Dina Cantin Once Said Her Relationship With Carolina Manzo Unraveled After Season 1 of ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’

Dina Cantin is years removed from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. She walked away from the East Coast, her troubled second marriage, and reality TV altogether. While Cantin is living an entirely different life these days, her connection to the franchise and how her sister, Caroline Manzo, turned against her after her divorce from Tommy Manzo remains a topic of hot debate among fans.

While Caroline’s support of a man who attacked her biological sister will never be acceptable according to fans, Cantin once revealed that her bond with Caroline had begun unraveling many years earlier. In fact, she said they drifted apart after Manzo’s behavior on season 1 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Dina Cantin said her bond with Caroline Manzo ended years before her divorce

The Real Housewives of New Jersey fans have lambasted Caroline Manzo for writing a character letter for Tommy Manzo, the man who hired a hitman to rough up Cantin and her new partner after their split. While the decision is one fans will never understand, Dina Cantin likely wasn’t all that surprised. In 2016, she appeared on Juicy Scoop and revealed exactly where things went wrong with Carolina Manzo.

During the interview, Cantin revealed that she and her older sister began to distance themselves from each other after season 1 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Dina said she wanted off the show, which caused some minor friction. Later, she said, Manzo crossed a line when she made a relatively tame issue into a massive drama for ratings. Cantin said she had made it clear that she didn’t want her daughter’s business aired to the world. She went on to claim Manzo was aware of that and opted to make a minor issue seem much larger simply for ratings. Cantin argued that it was the moment she realized Manzo was more focused on fame than family.

Cantin’s daughter, Alexia Ioannou, recently joined Gia Giudice on her podcast, Casual Chaos, to discuss her family’s falling out and, specifically, how Caroline Manzo defended Tommy Manzo. Ioannou, now in her late 20s, has no contact with Caroline Manzo and doesn’t have anything kind to say about her.

How close were they really?

You might assume that Caroline and Dina weren’t particularly close if such a presumably small moment led to the breakdown of their bond. Apparently, the opposite was true. Dina revealed that she and Caroline were actually extremely close for many years.

During the podcast appearance, Dina revealed that she had lived in Caroline and Albert Manzo’s home following the end of her first marriage. She painted a picture of siblings who were deeply bonded and willing to help each other. She noted that she also jumped at the opportunity to help out with Manzo’s three children while she was living with the family. Manzo wasn’t the only sibling she was tight with at that point in her life. She was also close to her brother, Chris Laurita. They also had a falling out. In 2012, she took to Twitter to write, “I have 11 siblings. I stay away from 2 of them. Do the math.” The tweet came after Laurita appeared on Bravo to suggest Cantin was the difficult or unreasonable sibling.

Dina Cantin is the youngest of 11. She appeared on just a few seasons of the series along with Manzo, her sister-in-law, Jacqueline Laurita, and her longtime friend, Teresa Giudice. Danielle Staub, a relative unknown to the others, also joined the cast. Cantin said Laurita involved Staub in the series.