Renee Graziano: More to the Story
Taylor Harrington 5/19/2021 9:37am EST
We first met Renee Graziano on the hit VH1 show, Mob Wives, as the cameras followed the somewhat tumultuous group of Staten Island women with familial connections to the mob. Always keeping it genuine, we watched Renee struggle with her ex, her friends, and sometimes herself, but the unstoppable force that is Graziano, always rises to the top. There is so much more to Renee’s story and we are thrilled that she took the time to chat and will be back on our screens soon!
What advice would you give to someone trying to get sober for the first time?
It’s the hardest but the greatest thing you can do! Give it all you’ve got, never quit, and please don’t leave before the miracle.
Knowing everything that has happened in your life, would you change anything?
Yes, several things. I wish I wasn’t stoned on TV. I never want my grandchildren to be embarrassed over me, but if it helped one person, I wouldn’t change it. I would’ve married a better man, but then I wouldn’t have my son. I should have never taken my ex back. Although I said I’d change things, I can’t, so I guess God knew what he was doing.
Mental health and physical health are both so important and you are killing it. How do you stay on track with your overall health?
I have a lot of help. Mental health is my number one priority. I pray and ask God for a daily reprieve from my anxiety and depression. I have a therapist and take medication. We finally found something that helps about 50% and the other 50% comes from a lot of self-help books, positive self-talk, and listening to my rational thoughts and not acting on my irrational ones. As for my physical, girl, I ain’t never gonna lie, I had work done. I have an incredible connection Eat Clean Bro that keeps me eating clean! However, I can do way more, like walk thirty minutes a day and go to the gym and actually exercise, not chit-chat, which also helps with the mental part!
How is life as a Grandmother?
Oh my God, it’s life! My grandson is my joy and reason for living. He loves me so much that I can feel it in my soul. I’ve probably worn every superhero costume and played cops and robbers a thousand times– I’m always the robber though. Now I have a granddaughter and although she’s only 6 months it’s just a matter of time that I become her canvas and she paints my face with makeup and we talk about boys!
Do you keep in touch with anyone from Mob Wives?
Well, once I really got sober this time, I had a lot of apologies to make! Luckily some girls chose to forgive me. So to answer the question, Carla and I speak often and go out from time to time. She has been a real friend! I see Alicia from time to time, I’ll go to her store and restaurant and we laugh. I speak with Natalie G, she lives in Florida now, and Nat D and I are good. Karen and Ramona I don’t speak to the way I wish I did, but they are very busy with their own projects. I speak with Big Ang’s daughter and we’ve actually become very close. I do not speak to Drita at all, however, I wish every single one of them love, health, and wealth.
What does love mean to you?
Funny you should ask me this. I love to love people, I just don’t think I have been loved by the right man yet. Love is God, respect, loyalty, family, passion, and acceptance. I have faith and hope I will meet the right man when I am 100% good with myself. My guilt has done a lot of damage, so I have to repair me, love me, accept me, before a man can love me.
What does your perfect day look like?
That’s easy! On a beach on a tropical island with my family and a virgin Pina Colada and a handsome pool boy fussing over me!
Would you rather have a rich friend or a loyal one?
If you have a loyal friend, you have a rich one.
Would you do Celebrity Big Brother again?
Fuck yeah! I’d do every show I did again. I make great TV and that’s because I’m not faking it. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s my truth.
How did you get into the headspace to write your book?
The cookbook was a family project and my sister Lana really had more control over the recipes although I can cook my ass off, it’s not as big of a passion as writing my exotic novel! ‘Playing With Fire’ I got to really be me. The book was about a girl who had green eyes, jet black hair, had a great ass, big boobs, was a mob bosses daughter who worked in the fashion industry and only dated a certain type of guy. Sound like anyone you know? Plus, I got to talk about sex which I’m super comfortable with.
Now, ‘Grandma and Me on the Run’ was just something I wanted to do for my grandson so he can treasure it and know just how much I love him. I will write one for my granddaughter Alivia Jade one day as well.
Don’t be surprised if I’m back on your TV screen at the end of 2021/mid-2022. I’m working on a few things now and I just finished shooting with Chrissy Monroe for her show ‘Finding Chrissy’!
*25% of all Confessional Magazine income made via donations and elsewhere goes directly towards Felicia Merritt’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis. https://paypal.com/ConfessionalMagazine
