Former The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Manzo is done being “quiet” amid her feud with her estranged sister, Caroline Manzo, which just escalated. This is because Caroline was one of the “dozens” of people who wrote a letter of support for Dina’s ex-husband/Caroline’s brother-in-law Thomas “Tommy” Manzo in which she called him “kind-hearted and caring,” which was read during Tommy’s pre-trial hearing right before he was released from jail pending his trial on May 21, according to NJ.com. The hearing happened nearly a year after Thomas was indicted for allegedly being an accomplice in a 2017 home invasion that led to Dina’s then-boyfriend (and current husband) David “Dave” Cantin being tied up and beaten with a baseball bat, which happened after Dina and Thomas finalized their divorce in 2016.
Before Dina called out her sister for supporting her ex who allegedly hired a hitman, John Perna, to carry out the attack (which John pleaded guilty to), her friend spoke up first. “For years I have sat by and watched Dina take the high road over and over,” Dina’s friend Luke McKibben began a message on Instagram on May 24. He continued, “Staying silent for many reasons but mainly out of respect for family. There’s a million things I could have said throughout the years and spoken up to defend her. She would forbid me to say a word. But I can’t stay silent while others continue to talk to help keep their relevance.”
The friend then directed his message to Caroline, whom he had shared a photo of alongside Thomas. Above them were the words “Thick As Thieves,” a reference to a catchphrase that Caroline used to say on RHONJ. “You will reap what you sow. And I find this extremely fitting after all they are your most famous words,” Dina’s friend wrote to conclude his message.
The message was Dina-approved. “Normally Lukey I would ask you to take this down but ya know what? I’m starting to think some just expect us to stay quiet while they continue to hurt others…that’s what gives them that ‘power’,” she wrote under the post that called out her sister. Dina then continued, “I’ll say it again…it’s not ok to take kindness for weakness. Plus if I don’t laugh at this point I’ll just continue to cry. I love you.”
Instagram account @RealityA**hole was also on Dina’s side, and posted a lengthy comment about Caroline being “fake” and blasted the former Bravo star for her behavior on RHONJ (she also used to star on the show, like Dina). Dina ended up “liking” the comment, as you can see in the screenshot below!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPTcO5fMj4l/
When Thomas was first arrested in June of 2020, Caroline also gave a statement on the touchy situation (she is married to Albert Manzo III, who is the brother of her sister’s ex). “We are heartbroken. This is family on both sides. I want to know the truth and my allegiance will lie with the truth,” she told Extra at the time, adding, “We don’t run from things like this, we address them, and I feel comfortable with that because we are being painted with a brush that does not reflect who we are as people.”
Thomas has not only been accusing of hiring a hitman to attack his ex-wife’s husband, but also of stalking Dina and David, too. After a search was conducted at Thomas’s office at The Brownstone, 300 pages of inquiries conducted on Google, Lexis and “Been Verified” about Dina and David were reportedly found, according to Caitlin Sidley, the assistant prosecutor in New Jersey’s Monmouth County (per NJ.com). These searches even reportedly turned up the schedule for the 8-year-old son of Dina’s current husband.
Dina Manzo with her husband, David “Dave” Cantin, whom she married in June of 2017. [Instagram/@dina]
Thomas’s attorneys argued that these searches “were done as a way for Manzo to defend himself against a lawsuit he believed [Dina’s husband] was planning to file,” according to the outlet. Thomas, who is fighting the accusations against him, is currently facing charges of robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, criminal restraint, weapons offenses, and stalking Dina and David, per NJ.com.