Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania’s daughter, Gabby Catania, and her boyfriend, Mike Tallia, are officially engaged.
Taking to her Instagram on Friday, March 20, Dolores confirmed daughter’s happy news by sharing a photo of the romantic proposal.
The carousel of photos showed Tallia getting down on one knee to present a ring to Gabby during a snowboarding vacation in Aspen.
“When your children are little, you think about so many things for their future. I never imagined both of my kids would be engaged at the same time,” Dolores captioned the post, adding, “Congratulations to my @gcatans & @mike_tallia!!! 💍🤍”
Dolores, 55, shares Gabby, 30, and her brother, Frankie, 27, with ex-husband Frank Catania, whom she was married to from 1994 to 1998.
Gabby is the latest member of the family to get engaged. Frankie previously proposed to his girlfriend, Nicole Perricho, in February 2025.
“Can’t find the words to depict how much joy we are all feeling since yesterday,” Dolores captioned Instagram photos of the proposal at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. “My little Frankie, with a heart full of love and a lifetime of memories ahead of him, proposed to his amazing girlfriend, Nicole, and we couldn’t be happier!!”
“Thank you to everyone that helped and made this day absolute perfection,” she added. “Here’s to forever, Frankie and Nicole!”
Dolores, Gabby and Frank Catania. (Photo Courtesy of Dolores Catania/Instagram)
Dolores also revealed that she was hiding out in plain sight ahead of the proposal.
“Me incognito waiting for the proposal,” she wrote via her Instagram Story, sharing a video of herself outside the church wearing oversized sunglasses and a face mask.
Frankie, for his part, gushed via Instagram at the time: “An absolutely amazing day celebrating such a special engagement! Thank you so much to everyone for the congratulations and warm wishes!”
Less than nine months later, Dolores announced her own engagement to boyfriend Paulie Connell in November 2025 after nearly five years of dating.
“I’m ecstatic!” she told People at the time. “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.”
Paulie chimed in to assure Dolores deserves “so much more” than she thinks.
“She’s an incredible woman,” he continued. “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.”
A Jersey girl in love! Dolores Catania and Paul “Paulie” Connell were going strong before season 13 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey — but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hesitant about putting her love life on the Bravo series. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter […]
Paulie popped the question at the New Jersey Apple Store where the pair first met.
“I didn’t want anything over-the-top and staged because we’re a humble couple,” he explained. “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.”
Dolores confirmed she “had not a clue” Paulie planned to get down on one knee.
“In fact, I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance for him!” she joked. “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 OK?’”
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