'Real Housewives of NJ': Kim Granatell on joining the cast, 'I have the goods'

You know Kim G. as Danielle Staub's partner in crime. And, Kim Granatell will freely admit she has stirred the pot on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Her name has been floated in the media as a strong candidate for Dina Manzo's vacated spot. But as Staub's sidekick, viewers also find her guilty by association. She says she expects the hate.

"You know what? They're going to trash me," Granatell tells Zap2it. "They're going to trash Jacqueline [Laurita]. They're going to trash the other girls. When you're in the public eye, that's what's going to go on. I'd be on medication if I read [all the opinions of me]. I know who I am."

In fact, after speaking to Granatell, we've learned that the story is always more complicated than it seems with the Franklin Lakes, NJ mother of three. And she'd love if the cameras could capture the other sides of her story, as well.

"They really haven't exposed my life in terms of my everyday living," Granatell says. "You know you see Jacqueline with the kids. You see Teresa [Giudice] going to the store. Well, I do that also. I'm a real, real mom. I have beautiful things. I have a driver, but my life isn't about cruising around with him."

Granatell has two sons who are college age and her daughter is in high school. She has been separated from her husband for seven years and she doesn't see the point of ever actually divorcing. "If it ain't broke," she tells us. Her money comes from her husband's company, which produces a cosmetics extract for Estee Lauder. Her other source of income comes from rental properties.

Like we said, there's always more to the story. You know Kim D. (or Kim DePaola), the other half of what we call, "The Killer Kims"? She is Granatell's sister-in-law, which Bravo hasn't seen fit to share with us yet.

"We are the two K's! The two backstabbing Kims," laughs Granatell. "I don't know what [Bravo is] waiting for. I thought maybe they were going to [reveal] it last week when we were sipping martinis together."

When we wondered where she was all of Season 1, Granatell let us in on an interesting factoid. Bravo once considered her for the cast.

"I was actually interviewed [by Bravo]," says Granatell. "But I have to tell you I was very skeptical, because my life was about to become an open book. I got very, very nervous."

At the time, she was dating a man that didn't want his life on television and whose entertainment friends warned Granatell against participating. She was actually relieved when the network told her they had found someone else.

Well, obviously things have changed. Today, Granatell says she would definitely join the cast next season if the network asked. And with people like Elvira Grau already throwing their hats in the ring, Granatell feels pretty confident she can deliver what the series needs.

"Quite frankly, I have the goods," she says. "Does Elvira have the goods? She couldn't play in my ballpark. I'd annihilate her in every which way."

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Photo credit: Bravo