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'NJ' Caroline Will 'Never' Be Danielle's Pal

Maggie Coughlan
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PopEater
posted: 47 DAYS 1 HOUR AGO
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Caroline Manzo is a woman who's got her priorities straight. With her family at the forefront of everything she does, Caroline is a devoted wife, mother, sister and sister-in-law. As the booming matriarch of the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey,' Tuesday's season finale showed Caroline in her element among friends and eventually, heading straight into the lion's den when her family was compromised. Caroline spoke with PopEater to set the record straight about TV's favorite Jersey girls and what viewers can expect.
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The May 12th premiere of the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' drew in 1.72 million viewers, which was the biggest premiere any of the Housewives franchises have ever seen. What is it about Jersey girls that's got so many people tuning in every week?
"I think there was a Jersey stigma attached to it, maybe from The Sopranos, people wanted to see if maybe it was a take off on that. Bravo certainly marketed it that way. I think it was interesting because it was so close to New York and it was like what do they have to offer being so close to New York, are they different? are they the same?"
What caused you to reveal 'Cop Without a Badge,' the controversial book that told of Danielle Staub's scandalous past?
"It wasn't that way. The book came to us. I want you to think about this logistically. Why on earth would we say 'Gee, that's not her name'? Let's go with Beverly. It's impossible, this came to us. This came to us. People came to us and said she's not who she claims to be. You have to be aware of who she is, she's a dangerous person, etc. etc. The name of the book, the contents of the book were all given to us. When we found out, we Googled it. I only showed two people, my friends. Danielle is sensationalizing this, as usual. This came to us."
What was going through your mind when you saw Danielle take out the book and place it on the table in the middle of dinner?
"I thought it was inappropriate. Teresa extended an olive branch after time and again being insulted, she extends an olive branch for her to have dinner and then she comes and destroys a dinner amongst family and friends... I don't understand."
Even though the finale was so wild, you were photographed as recently as Monday night (June 15th) at a movie premiere with Danielle. Has the drama subsided? Are you and the other wives mending your relationship with Danielle or are you putting on a happy face for the show's sake?
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Caroline Manzo
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"I'm not a hypocrite. You do what you need to do when you're adults. I made this bed and I'll lie in it. She will never be a friend of mine."
In your first blog entry on Bravotv.com you wrote, 'Hmmm, I have to admit, when I saw myself on the show, even I was afraid of me!' Especially after last night's finale, do you feel you're accurately represented on the show? Do you wanna clear the air on anything?
"I think I'm accurately represented. Obviously, it's just a small part of who I am. I do protect my family, but I'm not crazed by it. We all protect each other the same, truth be told, so I guess that is what they pulled from me. Anyone of my siblings, my mom, my dad included, we're all the same, we're all the same mind."
How has your relationship with Jacqueline been affected by appearing on Real Housewives of New Jersey?
"She just gave birth, Nicholas is here and he's gorgeous. My relationship with Jacqueline has always been and will always be very honest. Jacqueline and I whenever there's an issue with each other, we hash it out. There's a respect there between the two of us and I love her to death. I'm sure she feels the same about me. You'll have to watch the reunion show, there's more to do this."
What can we expect from next week's reunion show?
"I can't give you a scoop, I'm hoping the reunion show bring a little bit of light to things."
Well, can you tell us anything about Thursday night's director's cut of the finale?
"I just saw that last night on Bravo! There's so much more to that dinner, there were a lot of laughs, there was a lot of fun and there was a lot of drama certainly. I'm not sure what we're gonna see, I guess I'm gonna watch it with everyone else, so that's a little scary. But it is what it is."
Is it safe to say that Season 2 is in the works?
"You're gonna have to ask Andy Cohen and Bravo that!"
We just saw your sons talking to Andy Cohen on Bravo's website.
"Aren't they great!?"
Tons of people are asking about what your children are up to. Are your sons Albie and Chris planning on opening that strip club/car wash anytime soon? Has your daughter Lauren opened her own spa? Is anything of that happening?
"Lauren just passed her state boards. She has another week or two of school to go and then she's out on the market. She's very excited, she loves it. The boys...Christopher and the strip club, I'm not gonna talk about it too much, hopefully this too shall pass. He works very hard with his Dad and I'm proud of him. Whatever he does in his life, Mommy will be there to support him."
So you're one of eleven children, a mother of three, you run two successful businesses, still find time to work with charitable organizations, and you're able to devote yourself fully to your family! Not to mention filming 'Housewives.' Do you have any advice to working moms out there who are trying to balance it all?
"I am nocturnal. If you look at my Facebook, it's one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. My Dad was like that all his life. He needed very little sleep. My Mom of course, the mother of 11 children, and that's just the way we were bred. Just do what you gotta do, get it done and that's it! So far so good."
How about advice for other reality star parents?
"The only thing that I did going into this show, I promised my husband and my family that I'd be true to myself. I am that person. That's the only thing I could say. When you lie or try to be something that you're not, it's gonna bite you in the ass. This is who I am. Those that love me, thank you so much and I appreciate it. And there are those that don't love me, and I respect that as well. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion."
As you know in past seasons of the 'Real Housewives of NY,' an additional cast member has been added to the mix to stir things up. Can we expect any surprise additions, or are they Jersey girls staying true to the original 5?
"I have no idea! I have no clue."
Your fellow 'Housewife' Teresa Giudice has launched a clothing line of her own, even selling t-shirts with some of her catch phrases. Can we expect to see a 'we're as thick as thieves' shirt anytime soon? Or should we leave that to Teresa?
"4MyMom has been a work in progress. It's been about three or four years, the timing is perfect. This other stuff? Who knows. It's not on my agenda right now. I've been getting a tremendous amount of requests for that kind of stuff, I'll certainly look into it. There's nothing on the fire just yet, but I'm quick, I'm fast and if I make that decision, it'll be here sooner than later."
You're a great example of a woman who's adamant about what she believes in and won't compromise her values?is there any advice you can lend to the bad girls of young Hollywood?
"Think before you act. Everything you do in life, there are consequences. Just think before you act. I know it's great to be fun and be in the tabloids but stay true to yourself and don't let anyone direct you. Don't do what you don't feel is right in your heart. One day you're gonna be a mother, one day you're gonna be a wife and you don't wanna have those regrets because your children will see these things."
How has being on the show affected the dynamic within your family? Has the fame and the scrunity brought you closer or is it driving you apart?
"We are extraordinarily close. Can I say it brought us closer? I don't know. If I don't talk to my sisters five times a day, I think they're dead. We're very, very close and Jacqueline is very much in that mix. We fight. I've said it a million times, when we fight, we fight big. When we love, we love big. That's our family! We're a crazy bunch of people who are just madly in love with each other."
What's next for Caroline Manzo after season 1 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey?
"Right now, I'm just waiting for the smoke to clear. I wanna get back to my life and my businesses and focus on that. Load the dishwasher maybe! It's been crazy, Bravo has certainly owned me for the past month or so. It's been a wonderful, exciting, crazy ride. As for season 2, I don't know, I'm just living life. I don't know what's ahead of me, you'll be on that journey with me!"
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2009-06-17 15:01:02
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