‘RHONJ’ Alum Dina Manzo’s Daughter Lexi Opens Up About ‘Uncomfortable’ Relationship With Stepdad Tommy Manzo Saying He Was Obsessed

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Lexi Loannou, daughter of The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Dina Manzo, recently shared candid insights into her complicated relationship with her former stepfather, Tommy Manzo.

On the May 26 episode of Gia Giudice’s Casual Chaos podcast, Lexi described Tommy’s behavior as unsettling, revealing, “He had this, this, like, weird obsession with me.” She recalled how Tommy “kept my room exactly the same because he thought I was going to come back. I can’t even begin to understand why he would think I would ever come back there.” According to Lexi, Tommy “held on to my things for, you know, 10 years” following his split from Dina.

Lexi Loannou also shed light on the nature of their relationship: “He never had children of his own and I was the closest thing he had to it. So, he really loved me.” However, she was quick to clarify, “He was never inappropriate, but he definitely was very affectionate. And that was something I was very uncomfortable with because neither of my parents are that way.” She added, “To receive it from a stepfather is kind of, like, extra strange when you don’t receive it from your actual father.” Lexi went on to say, “I was told to pay him that kind of affection out of respect. Therefore, I felt like our relationship was very uncomfortable for me.”

For context, Dina and Tommy married in 2007 when Lexi was just six years old. The couple separated in 2012 and finalized their divorce in 2016. Dina remarried David Cantin in 2017. Meanwhile, Tommy, who is the brother of Caroline Manzo’s husband Albert Manzo, is currently serving an 84-month prison sentence for his involvement in orchestrating an assault against Cantin in 2015.

After Tommy’s incarceration, Lexi made efforts to reclaim her belongings, reaching out to Lauren Manzo, Caroline’s daughter. “I had an understanding that he kept everything of mine all those years. So, I wanted it back,” she explained. “It was really difficult for me to extend myself and to ask for help, but I was that desperate. I just wanted those things back.”

Lexi also reflected on the emotional toll the ordeal has taken on her and her family. She recounted attending Tommy’s trial last year, saying, “I went to the trial last year and I sat there for a week, and I listened to everybody testify.” She contrasted her own approach with her mother’s, noting, “My mom and I are so different like that. She couldn’t even stomach being there for, like, 30 minutes. I went every day, all day, for seven days. I needed to know everything.”

One word that came up repeatedly during the trial, Lexi shared, was “obsessive.” She observed, “There was some kind of obsessive disorder going on there with the fact that he lost his ‘family’ — my mom and I — and he just lost control.”

Concluding on a poignant note, Lexi acknowledged the profound pain caused by Tommy’s actions: “Some of the things he has done have been the most painful things I’ve ever had to face in my life. See my mom go through, see Dave go through. It’s been completely unfair.”