‘RHOM’: Alexia Says Frankie Is Making ‘A Lot of Improvement’ – ‘I’m Letting Him Go’
Alexia (Echevarria) Nepola from The Real Housewives of Miami said son Frankie Rosello is making huge strides in his traumatic brain injury progress, which includes giving him more independence.
Rosello was involved in a serious car accident in 2011 and sustained significant injuries. Nepola said his recovery was nothing short of miraculous and she dedicated her life to caring for him. She recently shared that she hired a “shadow” for Rosello, which is giving him more independence and allowing her to step back – a little bit.
Frankie is making progress in his recovery
When RHOM returned, Nepola had moved on from being a magazine publisher to a beauty bar owner and operator. She purchased the business with Rosello’s future in mind, even naming it Alexia + Frankie’s Beauty Bar. Nepola said both of her sons now work at the beauty bar.
“Frankie has a shadow, so he’s spending more time with a peer his age,” Nepola said on the Dear Reality, You’re Effed podcast. “The kind [of shadow] that does this for a living, you know, he’s a therapist. And so he’s working on a lot of things. We sat down together as a family. We wanted him to work with Frankie because, you know, life gets complicated and life gets, you know, we’re busy.”
Alexia admits it’s hard to step back as a mother
“So, you know, a lot of times I live with this guilt,” she admitted. “Like, should I just give up everything and give up my life? And I did for many years. And he’s still my priority. But you know, sometimes you’re stuck in a difficult position.“
“And, you know, sometimes … I even studied this,” she shared. “Like my background is special education. I have a master’s in exceptional student education. But sometimes when it’s your son, there’s only so much you can do. So I’m very happy with this young man that I found that actually does this. And you know, we’re working together. And I’ve already seen a lot of improvement in Frankie. I’m letting him go. You know, it’s hard when you almost lose a son. And I guess me too, like the Cuban Latina mom. You know, I protect him. I want to do everything for him. [But] sometimes we’re hurting them instead of helping them.”
She also shared that ‘RHOM’ viewers may not understand how the accident impacted her other son
One of Nepola’s storylines this season centered on Rosello’s care. Her (then) fiancé Todd Nepola passionately expressed his frustration with how Rosello was being cared for, citing that his brother even dropped the ball. The family came together and vowed to do better.
Nepola told Showbiz Cheat Sheet that viewers likely didn’t realize the impact the accident had on her older son Peter.
“You can’t judge my other son, Peter,” she said during an emotional interivew. “My other son, Peter, when he was going through his brother’s accident, people don’t know this. But he would tell me, is my brother going to make it?” she continued, close to tears. “It was like, ‘Mom, if my brother doesn’t make it like I’m killing myself. I don’t want to live without my brother.’ People don’t know what I went through. And still, so many years later, you know, I hear comments. I obviously don’t even read them. I’ve never been that person that really cares about what other people think because they don’t know my life.”
