Have I seen Dina Manzo of The Real Housewives of New Jersey on another show?
—Carole Pustovar, Hibbing, Minn.
If you watch HGTV, the answer would be yes. Manzo, an interior designer and special events planner, has a party-planning series, Dina’s Party.
On each episode, she creates events—baby showers, weddings, graduation parties and the like—in her clients’ homes.
“When I left Housewives I had no intentions of coming back on TV at all,” says the 40-year-old Franklin Lakes, N.J., resident. “This opportunity came to me and I spoke with my husband and said, ‘You know, I love HGTV. This is what I love to do and you know how happy event planning makes me. Why not?’”
She definitely had the qualifications. In 2005, she founded her boutique event planning company, Designer Affair. In addition, she is a co-owner of The Brownstone, one of New Jersey’s top catering facilities.
Manzo first appeared on television on VH1’s 2007 My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding, when her nuptials to second husband Tommy were televised. That was followed by her stint on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which she says she did to help promote her charity, Project Ladybug, a foundation for children with cancer.
“I started it before Housewives,” Manzo says. “It was part of the reason I decided to do the show. We had these wonderful events and it was hard getting exposure.”
Found in: Celebrity Q&A
