Franklin Lakes, N.J. (AP) – It’s Sunday afternoon at Caroline Manzo’s house, and the family has gathered for an early dinner.
Caroline (of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” fame), her three children – sons Albie, 28, and Chris, 25, and daughter Lauren, 26 – and a 2-year-old cousin, Olivia, whom Lauren is babysitting, sit around a table in the kitchen, grazing on meat, cheese and bread as Caroline prepares dinner – veal cutlets, meatballs and pasta.
She has to use a toaster oven because her oven broke and there hasn’t been time to fix it. At this moment, they’re just a regular family, the only sign that they are about to have their own reality show a black backdrop and camera equipment in the living room where they tape their interviews.
“This is making me nervous,” says Chris. “”We never sit like this. It’s throwing me off my chi.”
The Manzos’ Bravo spin-off, “Manzo’d with Children,” premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. EST. Caroline says she was ready to leave “Housewives” before the idea for their own show came about.