Dina Manzo opened up about the 2017 assault she and her husband, Dave Cantin, endured after two men invaded their home. Four years after the invasion took place, her ex-husband Tommy Manzo was reportedly indicted as the alleged ‘accomplice.’
The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum also shared insight into her family upbringing, suggested she married her first husband George Hadjiapostoli to “get out of the house,” and addressed why she quit the show.
In a TikTok video shared by @NYCgalout, Dina addressed having “a lot of trauma” within the last five years, and she hinted that it made a “difference in [her] brain.”
She stated, “I feel the difference in my body, [and] obviously my mind.”
Dina said she’s been “sheltered” her whole life. She claimed her first husband was her first boss, and he was 12 years older than her. After marrying him at the age of 21, she gave birth to her daughter. A few years down the road, she divorced Goerge, as she wasn’t “in love.”
“I think I just married to get out of the house,” said Dina, who claimed her father had a “temper.”
According to Dina, her dad didn’t tell her he loved her until the day of her first wedding. “I was kind of taken aback. I knew he loved me,” said the star. “But he never said the words.”
Dina addressed being “the first one of the Housewives series to actually quit and leave.”
“I thought my peace was more important,” said Dina, who shared her belief that fame is a trap. “I’ve seen it firsthand how much it changes people.”
She also shaded cast members who “love the chaos and the hair-pulling,” hinting they need a change in their life.
Later in the video, Dina opened up about the “assault.”
“In 2017, my husband and I … were in New Jersey for an event and we came home to two men in our house who assaulted us and zip-tied us together,” she said. “I have physical injuries, emotional injuries, lingering fear, and I thought I was going to die.”
She called it a “near-death experience,” and she said she “went through my whole life in a moment, which was a very beautiful moment, oddly enough. It was the most peace I’ve ever felt … [I] just kind of [became] proud of myself for my accomplishments through my life and grateful to understand true love.”
Dina continued, “And I just prayed for my daughter that she would be okay, and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m ready.’ And they, they left, and I was left with that.”
She said there were “many layers to the trauma.”
“Not only … what happened physically, but emotionally,” she stated. “The emotional part of who was arrested because of it. And the healing that I have to do for that.”
@nycgalout Dina Cantin speaks about her #trauma — You suck #CarolineManzo … the Giudice didn’t pay #taxes and lied on loan applications, but the Manzos are the real criminals! Where’s this same energy that you all have for #TeresaGiudice and #JoeGorga ??? #FamilyFeud #RHONJ #Bravo
♬ original sound – NYC Gal Out