No, we're talking about something subtler: A bright red streak in her big Jersey-girl blonde hair. The kind of streak you'd expect to see on a junior-high girl testing the waters of a forthcoming punk-rock sensibility; the kind of temporary color a tween star might sport for a rock-concert scene on one of Nickelodeon's hit shows.
The reason it caught Tonic's attention? The red hair extension isn't about shock value or Dina's needing any more personal attention than the show already brings. It's about raising money to help kids with cancer.
Through the Lucky Locks initiative, until the end of June, anyone can get a red hair extension just like Dina's from SHE Hair Extensions by SO.CAP USA, at a variety of salons all across this country — for a donation of just $10. All of that $10 will go toward the Project Ladybug Fund at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, NJ, to help build a playground for kids who are too sick to leave hospital grounds during treatment.
"I have two in my hair right now," Dina tells Tonic. "It's a great look!"
For a great cause.
Dina Manzo founded Project Ladybug in 2007 — "before I was a twinkle in Bravo's eye," as she puts it — as a way to use her time and talents to make a difference in the lives of real-life families. Like a lot of people, she had written checks to charities and wondered if her money was really being put to good use. But then, one day, she received a solicitation in the mail that included a photo of a young girl suffering Leukemia — and the girl in the picture looked a lot like her daughter, Lexi.
"This could so easily have been me and my daughter going through this," she tells Tonic. And that emotion flicked a switch in her. She realized: "I'm an event planner," she says. "My husband owns a catering facility" — the famous Brownstone that plays such a pivotal role on the show. "Everything's at my fingertips."
What started as just one annual charity event, a Ladies Night full of pampering and fundraising for local women at the Brownstone, quickly grew into a national organization, with multiple events, delivering fantastic results, and (thanks to Bravo) the ability to reach a massive audience.
"The show gave Ladybug her wings," says Dina, "and I couldn't be more proud."
From granting Make-a-Wish-type dreams for kids, to running pampering days (complete with babysitting) for the moms of patients, to giving families laptops so their kids can be home-schooled, Dina's organization does it all — and she's hoping to expand to more hospitals all across the country in the coming years.
"I have full control over what the money goes to. And everyone is a volunteer. No one gets paid. Everyone is donating their time," Dina says. "The only one paid is our accountant — we can't mess around with that."
"I work very closely with the hospital and the social workers and we go over each case, and we decide how to spend the money. I'm really overseeing every penny and I know where every dime goes," she says.
She also uses it as a teaching opportunity for her daughter, Lexi, who comes to the fundraisers and helps out wherever she can.
"You wouldn't think you could top the table flip [from last season], but if you've seen the previews, I think we do!" she says with a laugh.
Dealing with Danielle Staub, someone the Manzos simply wouldn't be friendly with or associate with were it not for the show, has been tough on the family, Dina tells Tonic: "After the good TV ratings [that the fights with Danielle brought in last year], we're stuck with a nightmare that just doesn't go away. It's a crazy situation," she says.
But continuing to participate in the show "definitely has its upside," she adds. And the biggest one is that it gives her such a big ability to give back.
"Some of these kids I consider family," she says. "I get very close to them. I take them to dinner and go shopping, outside of Ladybug."
Because of the Bravo exposure, "People come out from all over the country to support us now. Families have reached out with children in the hospital, who just need someone to talk to," she says. Such a huge crowd of supporters came out to her most recent Ladies Night at the Brownstone, on June 7, she was able to raise $200,000 for the cause in a single evening.
And that's exactly why she was convinced to come back for this second season of RHONJ nuttiness.
As to the rampant rumors that Dina Manzo will be quitting the Real Housewives for good? Her rep would neither confirm nor deny. (And neither would Dina!) You'll just have to tune in to Monday night's episode to find out. But have no doubt: Coming back for a second season was truly all for a good cause.
"I was very reluctant," she understandably admits. "But I have goals to meet." And when it comes to Project Ladybug, she says simply: "I'm not done yet."
