Caroline Manzo claims step-niece Danielle Cabral unfollowed her: I’m the reason she’s on ‘RHONJ’
Caroline Manzo claims her step-niece Danielle Cabral unfollowed her on Instagram — despite the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum helping the newbie get on the show.
“She did originally, when they were considering her [as a cast member], she called both myself and my daughter, Lauren, and [asked], ‘What do you expect?’ And I was brutally honest with her. So was Lauren,” Manzo shared on SiriusXM’s “Jeff Lewis Live” Thursday.
“And then I guess she got the gig, whatever, and then strangely, she unfollowed all of us … and never thanked anybody, nothing. Yeah, little strange.”
Despite the social media diss, Manzo, 61, insisted she does not bear any ill will toward Cabral, 37, nor does she regret getting her a spot on the Bravo series.
“I’m glad she’s doing what she always wanted to do,” she said, “and she always wanted to be in the public eye and stuff like that, so I’m glad she finally has the opportunity to do that.”
The former “Housewife” also elaborated on her familial connection to the reality TV newcomer.
“Danielle Cabral is kind of like a half-ass relation,” she explained. “I’m one of the reasons Danielle’s on that show. Andy [Cohen] had a conversation with me about her when they were considering her, and she is my brother’s daughter. My niece. My brother and his wife divorced many years ago, and his wife remarried. The gentleman she remarried had two kids, one of those being Danielle Cabral.”
Manzo added that she has known Cabral for “20-plus years” but only sees her “at family events and stuff.”
The former “Manzo’d with Children” star was one of the original cast members on “RHONJ.” She left the show in 2013 after Season 5.
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Manzo rejoined the “Real Housewives” franchise earlier this year for Season 4 of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” before exiting the Peacock spinoff early after castmate Brandi Glanville allegedly gave her “unwanted kisses” and touched her chest and vaginal area.
Since the incident, Manzo has vowed to never return to the Bravoverse. And yet, she has not held back when talking about her former co-stars.
While appearing at Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live event at The Loft at City Winery in New York City in May, both Manzo and her daughter, Lauren, 35, labeled fellow “RHONJ” OG Teresa Giudice a “monster” who let fame get to her head.
The former co-stars infamously feuded during their time together on the show, with Giudice going so far as to claim Manzo was responsible for her 2013 fraud indictment, which the latter denied.
Without her step-aunt on the show, Cabral quickly befriended Giudice, 51, during Season 13, which filmed last year.
When asked on “Jeff Lewis Live” whether she thinks Cabral cut ties with her due to relationships with other cast members, Manzo speculated that her step-niece might not want their “names attached” and instead wants to “forge her own way.”
Cabral is expected to return for Season 14 of “RHONJ,” which begins filming this month.
