REALITY TVDina Manzo's Daughter Lexi Ioannou Reveals 'Uncomfortable' Relationship With Stepdad Tommy: 'Weird Obsession With Me'
Dina Manzo's daughter Lexi Ioannou revealed she had an 'uncomfortable' relationship with her ex-stepdad Tommy Manzo.
Dina Manzo’s daughter, Lexi Ioannou, said her relationship with her ex-stepfather, Tommy Manzo, made her uncomfortable. Speaking to Gia Giudice on her “Casual Chaos” podcast, Lexi revealed Tommy “had this, this, like, weird obsession with me. For years, people would tell me that he 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.”
She noted Tommy held on to her things for “10 years” after his split from Dina, explaining she was the “closest thing” he had to a child, as “he never had children of his own.”
'He Was Never Inappropriate'
Dina Manzo's daughter Lexi Ioannou claimed Tommy Manzo was 'never inappropriate' but 'very affectionate.'
“He was never inappropriate, but he definitely was very affectionate,” she continued. “And that was something I was very uncomfortable with because neither of my parents are that way. To receive it from a stepfather is kind of, like, extra strange when you don’t receive it from your actual father.”
Lexi added she was advised “to pay him that kind of affection out of respect,” reiterating her relationship with Tommy was “very uncomfortable.”
Tommy in Prison
Dina Manzo left Tommy Manzo in 2012.
Dina, who left Tommy in 2012, got married to her current husband, David Cantin, in 2017. In October 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey revealed Tommy was sentenced to 84 months in prison for “hiring, then assisting, a soldier in the Lucchese Crime Family to assault” David in 2015.
Lexi shared she reached out to Caroline Manzo’s daughter, Lauren, to try to get her stuff back after Tommy went to prison, but she did not recover her personal items.
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Lexi's Extranged Relationship With Caroline's Family
Lexi Ioannou revealed she's estranged from Caroline Manzo, Chris Manzo, Albie Manzo and Lauren Manzo.
“I had an understanding that he kept everything of mine all those years,” she said. “So, I wanted it back. 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.”
Speaking of her aunt and cousins, Lexi gave a sad update on the status of their relationship. “Lauren was there when I shaved my legs for the first time. Albie and Christopher were my brothers. And now we’re complete strangers," she admitted. “People were just protecting Tommy,” she added, “And I asked Caroline and Lauren for help. And I think they were only willing to do what they were comfortable doing... and I lost it on that woman.”
A Character Witness
Tommy Manzo is currently incarcerated for an incident involving Dina Manzo and her current husband, David Cantin.
When Tommy was incarcerated in 2021, Caroline wrote a letter as a character witness for him, which aided in his release prior to a trial. Fans were shocked she sided with him over her sister, as they had been so close during the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
