{"id":4265,"date":"2025-11-13T02:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T02:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/dolores-catania-and-paulie-connell-are-engaged-inside-his-surprise-proposal-where-they-met-nearly-5-years-ago-exclusive\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T02:59:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T02:59:00","slug":"dolores-catania-and-paulie-connell-are-engaged-inside-his-surprise-proposal-where-they-met-nearly-5-years-ago-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/?p=4265","title":{"rendered":"Dolores Catania and Paulie Connell Are Engaged! Inside His Surprise Proposal Where They Met Nearly 5 Years Ago (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dolores<\/p>\n

Dolores Catania\u00a0is winning in life and winning in love!\"\"<\/p>\n

The reigning\u00a0Traitors<\/em>\u00a0champ and\u00a0Real Housewives of New Jersey<\/em>\u00a0star is engaged to\u00a0Paulie Connell, after nearly 5 years of dating.<\/p>\n

“I’m ecstatic!” Catania, 54, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive joint interview with Connell, 51, to announce their happy news. “You know when you feel that happiness down in your gut? That’s where this excitement stems from for me. I feel so blessed, I almost feel guilty! Like I don’t deserve to be loved this way.”<\/p>\n

“I keep telling Dolores, she deserves that and so much more,” Connell adds. “She’s an incredible woman. And when I was proposing to her, I was able to articulate to her everything I see that she is, and everything I see that she does, and the impact she has on everybody around her. She’s one in a million.”<\/p>\n

Jennifer Sofia<\/p>\n

Their happy news is a long time coming for Bravo fans who had been anxious to see Catania and Connell walk down the aisle. But the reality star insists the timing is perfect.<\/p>\n

“I’ve never been so sure of something ever,” she says. “You know, patience is a big thing for us. When we first met, Paul wasn’t used to being in the public eye; he wasn’t used to the pressure the audience can put on relationships. There were things in his life that he needed to sort through, and that took time. But even when things came up on the show, I never pushed Paul, because I wanted him to do the right thing on his own. And our bond is stronger now because of that. As a couple, we were able to naturally progress. so this engagement means more to us than it would if it was just something we were doing just for the sake of doing it.”<\/p>\n

“Oh, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made,” Connell adds. “I really feel that everything that has happened has brought me to this moment. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, from the streets of Dublin, and feel lucky to have Dolores in my life. She’s made me a better version of myself.”<\/p>\n

Jennifer Sofia<\/p>\n

Connell popped the question on Monday, Nov. 10, at the place where he and Catania first met: the Apple Store in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

“I could have proposed on a yacht in Greece. I could have rented a grand hall, invited 400 people and asked her to marry me with fireworks in the background. But that’s not who we are,” Connell says. “I didn’t want anything over-the-top and staged because we’re a humble couple. I wanted it to feel grounded and natural and organic. Plus, I wanted the element of surprise. And believe me, I had the element of surprise.”<\/p>\n

In fact, Catania was completely clueless as to what was happening, as seen clearly in her expression captured by photographer\u00a0Jennifer Sofia.<\/p>\n

“Oh, I had not a clue at all. In fact, I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance for him!” Catania jokes. “He was sweating so bad, his T-shirt was soaked, his face was beet red. And you know how people say weird things when they’re having a stroke? He started saying these sweet, beautiful things to me out of nowhere and I was like, ‘Paul, are you okay?’ And then I realized he was proposing.”<\/p>\n

Jennifer Sofia<\/p>\n

She was thrown off the track because she never expected to even be in the Apple Store to begin with. “I was told I had a meeting in the morning \u2014 actually, to do a PEOPLE interview,” Catania says. “So I had hair and makeup here and then halfway through, I was told the meeting was cancelled. So Paul said, ‘Oh great, we have time to go get your new iPhone now.’ “<\/p>\n

Of course, Connell had set everything up to throw her off the track, including the fake interview. He convinced Catania the visit to the Apple Store was necessary because of their trip to\u00a0BravoCon 2025\u00a0this weekend.<\/p>\n

That doesn’t mean Catania went willingly. “I kept saying, ‘Just go get it for me! Why do you need me?’ He says, ‘They need your phone there.’ I said, ‘Then take my phone! I have to record my podcast this afternoon.’ But he just kept pestering me.”<\/p>\n

“I told her, ‘There’s only one iPhone Pro Max in the area right now, and they’re holding it for you so we have to go back to that f—— store!’ ” Connell recalls. “And she was like, ‘Ahh, f—, fine!’ “<\/p>\n

Jennifer Sofia<\/p>\n

At the store, Connell was remarking to employees about how he and Catania had first met there. “I was like, ‘Wow Paul, you’re really telling people a lot of information here!’ ” Catania says, not realizing that most of the store was in on what was about to happen. “But it was super sweet, because both our phones were broke with the same things at the same time. And that’s how we started talking to begin with.”<\/p>\n

Then, Catania and Connell were escorted by the employee over to the spot of their first interaction, which prompted Catania to tell the staffer, “This is the table where we were standing! Wouldn’t it be funny if we got engaged here?”<\/p>\n

“Fortunately for me, I was so nervous, my knees where knocking and I couldn’t hear her through the vibrations,” Connell laughs. “I was completely in my head. For some reason, I started thinking about my mom. I’m like, ‘What are you doing? Don’t start getting sad, you’re meant to be happy, this is a happy moment!’ “<\/p>\n

He was also trying to convince himself not to drop down on his knee right away. “I had read up on it, and most guys make the mistake of going through the speech too quickly before going ‘Will you marry me?’ So wanted to stay upright for a few minutes to talk about our journey and just how much I love her. But while I’m doing that, I’m trying to tell myself ‘Okay, you gotta kneel down soon. Has it been enough time? How about now?’ And she’s looking at me like, ‘What the f— is going on?’ “<\/p>\n

When Connell finally pulled a box out of his pocket, that’s when Catania realized what was happening.<\/p>\n

“I immediately said yes,” Catania gushes, looking back on the happy moment. “The whole thing was so sincere and so thoughtful. And then when I came home, there was over 1,000 roses [by\u00a0Premiere Events by Reema] waiting for me. I mean, he really hit it out of the park.”<\/p>\n

He sure did. The show-stopper engagement ring from\u00a0John Anthony Jewelers\u00a0in Edgewater, New Jersey boasts an 11-carat centerpiece stone framed by four more carats of sparkle and a band lined with princess-cut diamonds \u2014 all set in sleek silver.<\/p>\n

“Go big or go home,” Catania laughs.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Sofia<\/p>\n

The rock is different from one Connell previously purchased for her. “If you remember, there was an episode of\u00a0<\/p>\n

Connell got the new ring over a year and a half ago, but his proposal got delayed \u2014 first, when her ex-husband Frank got engaged and then when her son, Frankie, Jr., popped the question to his girlfriend. “I was like, ‘Get the f— out of here!’ ” Connell jokes. “I kept saying to myself, ‘Maybe no one wants me to marry Dolores!?!”<\/p>\n

Nov. 10 wound up being the perfect timing. It’s the same day Catania moved in with Connell, four years ago. “I’m telling you, there’s not a thing this guy didn’t think of,” Catania says, added they then went to Rocco’s steakhouse on Madison Avenue to celebrate \u2014 the same place they had eaten on their first date.<\/p>\n

Gary Gershoff\/Getty<\/p>\n

When it comes to the wedding itself, neither have set any plans in motion yet.<\/p>\n

“I’d love to get married the day we got engaged, because November has always been a sentimental month for me, but we’re both so excited right now that we really want to enjoy this moment and absorb this all in,” Connell says. “Plus we have Frankie’s wedding coming up, we’re talking about moving into a new house, and of course, Dolores and I will want the wedding to be a perfect experience. So we’ll get there when the time is right.”<\/p>\n

“There’s no rush,” Catania adds. “The way we’ve set our life up, we can do things however and whenever we want to do them. and I don’t do things based on what people think I should do. I’ve never done that. Just ask my friends!”<\/p>\n

John Nacion\/Variety via Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n

Catania did, in fact, get that new iPhone, too \u2014 something she’ll surely be using a lot to snap pictures with the many people who will be looking to celebrate with her and Connell over the coming months.<\/p>\n

“I’m just glad Dolores won’t have to answer a stupid question anymore about ‘When is this man going to propose to you?’ ” Connell laughs.<\/p>\n

“Me too,” she teases.<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Peacock.<\/p>\n

On the\u00a0November 11 episode of\u00a0Days of our Lives<\/em>,<\/em>\u00a0Jennifer threatened Chad with a custody battle if he kept on crossing paths with Cat, the woman who once impersonated Jennifer\u2019s dead daughter, Chad\u2019s wife, Abigail. Jennifer has every reason to despise Cat. But we suspect she doesn\u2019t really need to worry about Cat worming her way into Chad\u2019s life, much less into the life of Abigail\u2019s kids, Thomas and Charlotte. Because the real romantic spark is with another DiMera.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chad (Billy Flynn) and Cat (AnnaLynne McCord) got off to a bad start. What with her pretending to be Abigail (Marci Miller), and plotting to kill him and inherit his fortune. That took a while to overcome. They finally did and had sex. Only for Chad\u2019s son to throw a fit about Daddy\u2019s new woman.<\/p>\n

Chad broke up with Cat for Thomas\u2019 (Cary Christopher) sake. But he failed to drive her completely out of Salem. Thomas saw Cad giving Cat a friendly hug and ran out into the street in a snit, getting hit by a car. He\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0Jennifer (Melissa Reeves) has informed Chad that she\u2019ll be taking the kids to Boston\u00a0with her. And if Chad doesn\u2019t like it, well, she\u2019ll take him to court! Except they might as well stay put. Because Chad and Cat are non-starters by this point.<\/p>\n

Today, we discovered that not only is Cat currently working for EJ (Dan\u00a0Feuerriegel), but their paths also crossed years earlier, when EJ was in a coma, and Cat apparently dropped by to read to him\u2026 without knowing who he was.<\/p>\n

She never once looked at his chart? Heard the doctors refer to him by name? Heard Sami (Alison Sweeney) talk about her husband? Okey-dokey. Guess that explains why the pair bonded over \u201cWuthering Heights.\u201d And why their chemistry is so, so much hotter than whatever it is we\u2019re supposed to see in Cat and Chad.<\/p>\n

Sure, we were loving EJ and Belle (Martha Madison), and are still rooting for them. But if she insists on being all upright and moral \u2014 as if every single member of her family, not to mention Belle, herself, is some shade of grey \u2014 then EJ and Cat will do for now.<\/p>\n

EJ lights up around Cat, getting all flirty and clever, while she is obviously enjoying the cat and mouse game \u2014 even if she keeps telling herself not to. Cat is there to get the dirt on EJ for Rafe (Galen Gering). But what if it develops into something more? Now we have a story! And Jennifer doesn\u2019t have a case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dolores Catania\u00a0is winning in life and winning in love! The reigning\u00a0Traitors\u00a0champ and\u00a0Real Housewives of New Jersey\u00a0star is engaged to\u00a0Paulie Connell, after nearly 5 years of dating. “I’m ecstatic!” Catania, 54, tells PEOPLE…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t