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Lauren Manzo and Vito Scalia reportedly separated over a year prior to Vito’s divorce filing.
Days after it was confirmed that Vito, 37, filed for divorce from the Real Housewives of New Jersey alum, 35, on September 5, with claims of a Marital Settlement Agreement being filed on July 26, new details are being shared in regard to the reason behind Lauren and Vito’s split.
On October 25, All About the Real Housewives confirmed they first learned of Lauren and Vito’s marital troubles over one year ago. As they explained, a July 2022 tip from an insider close to Vito, Lauren, and their families shared at the time that Lauren and Vito, who share six-year-old daughter Marchesa “Markie” Scalia, were no longer together — and hadn’t been functioning as a couple for some time.
However, in response to the rumors, Vito said that summer, “It’s not true. We are married, live together [and] raise our daughter happily. We would appreciate [it] if you didn’t feed into the rumors in an attempt to protect our daughter from any unnecessary heartache in the future.”
In the year since, the outlet continued to receive tips that their marriage was over. And now, on the heels of Vito’s divorce filing, it has been revealed that their relationship began having “problems” and “was over” shortly after they welcomed Markie in 2017.
Although it was reportedly Lauren who wanted to split, Vito’s family allegedly isn’t a fan of the former RHONJ cast member and the two of them have been dating other people since the breakup.
“Their divorce was a long time coming,” a second source told The U.S. Sun on October 24. “They’ve been separated for more than a year.”
In court documents, Vito confirmed he and Lauren “experienced irreconcilable differences for a period of at least six months which caused the breakdown of their marriage.”
“It is apparent that the marriage should be dissolved as there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation,” he continued.
In addition, the outlet shared, Lauren’s closeness with her family, including mom Caroline Manzo, 62, dad Albert Manzo, 63, and brothers Albie Manzo, 37, and Chris Manzo, 34, was a point of contention.
Vito “wasn’t present at family gatherings, and he would spend a lot of time in New York with his family and their business,” the source said.
“She started hinting at marital problems long before the news broke about their divorce. Some friends picked up on it, and this wasn’t a shock to her family since they were all in the know about what was really going on,” the insider continued, adding that she’d “rather talk about the positive things in her life than her marriage.”
“She’s over the spotlight and just wants to live a quiet life away from TV,” the source added.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 14 is expected to premiere on Bravo sometime in 2024.
