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The Daily Dish The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Why Exactly Is Dolores Catania's Ex-Husband Frank Getting a Tattoo of Her Name?

And where is it going?

By Marianne Garvey
Where Is Frank Going to Place His Dolores Catania Tattoo?

Dolores Catania and her ex-husband Frank Catania have never had the traditional relationship between exes. They're no longer married, but The Real Housewives of New Jersey couple co-own businesses and still have combined finances.

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The RHONJ mom says while it wasn't amicable immediately after the split, the two have grown to love each other as best friends. She even admits it was initially hard to date other men, because they wouldn't understand why she and Frank are so close. "It never works out when a new partner does not understand the dynamics between Frank and myself," she said in 2016. But the two share their kids Gabrielle and Frankie together, so they've managed to remain family. Dolores even likes Frank's longterm girlfriend. Call that #excouplegoals.

About the tattoo — Frank told Dolores, "when I die I wanna take everyone with me." OK. Sure. While she says it's "sentimental," he wants to put it on his hip next to his tattoo of two hearts tied together by chains. Oh boy. Dolores wants it on his shoulder, listed where their kids' names are. Joe Gorga suggested (in the clip above) that he put it on his main man part and wanted to be there to witness that in action. Frank agreed, joking that he could actually write out Dolores, while Joe would only be able to fit his wife's initials, "MG."

Anyway, Frank and Dolores have been broken up for so long he probably won't regret his decision, even though a recent Harris poll found that three in 10 Americans (and half of millennials) have tattoos but most hate them. When asked what their biggest tattoo regret was, most responders said an ex's name plastered somewhere on their body sucked.

While it may be hard for Frank's on-again off-again girlfriend to stare at, getting Dolores' name tattooed makes some sense in this case. Unless he puts it where Joe suggested ... then Frank and Dolores should just reunite for good.

As her pal Siggy Flicker puts it: "It's hard for people to understand, but Dolores and I have extremely good relationships with our exes. My ex-husband was the best man at my wedding, Dolores' ex Frank and my ex have a wonderful relationship. You know why? Because we're able to put our egos aside and it benefits [our kids] Frankie, Gabby, Sophie and Joshua. So if my ex said, 'Hey, I don't know what I'm doing right now and I need a place to stay,' I'd say, 'My house is your house, your kids are living there.' Dolores did the same thing."

If Frank totally regrets it (which he probably won't), there's always the coverup option. Or he can do it like Mel B., who admitted she surgically removed a tattoo of her ex Stephen Belafonte‘s name from her ribs, then stored it in a jar high up in a closet.

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