In a shocking twist this season on Mob Wives: New Blood, Drita D’Avanzo found herself in the role of peacemaker. Her boxing classes and anger management have paid off (or maybe she really has gone soft now that Lee’s home), but she was focused completely on her family, her business, and enjoying her newfound friendships with Alicia and Natalie on the show. When we hung out with Drita at the reunion, she told us her first impressions of Alicia and Natalie, and how she believes Renee courts some of the drama in her life. (“She put herself there,” she says.) And she has one last thing to clear up for fans who dare question her loyalty… Read on for our honest and hilarious chat with Drita.
Did you expect to form such a good friendship with Alicia after you met her this season?
Yes! You know why? Because when she first came on the show, I could tell her demeanor — if there’s one thing I f—ing hate, I hate when people act like they’re somebody they’re not, I hate that — and it’s very obvious. I see right through that. And she’s not like that. She’s not someone that’s coming on the show like “Yeah, I’m a wise gal, I’ll f—ing fight, I’ll break jaws!” She never did that. That right there gained my respect and I knew off the bat that I would like her. Second, she’s really going through everything I went through. Everything. Except, thank God, facing jail time. But the husband cheating and him being in prison, it’s too much in common. Her family’s not part of this lifestyle. I really like that Alicia keeps it real with herself. I find, after being on the show all these years, when people hit the TV screen, they do tend to not be themselves.
How do you feel about Natalie, do you think she’s keeping it real, too?
Do I think that Natalie is being true to herself? Yes, because the girl runs around f—ing naked. Honestly, that’s crazy to me. But you know what? That means you’re keeping it real. That’s what you dress like, that’s how you carry yourself. You’re not coming on TV where everyone in Philly is like “That girl don’t wear turtlenecks!” Get my point? She’s being who she is whether someone likes it or they don’t. Do I have anything in common with her? Nooo. Like, Natalie and I are from two different worlds. And to me, I’ve had friends like Natalie and they’re my friends that I go to clubs with because they’re fun to hang out with. But Alicia’s a bit different, I get along with her better. We see eye to eye.
And it was tough with Natalie because I have history with Renee, and those two want to kill each other. What I want to clarify, and I have to because it’s really f—ing annoying, when people tweet and it’s like “Oh my God, you turned on Renee, Renee’s your best friend, you grew up with her,” and it’s f—ing annoying. I can’t say it enough. I was friends with Renee’s younger sister. That’s how I know Renee. Renee was never my friend like that, they must’ve not watched Mob Wives. I was fighting with Karen and Ramona for three years and that was Renee’s crew, so really, in reality, what the f— show were you watching? Renee was never on my side. If anything she made problems worse. I don’t hold that against her. I’m fine with that. I didn’t try to make problems worse with these girls, if anything I tried to make it good. I played a good middleman, I feel. I didn’t instigate. I really sided with who was right, in my opinion. That’s how I feel.
How do you feel about the whole Renee story this season with her being at the center of all the drama?
Listen. She put herself there. I personally think if you don’t wanna be somewhere, you don’t go there. You could say “I don’t wanna be in the middle of all this.” I could turn around and say “I don’t want to be the middleman,” and I could easily not. I could “F— you people!” But I want to be middleman, even if I complain about it. If she’s at the center of all these f—ing problems, that’s saying something there, you gotta take a look in the mirror and see why.