Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania revealed how she told people her Dub boyfriend was her landlord to keep their relationship a secret.
The 52-year-old TV star began dating Dublin entrepreneur Paul Connell during the filming of season 12, unbeknownst to the crew at first. Dolores shared how she tried to hide her relationship with the Crumlin man from her producers for as long as possible, a task made difficult by him jokingly sending her flowers as she was filming.
She told the Irish Star: "He drives down the street and there's cameras everywhere. I'm like, 'Oh, that's my landlord!'
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"They did not buy it. I got a call from the bosses the next day saying, 'You are going to be in trouble if you don't tell us what's going on in your life.'"
Dolores spoke of how she ran into Paul before their blind date that was set up by a mutual friend. She said: "We were supposed to go on a blind date, but we met each other three days before because our phones broke at the same time.
"We were supposed to go on a blind date, but we met each other three days before because our phones broke at the same time." She said she immediately recognised Paul from Instagram as the pair followed each other when their mutual friend set them up.
"One day, I'm flipping through Instagram and I see this cute little Irish woman who looked exactly like my nana. It turns out it was his mom I was admiring before him!"
The culture of American reality TV is a world away from that of working-class Dublin, where Paul grew up. He said: "I guess I'm Americanized, being here this long.
"If I was just 'Paul coming to America and meeting Dolores', I'd be having none of that TV or any of that craic at all." He added that while he initially wasn't fond of having his relationship out there, Dolores' kind personality made him feel like he had somewhat of a safety net.
Paul revealed how his friend switched his account settings to public, not knowing that doing so would accept every single one of the requests that had built up. In an instant, he went from having a following of a few hundred relatives and friends to a following of 15,000 strangers from all over the world.
Dolores said: "I think that was the first indoctrination, like 'now you know what you're getting yourself into, Paul'."
So how are Paul's family and friends dealing with his new-found fame? In typical Irish fashion, of course - by taking the mick out of him.
"Some people said they've been watching Dolores [on RHONJ] for years, and then there's a lot who said 'we're gonna start watching now, 'cause we wanna take the p**s out of you, Paul,'" he revealed.
"My friends are very faithful like that - they do not let me sleep. Constantly ripping the p**s out of me, constantly sending me screenshots.
"'Did you actually say this? Are you actually doing this? Are you for f**king real? You're not a Dub, you're not Irish, we're taking back your passport!'"
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Paul - who has introduced Dolores to Tayto sandwiches, sawdust on pub floors, and numerous Dublinisms - was so well-embraced that he even served as the inspiration behind this season's cast trip. Dolores said the cast trip to Ireland was the best the girls have ever taken on the show.
The Bravo reality series has seen the Housewives take glamorous trips to the Bahamas, Mexico, Florida, and more. Yet none of these compared to their stay in Ireland last July while filming for the show's 13th season, which premiered last month.
The cast trip, which will air later this spring, saw the Housewives stay at Ballinlough Castle in Co Westmeath. Over their time on the Emerald Isle, the girls did a Dublin City pub crawl, drank with locals, and shared a touching moment on a farm.
It was most of the cast's first time in Ireland, but Dolores had already witnessed its clean air, beautiful scenery, and of course, terrible weather. Dolores said: "Paulie's in my life and he has taken me to Ireland.
"I wanted to share it with everyone because I fell in love with the country, I fell in love with the people."
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