No hard feelings. Dolores Catania‘s ex-boyfriend David Principe may have moved on with Vanessa Moretto — who has an interesting connection to Real Housewives of New Jersey — but a source exclusively tells Us Weekly that the reality star doesn’t have an issue with the new couple.
“Dolores does not know Vanessa and knows nothing about David’s relationship with her,” the insider reveals, noting that Dolores, 51, wishes David “nothing but the best” since their split. “She’s been broken up with him since the summer so whoever he dates is his business.”
According to the source, the philanthropist is “very happy in her new relationship” with boyfriend Paul Connell and has “moved on” from David.
The Bravo personality’s romance was discussed on RHONJ after they started dating in 2017. Dolores’ costars previously questioned whether David was ready for a commitment as the former couple continued to drift apart. In December 2021, Us confirmed that Dolores and David split.
“There was no bad blood between them,” the insider shared at the time, noting that the RHONJ star didn’t care about being proposed to while they were together. “She gave her all but didn’t get the same from David. He was non-existent in her social life and rarely made appearances at events with her. They just had different lives and weren’t able to make it work. She wasn’t happy in the inside and for a while she hid her true feelings from friends.”
Dolores, who shares daughter Gabrielle, 26, and son Frankie, 23, with ex-husband Frank Catania, later opened up about where she stands with David.
David Principe and Dolores Catania Courtesy of Dolores Catania/Instagram
“We haven’t really spoken. I know what I signed up for and when something in your life changes, it’s only fair to everyone to share it with them, you know?” she exclusively told Us late last month. “[It was] time to move on and it was not for any reason. I’m sure he has nothing bad to say about me. I have nothing bad to say about him, but it was just time.”
The New Jersey native also gushed about the new man in her life, adding, “I’m very, very happy. I don’t want to say too much about it because it’s new and you don’t know what is going to happen. That’s another thing that’s hard for me, wanting to feel, like, normal and posting a picture and just having fun. I’m getting shy. All I can say is [that] I’m very happy.”
David, for his part, formed a connection with Vanessa when they “met through a mutual friend” following his split. Vanessa was previously linked to Teresa Giudice‘s fiancé, Louie Ruelas.
Louie Ruelas Courtesy of Luis Ruelas/Instagram
Viewers met Louie, 47, during season 11 of the hit Bravo series. Us originally confirmed in November 2020 that Teresa, 49, and Luis were dating, and the pair later revealed that they got together the summer prior. Less than one year later, Teresa and Luis announced that they were engaged.
The cookbook author was previously married to Joe Giudice for 20 years before they called it quits in December 2019. The exes share daughters Gia, 21, Gabriella, 18, Milania, 16, and Audriana, 13.
With reporting by Diana Cooper
