Why Dolores Catania Was Snubbed by the 'Real Housewives of Rhode Island (RHORI)' Reunion

As a Real Housewives franchise staple, Dolores Catania is accustomed to the series' schedule. As an expert, she knows to be ready for an eventual reunion episode at the end of each season. However, the reality TV star has recently revealed that she's been snubbed by the Real Housewives of Rhode Island (RHORI) reunion show.

Given that Dolores was, in fact, a part of the RHORI debut season, many fans were surprised to learn that she won't be at the reunion. See why Dolores will be left out of filming, and what she has to say about it.

Although she's a major RHORI cast member, Dolores is not actually a Rhode Island housewife. Rather, she's part of the main cast of The Real Housewives of New Jersey and is only on RHORI as main cast member Liz McGraw's friend. It seems that producers felt that it would be more appropriate to keep the RHORI reunion reserved for the Rhode Island housewives, so as to keep each series in the franchise separate.

While the aforementioned reason seems rather clear, it's worth noting that Dolores claims production didn't provide an explanation for her requested absence. That said, she's still involved in other Real Housewives endeavors, so it's clear that this isn't a case of being let go altogether.

Unfortunately, it seems Dolores was a bit offended by being left out of not only the RHORI reunion but also a cast outing as well. The trip to Newport is shown in Episode 6, and Dolores is clearly missing from the group. Adding insult to injury is the fact that it was Liz's trip, and she had told production she wanted Dolores there.

Per Yahoo!, the reality TV star shared, "they kept me on the bench," throughout much of her RHORI experience. She talked about production's approach to her joining the cast by saying, "When I got there, they didn’t let me film and be involved as much," admitting the experience made her "bitter."

Dolores's loyal fanbase quickly sided with the reality TV star. One Reddit user mentioned, "I love Dolores, loved seeing her on Rhode Island, as she is a real-life friend of Liz. And, I love a HW crossover."

However, a lot of people sided with production. There were many comments with the sentiment, "No offense to her, but she isn't needed and wasn't needed beyond the first episode. Having her there at first was a good way of introducing the series to viewers with a familiar face, but the RI ladies are holding their own."

Rather than side with or against Dolores, many expressed frustration with production for creating a confusing dynamic that strung both the reality star and her fans along. "The whole thing is confusing. She was in all the promo and cast photos for the season but now she says she was disinvited from the trips and they told her she’s not coming to the reunion. Something seems weird."

It seems that there was a miscommunication about Dolores's role on RHORI. Clearly, production saw her as a supporting presence, but Dolores never got that message. Instead, the housewife showed up to the new series with her usual main character energy.