RHONJ Star Claims He Lost Deal With Network After ‘Smear Campaign’

“Real Housewives of New Jersey” personality Frank Catania accused Luis “Louie” Ruelas of hiring private investigator “Bo Dietl to do a slander campaign against [him] and Joe Gorga” on the season 13 reunion special. Ruelas denied the claim. While recording the June 23 episode of the “Two Ts In A Pod” podcast, hosted by Bravo personalities Tamra Judge and Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, Catania suggested he believed the alleged smear campaign caused him, Gorga, and Margaret Josephs’ husband, Joe Benigno, to lose a “tentative deal.” He stated that he and his two castmates had “tentatively had inked a deal” with “a little bit of a conservative network” that was neither Bravo, Peacock, nor NBC.

“I thought Louie wanted to be the big man, you know, on [RHONJ], which I don’t have a problem with. So Joe, Joe, and I would have been [on RHONJ] less because, you know, we had this other tentative deal with another network, who’s a little bit of a conservative network,” said Catania. “When these things started coming out on the internet, which I do believe was the result of Louie and a smear campaign through another company, a very prominent company, we lost it, we lost that, we lost that, because there was some nasty things — my past which everyone knew already. But there were allegations against Joe [Gorga], which I think were unheard of and that was it. They dropped us. So now we’re back on [RHONJ]. Louie could have gotten rid of us.”

The father of two also stated that he and Ruelas had a conversation about his allegations against Giudice’s husband after the third part of the RHONJ season 13 reunion aired on June 13. He stated that Ruelas denied creating a smear campaign. Catania shared that while he does not believe Ruelas, he appreciated that he initiated the conversation.

“Neither one of us pretty much believed the other one. When he told me he didn’t do what I thought he did, I told him I didn’t believe him. He said ‘What can I do to make you believe me?’ I said, ‘Louie, you are not going to make me believe you, but the fact that you called me to sit down and talk,’ I said, ‘I’m here now,’ I said, ‘I’ll put it behind us.’ I said, ‘And move forward,'” said the father of two.

Catania also stated that he does not have “an issue” with Ruelas.

“We don’t have an issue between us right now,” said Catania.

Luis Ruelas Spoke About His Wife’s Brother, Joe Gorga

As fans of RHONJ are aware, Giudice and Ruelas have been in an ongoing feud with Joe Gorga and his wife, Melissa Gorga. Issues intensified when the Gorgas did not attend Giudice and Ruelas’ August 2022 wedding ceremony. Giudice’s brother and sister-in-law decided to skip the wedding because of an argument during the season 13 finale, where Melissa Gorga revealed Ruelas privately told her husband that he was aware of a rumor that she had cheated on him.

During a May 2023 interview with Extra, alongside Giudice, Ruelas stated he had attempted to be the “peacemaker” between his wife and the Gorgas. He suggested, however, that he did not believe Joe Gorga is authentic when he films for RHONJ. He stated that being on the show makes relationships “worse.”

“It takes away a lot of the genuineness of being able to be in a truly loving place because a lot of people do things for optics, and Teresa doesn’t do that, and unfortunately, I don’t do that either, so I wore a lot of my feelings on my sleeve,” said the reality television star.

Jennifer Aydin Came to Luis Ruelas’ Defense in June 2023

Jennifer Aydin came to Ruelas’ defense in the June 16 episode of the “AllAboutTRH” podcast. She asserted that “Louie did not hire [Dietl] to do a smear campaign.” She stated, however, that she believed certain members of the RHONJ cast were “ready to smear Louie’s name” during the season 13 reunion.

Aydin also shared that she believes the husbands of her RHONJ cast members should have a less significant role in the Bravo series.

“I feel like the men should only be there only for comedic relief, I know people out there say, ‘oh the Househusbands need a show.’ The Househusbands do not need a show and I’ll tell you why because when they argue it goes to f***** 100 real quick. Real quick. And unless you want security guards and bouncers on call 24/7 to break up fights, nobody’s going to want to watch that,” said the mother of five.