Is Chris Manzo Leaving the Garden State?
The #Manzod family reacts to his potential departure from New Jersey.
The Manzos are some of New Jersey's most famous residents, but one of these family members could be saying goodbye to the Garden State in the future. As we saw in the supertease for Manzo'd with Children this season, Chris Manzo contemplates leaving New Jersey, much to his family's chagrin.
Chris, who currently lives in Hoboken, confirmed that he's "thinking about leaving Jersey" when The Daily Dish caught up with him ahead of the Manzo'd with Children Season 3 premiere. "Yeah, I mean, I love to travel. I love traveling. I love seeing new things. I like to learn but learn through experience," he said. "All season, I've kind of been battling this learning new things and going through new experiences and then eventually I've kind of come to the conclusion that the only way to really learn and take in new experiences is to completely throw yourself into a situation that's completely uncomfortable to you."
Chris' mom Caroline Manzo also told The Daily Dish that her son has always had big dreams. "That's typical Christopher. You never know with him," she said. "He's just too big for one spot. He always has been. He's got incredible imagination. He has an incredible zest for life."
Chris' older brother Albie Manzo said he knows the benefits of spreading your wings and flying. "I definitely would miss Chris. But the thing for me is I went to college. I had my time where I had my own direction, so to speak, away from the family. It wasn't particularly far away, but still, it was my own. And Chris hasn't had that chance to just kind of go on his own and figure things out," he told The Daily Dish. "So I would totally understand. The last thing I ever want to do is limit the perspective that he has 'cause that's where he thrives."
Even though Mama Manzo works hard to keep the family together, she also said she "won't hold [Chris] back," adding that today's technology, such as Skype and FaceTime, as well as access to transportation make it easy to stay in touch. "Do you want to see your kid every once a week, twice a week, three times a week? Sure. But if you can't, that's all right," she said. "If Christopher decides to go to Chicago, once every month, once every couple of months, whatever, it's an hour-and-a-half plane ride. It's no big deal. I'll go if I feel like it. We live in a world where it's much easier to be away from somebody but still maintain the relationship.
Caroline said she doesn't want any of her children to be close by just for her benefit. "I just want them to be happy. So if that's where it takes him, then go where the happiness takes you. If you need to go explore where it is, then go and explore, because the last thing I ever want to say to my kids is, 'No, you have to stay here because Mommy doesn't want you to leave,'" she explained. "Then I'm a rotten mother. Then I failed. So just go. Go where the wind takes you, but just don't forget me. That's all." — Additional reporting by Jocelyn Vena
Chris' new career as an author has already taken off. Learn all about his first book, below.
