The Eds: unEDited with Paulie Connell

This is the EDS with Eddie Judge and Edwin Atoyave. Welcome to the EDS podcast.

I am on location at the Bottle Rock Festival and today I have the privilege of interviewing my new friend Paulie Connall.

I say that Rue, you did a really good job with that one.

Paulie Connell is in a relationship with the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member Delores Catanya. The Lauras and Paulie have been together since twenty twenty one and has filmed r HO n J with Delores for two seasons two years.

I know only shit legendary. I can't wait to get into this. First of all, paul I just want to get to know you better.

Where did you grow up? Tell me a little bit about yourself when you were young.

So I grew up in Irelands, which is yeah, a lot of away from.

Okay, what's it like growing up in Ireland?

It's cool. It's cool. Yeah, having two kids that grew up in America and seeing the difference, it's it's cool. It's it's there's definitely a different diversity there.

What's it like growing up in Ireland? Do you have siblings?

I do have two brothers and a sister over there. Still we're just there actually a couple of couple of months ago with time.

Do you go back often?

We do? Yeah, we do. Yeah, we're actually going back in August for one of my nephew's weddings. Nice. Yeah, trip, you should come.

I hear Ireland is incredibly beautiful.

Yeah.

Even my dad took a trip up there and when he came back, he was like the most beautiful place.

So I think you would like it.

I definitely.

I think they would like you.

Yeah, okay, I don't drink much. I don't know if they like me.

A good looking guys, so I think you'll do.

Okay, all right, PAULI, I got a couple of questions for you so that our audience gets to know you better. As you know, I've been on the show for Real Housewives for a long time and I know that my experience not necessarily personally, but there's been a lot of edits on the show show that don't really reflect the real person, the real you know, character. So I want the audience to get to know the real Polly. And I'm gonna throw some questions say you okay, that's cool, So you are from Ireland.

Tell me what what drove you to come to America.

I just you know, I was always fond of America watching TV, and you know, being from rot and you see this big country. And then somebody that I that I knew what I was here, that was like a family member was like, come over and take a look, and that was it.

That was it.

Once I got here, I was like, wow, this now?

Was it Jersey?

The first place you saw in America? What was the first place New York?

It was in Rockland County, Pearl River was the first place, small place outside New York City?

Interesting?

Yeah, I never seen it. Is it like Ireland beautiful?

Or is it?

It's got the second biggest Saint Patrick's they parade in the world. So it's very Irish, like a home away from home.

I like it.

Do you feel like there was a culture shock when you came over here?

Did you feel at home?

Because yeah, definitely a culture shock. Okay, yeah, yeah?

What was so different?

I mean the speed of everything was very fast?

Yeah New York.

Yeah, the world knoww so much faster over here.

Your parents still there?

My mom and Dada passed.

I'm sorry to hear that.

My mom was on the show. Okay, yeah she was. Yes, she got a Doloris when they went to Ireland with the cast trip. So the Laura's got an opportunity to bring my mom to meet her at the at the castle where they stayed in Ireland. So it was pretty cool. It was Actually, it's a nice memory to have that she got to be on TV once in her life, which is say, every human eventually gets on TV. Yeah, but it was on the Housewife and with Dolorus.

So what did your mom think about the show?

She loved it. She loved almost she said, all crazy.

Entertainment, entertainment.

Yeah, okay, So I understand your self made man in the electrical world.

What do you do for work?

I am I organize people to do the right thing in the electrical world. So not an electrician, but I have electoral contracting company. And basically what we've done is we've manifested having the right people, hire the right people, and you know, we just we just do a really good job. So we do higher in the electoral contracting in New York City, Florida and some other states very soon.

Fantastic, that's great to hear. You're a true entrepreneur, I would say, so you see the opportunity and you take it.

That's it.

Let's see, let's get into marriage and family. Rumor is that you and Dolores met at an apple store?

Is that true?

It is true. She followed me, She followed you. She's kind of stalking me a little bit.

You just answered my next question. Move tell me about because the first time I met my wife, it was very magical. It was the first time I've ever seen birds and stars and flies, and it was just weird feeling. Tell me about the first time you saw do Lores and what caught your eye.

So when I was introduced to do Lorus, I did not know anything but the housewives.

Okay, So.

Yeah, I was introduced to her and then my friend was like, you know, I want you to go on a date with my friend. I'm like okay. So she sent the photograph and I'm like, oh, oh, she's very pretty, and so we start talking. We swapped numbers and we text, and then the Laurus said one day, she goes, oh, let's just go for dinner. Let's just got to the chase and well meet up. So I'm like okay, I'm like I gotta go get a new iPhone because my

This point, not even a picture.

No, I've seen a photograph, but I had never met her in person. We spoke on the text on the phone. She walked straight up to me. I wish the mask could cover my face because I was so embarrassed. I was like so scared because I'm looking at her, going, oh my god, this this is hot. Yeah. So she kind of got me at the word hello.

Wow, that's a great story.

Yeah, no, she did.

I love it.

Yeah, And then you guys went to dinner from there.

We went to Panera Bread next door. Yeah. Yeah, we had some green tea and we hung out front it that's how it all started.

Now, how long did you spend together the first time, like talking, was it like a marathon of ten hours or like it was like six hours.

We couldn't get away from each other. And that's when we knew it was like it was important that we kept that going.

I understand you have two kids, and how was it bringing the family or merging the family together? Your kids are kids? How was that transition?

It was very It was actually really simple, and it was simple because our kids are so beautiful and they were they were they were leaning into my children and they never there was never intentions about like the laws being on a show. It was just love to love and they were. They were just so good with my kids, and my kids never understood like you know, hey these people, there's there's just normal that down around TV dad like this. But it was such a transition. It was so cool.

That's such a good story. Do you do you have a nightmare of an ex? Or she cool?

No, she's very cool. Okay, big big favorite fan of the Laurus and the Laurius fan of hers and great mom. She loves Frankie, she loves Gobby, she loves Big Frank. It's it's a blended family. I wouldn't. I'm the guy that was saying, oh you can do that. That's been crazy, how can you do that? But no, it's it's a good thing.

Man.

Now.

One thing my wife told me or shared with me about the Laurus is that her and frank had like a very amicable, wonderful separation. And you know that's not normal. You know when two people separate usually.

It's just horrific.

And I thought, well, okay, that's that's cool. And they're still friends, right they are. So do you guys spend a lot of time together?

We do.

Yeah?

Is it weird?

It was at first a million percent. And I would tell people if they were going to think about doing this, and they put up the red flies and go, this is weird. It is, yeah, because everything is different, right, so every every situation is different. Just try it and see what happens. Yeah, it doesn't have to work. My mind did. And I was the one guy that said it would never work.

Yeah, in my experience, it didn't work. It was. It was a horrific experience.

And you know, the guy tried to do everything he could to get back at Tamra, including alienating the kids. And it's just a terrible situation. So mad respect for you, and I love Frank.

I met him, great guy. I yeah, shout out to Frank.

Shout out to Frank Italia, Miami Vice.

Don't you have a special name for him?

Like I do? Yeah? It was it was so so. You know, Frank, in his uh childish way, is you know, kind of christened me buzz light Year, which which you know, I kind of see it like I'm a superhero. That's a pretty big deal.

You know.

It's good to infinity of right, you know. And it took me a while, you know, I mowed over and being irish, like I want to be sarcastic, but I got to go deep on this one. I mister potato head. I just figured it was it was arms off because his arms are falling off, because he's like, you know, literally falling off about this dage because he's yeah, but no, no, it's it's a good thing. It's funny, potato farm.

You bought him a home.

I bought him a home.

Yeah, Hey, Frank, if you're listening, you got a home.

You gotta hold he with. You got a friend, and.

I love it all right.

The Lows has been on the show for ten years. When you met her, you just said you didn't know she was on reality TV? Had you ever seen the show before you met her? Had you were you familiar with it?

I was so I used to see the show on in the house as my ex wife used to watch. It would have been Caroline Manzow and Trees of Judice, that whole table torrenting.

Yeah, and that was it.

That That's all I knew was the show. And I honestly I was the one guy who was like like, what what is this?

What is this?

Because I was like a tree second viewer. Yeah, obviously, so you don't get it. And then when you meet the characters and the people and you see them and you go, these are actually real people, These are real stories like yourself, Talma and wherever else, you're like, whoa, these are just normal people. Yeah, they're sharing the life with you. Like it's pretty cool. It is.

And that's the side that it's hard to really see for me because there's so much toxicity involved.

Preceding that or post that.

Right. You know, there's such good moments that we experience on the show, and then there's just these terrible moments like I don't I don't want to be a part of this anymore.

Right, have you experienced anything like that? We're like, I just don't want to be a part of this.

I did I did? You know, being from art and I've got pretty tick skined. So you can tell me what you want, say what you want to bout me, call me whatever. I really don't care. Well when you sold and so Dolores to me, that's like that's below the belt. And I see these people that they do that. I mean, I feel bad for them because you know, I know what I'm doing it right, because it's just

One of the hardest times I experienced on the show is.

I understood at a moment that this is supposed to happen, The drama has to happen in order for the show to course, right, But when I'm sitting across the table and some douchebag dude is attacking my wife, I had to make a decision. Do I want to get into this because we are producing a show, or do I want to let my wife handle this situation because she's way more experienced than I am, right right, right right.

And it was perfect correct.

But the backlash was on social media, like, oh, you're a douchebag. You don't protect your wife, you know, you don't stand up for her. I'm like, it's a TV show.

Exactly, and it's called a Housewife, not the household Wife show.

Making that point, how involved are you in it?

I'm just an accessory, okay, I'm I'm like a glorified uber driver. I go with the Laura's Roachie goes and I have fun. Man, That's that's what I do. I like, I like being there with her and like going through it. But I'm an accessory.

I actually have a similar story.

Went to the Mark and Kelly show and it was a very revealiant moment where she was actually being interviewed by the couple and I was in the audience and I'm walking through the audience, sitting and trying to find my seat, and they're you know, they're very nice, you know, waving at me, saying hello, and they're like, you're not going up there, No, no, no, this is this is about my wife, not about me.

And I said, I'm just an extra, you know.

And another lady that was sitting on the seat says, no, you're not, honey, You're a seat filler, seat filler.

I'm okay with it, You're okay with that.

I don't want to be a housewife.

And I think most of the husbands are okay with that. People perceive it differently.

Yeah, you know.

There's one exception though, in all the entire franchises is the New Jersey guys.

You know them very well. They get more involved in the housewife world, right. But the way I see it is.

The dynamic is that you guys have such good relationstionships with each other. My understanding is that Joe and Joe and Joe, they've all known each other. They know they known each other for so long, right that there's a relationship, there's a history there, so they could have fun with it. Unlike maybe my franchise or I'm just I don't know these guys. For Adam, I don't have a lot in common with them. There's very few guys that I actually can have a conversation with Terry Dubro, Shane and uh

There's no respect for them. There is no they they they you can see right through them every time. Yeah.

So what's the best thing that's come out of the housewife experience for you? Is it has it helped your relationship? Has it affected your relationship?

You know, I don't.

I don't think it would help or affect because I didn't know her from anything else. So for me, it's just like, this is who she is. She's on a housewife show, and that's all I know. I don't know the lare is not to be on a housewife show, so I can't say pros or cons. I appreciate the people that like tell me how much they love for her and how much she's like help them to like hear these people come up and say, you know, they're having difficult times in life and she really helped them

That's a good way to look at it.

I like that. Yeah, yeah, And you know, one of the things that I understand about being on TV is that you're going to have the good and bad with it. You're going to have people that are just they're going to say your eyes aren't blue enough, your hair is not long enough, it's not brown.

If you're two, it's great.

I mean well, tell me what's the worst thing that somebody has said about you?

I'm not nice?

That's nothing.

Yeah, cool, what are you talking about? I love that?

I love that. Okay, do you have any questions for me or anything you want to share about you know? How do you?

How do you? What do you feel about how everything's going in the franchise at the moment? Do you think, like, what rop Bravo we're doing? Where it rot?

Like?

How what do you when you look at the whole spectrum of things like and you look at it from an aerial view from being involved so long? I'm onney a newbie. Yeah, what do you think of what's going on? Like?

What's Honestly, I don't know because from the beginning, Tarma used to say this, this is probably going to end in the next two to three years. And we are fifteen years into it, right, so you see a lot. I truly don't believe it's ever going to end. We're coming up on twenty years and it's remark arkable that it's lasted this long. But it's also my opinion that it's because of the way they are able to create drama out of nothing, you know, just take the littlest

It's their guilty pleasure.

It is, and I don't understand that. I just don't well. A lot of it has to do with that I don't watch the show, you know, I just it's not my thing. But how this can be converted into entertainment is brilliant, and they've done a great job making such a successful franchise last this long. I mean, I just read an article recently that the Desperate Housewives of that's

He's like, no bro Rock show. So I'll never forget that story.

But it's it is remarkable that they've done so well and created such a great entertainment venue for people to watch. And you know, I look at it as a very toxic experience, but it's been such an awesome experience to navigate through it, right. And the biggest suggestion or advice I would give the guys.

And it's like, it's a number. Don't get involved. You just don't you already don't get involved?

You know. It's it's it's it's the guys that get involved, and you know, and the guys that have not a skeleton in the closet but a con cemetery there like these things.

Have you haul trucks pulling up at the stage?

Did you not know this is gonna come out?

You know? Hell?

So you know I am not the perfect guy, but I don't have a skeleton like that, and.

No guy is. No guy is the perfect guy. But there's a limit.

Yeah, so yeah, I would you say you enjoyed the filming life so far?

I've loved it. Yeah I have.

Do you get recognized everywhere you go yet?

I do?

That's Lauris's boyfriends. I do get a lot of that. Yeah, yeah, that's Paulieuh yeah, yeah, no, I do. And I appreciate it. Something I'd like to add there is that when I hear these these women come up, we go to these events, we do these these these shows with Dolores, and these women come and they go like, you know, I'm in remission,

You know, you know what I think that is only it's the realism. You know, one thing I've discovered about my wife compared to the other housewives, and not all other housewives, but most housewives create a fake storyliner, a fake soon. Right, my wife is as real as it can be. She puts it out there.

I can see that.

And Dolores, she's just as real as she can be. And that shows through the camera and the viewers. They really appreciate when you are who you say you are, not who you're trying to fake and on TV right, just be yourself.

Just be yourself. That's our message for our podcast.

Thank you for listening to the ads and please, if you have any questions or comments, leave us a review. We will get back to you and thank you for listening. Thank you, Polly, you're the best buddy. Thanks for coming on.

Yes, thank you so much.