‘RHONJ’: Producer Reveals Dina Manzo Always Planned to Leave in Season 2
The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast members have come and gone, but one fan favorite will always be Dina Manzo (now Cantin). Fans flocked to her because of her spiritual practices and zen personality. She made it clear that she was not one for reality television drama. Dina left the show midway through Season 2. As it turns out, that was always her plan.
Her first season on ‘RHONJ’
Dina was part of the original ensemble. She joined the show alongside her older sister Caroline, her sister-in-law Jacqueline Laurita, and her longtime best friend, Teresa Giudice. The franchise has always been centered on family. From the start, Dina made it clear that she was no fan of Danielle Staub, who’d developed a close friendship with Laurita.
Dina felt that Staub was bad business and preferred if Laurita cut ties with her. Once the book Cop Without a Badge made its way through the rumor mill around town and alleged things about Staub’s criminal past, Dina further wanted no part of Staub.
Things went from bad to worse during the Season 1 finale when Staub confronted her co-stars about speaking negatively about her as it relates to the book. She accused Dina of giving the book light, which Dina denied. Laurita later confirmed Dina was the one to bring the book to the group. It caused tension in the Manzo/Laurita family.
Dina Manzo never planned to be part of the full season 2 of ‘RHONJ’
Carlos King was a producer on the first two seasons of the Bravo reality series. He says that after the drama in Season 1, Dina realized the show was not a good fit for her. Early on, she let the network and producers know that she wouldn’t return but compromised on how she’d exit the show.
“We knew that Dina Manzo was not going to be a full-time Housewife. After Season 1, Dina was like, ‘You know what: I can’t see myself doing another season like this. I just can’t.’ But Dina also understood that, ‘Look, I know that I have to take the audience on this journey of why I’m leaving,’” King revealed on the latest episode of his Reality With the King podcast. “[She said], ‘So I’m open to doing that.’ So long story short, Dina gave us a commitment of a certain amount of episodes. And in terms of production, we had maybe two weeks with Dina before she sort of rode off into the sunset.”
With Dina no longer on the show, producers would have to scramble to figure out a way to focus on only four cast members, which never happened on a Housewives franchise previously. Dina’s final scene of the season was a sit-down showdown with Staub where she confronts her about her actions. She also didn’t attend the reunion special.
She eventually returned for one final season
Once Dina exited the show, her relationship with Caroline and Laurita became estranged. Upon Caroline and Laurita’s exit from the show in later seasons, she opted to return in Season 6. The season followed her divorce from Tommy Manzo and her conflict with some of the cast members. She says she preferred not to film with her family to avoid exposing their tumultuous relationship at the time.
Season 6 marked her final appearance on the show. Regarding why she left the show a second time, Dina said in an interview with Fox 411, “I [live] in L.A. I don’t live in New Jersey anymore. I went through my divorce this year [and] I moved out to California, so it didn’t make sense.”
She remains on the west coast with her husband, David Cantin. Unfortunately, her relationship with Caroline remains non-existent. Things were further complicated when Caroline supported her ex-husband Tommy after he was arrested for plotting the 2015 and 2017 attacks on Dina and David.
