Dolores Catania may not be getting an engagement ring, but her beau, Paulie Connell, is ready for another kind of "commitment."
Paulie Connell may not be ready to get down on one knee just yet, but he is eager to make another kind of commitment to girlfriend Dolores Catania.
And it involves electrical work.
Dolores shared on Season 14, Episode 8 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey that she and Paulie are ready to let the sparks fly as they go into business together.
“Me and Paul are opening a business together,” she told Jennifer Aydin and Teresa Giudice after a relaxing meditation session had them feeling blissed out.
What kind of business are Paulie Connell and Dolores Catania opening?
Dolores described her new venture as an “eco electric” company.
“He’s teaching me everything and we’re going to be in business together,” she continued.
While there aren’t a whole lot of details yet on the business, the Paterson native explained to her mom, Valerie, and daughter Gabby in Season 14, Episode 8 that the business was Paulie’s idea of making a “commitment” to her.
“I can’t wait to see you put in electrical wires,” Gabby quipped.
“I’m not an electrician and by the way neither is he,” Dolores replied. “He has electricians that work for him, but he is a contractor. His intentions for me are very good.”
When Valerie and Gabby still seemed skeptical about getting a business over an engagement ring, Dolores continued to explain the reasoning behind Paulie’s decision.
“I never even asked for it but this was the commitment he wants to make,” she said. “He thinks when a man brings you into his business world that’s the equivalent of being introduced to his children because that’s what that means to him.”
“But you still have a right to know your future,” Valerie replied.
Is Paulie Connell divorced yet?
No.
Paulie and Dolores may have been together for close to two years, but there’s one very big obstacle keeping them from moving forward in the relationship. Paulie is still married to another woman.
Although he’s been separated for about 15 years and is supposedly working through the terms of a divorce, the union is still in place.
Dolores admitted in Season 14, Episode 6 that the drawn-out divorce process had her feeling “angry.”
“I’m getting frustrated with it a little bit because you told me you were going to be divorced last year,” she told Paulie at the time.
As for where Paulie stands on the whole issue, well, it’s complicated. Paulie has claimed that he already purchased a ring for Dolores, but he seemed to backpedal in a recent conversation with Dolores about walking down the aisle.
“So, do you think if I get divorced, I’m just gonna get on my knee and get engaged to you the next day?” he asked her.
The entrepreneur gave more insight into his head space later in Episode 6 while out golfing with Joe Gorga, Joe Benigno and John Fuda.
“I’m thinking about going into business together, me and Dolores,” he said. “Electrical, flipping houses, so that’s kind of like my transition into, like, the future for us. Like she wants a ring, she wants to get engaged, she wants to get married, but this is a future we’re building together.”
Dolores’ background in real estate will no doubt be an asset to the new operation — but she admitted in Episode 8 that she still isn’t sure exactly what her role will be with the company.
“It’s the highest form of flattery for a man to say come into my business, 'cause I know what their money means to them. We all do, right? But he has not been clear about my exact job title and responsibility and I don’t know if I want to do it,” she confessed.
Despite the initial hesitation, Dolores now seems ready to power through and kick off the new adventure.
“Like, marriage, right now in my life, it’s not the biggest thing, you know?” she told Jennifer and Teresa.
To find out more about where Paulie and Dolores’ relationship is headed, watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo or available streaming on Peacock the next day.
