Every “Housewives” franchise needs their Nene Leakes (Atlanta) or their Ramona Singer (New York City), but what makes the show have longevity to many viewers, is the “real” factor”. Castmember Kathy Wakile is pretty much as real as you can get. Here, she speaks with Entertainment Editor Cookie on what it’s like to be considered one of the “normal” ladies, what it was like filiming during Hurricane Sandy, and what adding some new faces onto the show was like
How would you describe the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives Of New Jersey”?
I was definitely happy to see the page turn for some things. The season opens with Hurricane Sandy, and it was definitely tough. We signed up for this though; it’s our lives, it’s our families, and you need to document both the good and the bad. With Sandy, it’s the same things as rebuilding our families; we needed to rebuild and to get it to the splendor that it once was. you have to do the work. We put in alot of work & it definitely wasn’t easy. Repairs of any kind, done on or off camera, need to be done.
Was it hard having to literally “pick up the pieces” of your Jersey Shore homes after Hurricane Sandy on camera?
It wasn’t really hard for me to do, but it was definitely hard to see it. Like the rest of the country, you see things like this in the media, but when you actually see it in what is our playground, it really hits home, especially for us “bennies”. We get about two to four months of time at the shore, and we really enjoy it. It was really bad down there, but I am so glad that it’s back.strong.
What will summer be like for the Wakile clan?
Summer is always such a fun time for all of us. We will definitely be spending some time at the Jersey Shore, I will actually be appearing at Resorts in Atlantic City on June 15th doing a demo on my cannoli kit and getting to say hi to everyone. I love being back at the Shore!
Many people would consider you one of the most “normal” of the Housewives out of all of the franchises, with a fantastic family to boot. Is it hard getting wrapped up into the crazy drama?
It’s funny you say that because I’ve been thinking that myself actually. What’s really “normal” these days? For most of us in New Jersey, if you approach us and we aren’t filming we are really friendly and down to earth. I’m a really even keeled person, and have a pretty even personality and balance. It’s hard for me sometimes to get labeled as the “normal” one!
Your sister Rosie is an out lesbian and one of the most popular supporting characters on the show. Do you feel somewhat of a responsibility to the LGBT community?
I think we all have a responsibility to the community. I also think that we all need to raise each other up instead of being so negative and close minded; we are all God’s children, and being gay certainly isn’t a choice, no more than me having big blue eyes! (Laughs). Rosie was born this way and I accept and love her for exactly that. It’s no different than sexuality, color, social status, etc. I wish people would just make life easier for people, not harder; life certainly isn’t easy sometimes.
There’s the possibility that some new faces may be joining the cast on Season 5 of “RHONJ.” It’s been rumored that long-time troublemaker Kim D, and two friends of Teresa, Jennifer Dalton and Penny Drossos, would be joining the cast as “Friends Of Housewives” this year. What was it like to have new girls to interact with after being on the show for two seasons with the same castmembers?
I think having some new ladies definitely helped freshen things up a bit, it definitely helped. For me, it’s fun to interact with new people, and I didn’t really have any problems with them.
So what’s next for Kathy Wakile? Your “Dolci della Dea” cannoli kit has been a huge success. Do you want to put out some more products?
Thank you so much! I’m working on some other things, and the cannoli kit has definitely done so well. It was a challenge, making sure we made sure it shipped as easy as possible, was arriving fresh and promptly, things like that. For the “Dolci della Dea” kit we may be experimenting with some differently flavored fillings next, so stay tuned.
Find out more at Twitter: @KathyWakile http://kathywakile.com
Every “Housewives” franchise needs their Nene Leakes (Atlanta) or their Ramona Singer (New York City), but what makes the show have longevity to many viewers, is the “real” factor”. Castmember Kathy Wakile is pretty much as real as you can get. Here, she speaks with Entertainment Editor Cookie on what it’s like to be considered one of the “normal” ladies, what it was like filiming during Hurricane Sandy, and what adding some new faces onto the show was like
