RENEE Graziano couldn’t hold back the tears during a lengthy sit-down with The U.S. Sun.
The Mob Wives star has bared her soul and spoken openly about love, life, and the future.
Anthony Graziano passed away in 2019 at the age of 78 after suffering from dementiaInstagramInstagramThe Mob Wives star has bared her soul and spoken openly about love, life, and the future[/caption]
RexRenee, seen here with fellow Mob Wives stars, eventually had to leave New York to cope with the loss of her beloved father[/caption]
But when the conversation turned toward her father Anthony, the 53-year-old shook with emotion and grief.
Anthony, the infamous New York mobster, passed away in 2019 after suffering from dementia.
A larger-than-life figure who lived a life less ordinary, to see him slowly declining both mentally and physically was just too much for Renee to take.
She was – and will always be – her daddy’s girl, but revealed even their tight bond was almost destroyed following the release of the smash-hit VH1 show.
Talking openly and in public about anything concerning Mafia affairs is a no-go for mobsters.
So to see Renee and her fellow Mob Wives take part in six seasons of the show was difficult to take for Anthony, who missed 12 years of his daughter’s life while he served time in prison.
“My father also didn’t talk to me for two years because we did the show,” she told The U.S. Sun.
“There’s a bunch of men that ratted on a bunch of wise guys, but the women are in trouble? It made no sense.
“Victoria Gotti did her own show, but didn’t get the backlash that Mob Wives did. I’m a fan of Victoria. I think she’s a doll, she was on the show with me.
“I don’t know maybe it’s because she’s Victoria Gotti.”
The loss of her father hit Renee so hard she eventually decided to leave New York for good and relocate to Florida with the hope of starting afresh.
She had to do something to stop spiraling into a toxic mix of depression and drug abuse.
Seeing her hardman father become a shadow of his former, fearsome self was almost impossible to take.
“I lost myself. I didn’t know who I was because I was always Anthony’s daughter,” Renee admitted with tears rolling down her cheek.
“So when you’re Anthony’s daughter, that’s your name. So although he’s still my father, I had to find my own identity without him.
”Now, my dad died at 78 and he died with dementia. He had cancer of the kidney, prostate, bladder, urethra, two open heart surgeries, horrible diabetes, and that didn’t kill him.
“The dementia took him and I get very emotional. It’s the most debilitating thing to watch. And for that person, you’re talking about a mob boss – he had his ups and downs – the illness made him violent.
”God the doctors who dealt with him.
“He actually was very nice to the nurses but if a male came to that room and would take him for physical therapy, he would throw the wheelchair at them.
“My father had to go into a nursing home, he was bad.
”I feel like a selfish b***h though, because I should have been there more. I just couldn’t watch that. You know? The idea of my father, who was larger than life, to go through all that. It was very hard.”
As Renee rebuilds her life in South Florida with a new TV show and writing about a forthcoming memoir, there’s plenty to be hopeful about.
Her father’s memory, however, remains.
”I posted something recently on social media that my dad will forever be my hero,” she said.
“There is no greater man, there is nobody who could ever compete with my father.
“So forgive me. It just makes me sad.”
RexRenee Graziano pictured on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’[/caption]
HandoutMob Wives could return to TV soon if the price is right, and Renee would be interested[/caption]
