged because we\u2019re a humble couple,\u201d Connell explained. \u201cI wanted it to feel grounded and natural and organic. Plus, I wanted the element of surprise. And believe me, I had the element of surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Dolores Catania and Paulie Connell.<\/span> Courtesy of Dolores Catania\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Catania confirmed she \u201chad not a clue\u201d that a proposal was coming. \u201cIn fact, I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance for him!\u201d she teased. \u201cHe was sweating so bad, his T-shirt was soaked, his face was beet red. And you know how people say weird things when they\u2019re having a stroke? He started saying these sweet, beautiful things to me out of nowhere, and I was like, \u2018Paul, are you OK?’\u201d<\/p>\n

Bravo fans have long wondered when the couple would take the next step since Us Weekly<\/em> broke the news<\/a> of their relationship in 2021. According to Catania, the timing couldn\u2019t be more perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been so sure of something ever,\u201d she told People<\/em>. \u201cYou know, patience is a big thing for us. \u2026 As a couple, we were able to naturally progress. So this engagement means more to us than it would if it was just something we were doing just for the sake of doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reality star was previously married<\/a> to ex-husband Frank Catania<\/strong>, with whom she shares daughter Gabby<\/strong> and son Frankie<\/strong>. Her relationship with ex-boyfriend David Principe<\/strong> was well-documented on RHONJ<\/em> from 2017 to 2021 before she moved on with Connell.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>\u2018RHONJ’ Star Frank Catania Secretly Married Fiancee Brittany Mattesich<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tThe Real Housewives of New Jersey star Frank Catania and his fianc\u00e9e, Brittany Mattesich, secretly tied the knot. \u201cWe are married,\u201d Catania, 60, said on the Thursday, March 6, episode of PodcastOne\u2019s \u201cOn Display With Melissa Gorga\u201d podcast, noting that the ceremony took place \u201cback in November\u201d of 2024. Frank \u2014 who was previously married [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dolores isn\u2019t the only member of the family with wedding bells in her future. Frankie, 26, proposed to girlfriend Nicole Perricho<\/strong><\/a> in February.<\/p>\n

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