Smothered’s Catherine Galasso-Vigorito and daughter Gabriella are ‘taking dance lessons’ to appear on DWTS next season

SMOTHERED stars Catherine Galasso-Vigorito and Gabriella Vigorito hope to sashay from Connecticut to California as they are gearing up for a potential stint on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. 

Catherine and Gabriella star on TLC series Smothered, which follows six mother-daughter duos and their extremely close relationships with each other. 

The standout stars made their debut for Season 5 with the show following Gabriella’s pageant journey, and their close relationship that saw them taking celery baths together and wearing matching clothes.  

In an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, Gabriella and Catherine reveal they have their eyes set on competing on Dancing With the Stars together. 

Gabriella said excitedly, “We would love to be on Dancing With the Stars, definitely. What is better than a mother-daughter duo? I mean, We would literally be in separate rooms practicing in the same exact outfit, that would be iconic!”

Catherine then asked her daughter if she could give The U.S. Sun “a little taste of honey.” 

When Gabriella approved, Catherine spilled, “We like to be prepared. So we are taking some lessons. I won’t say what kind of lessons, but we are taking lessons because we’re going to be ready.”

The two then shimmied as they showed off some of their dance moves.

Gabriella gushed that she would “love” to be partnered with pro Ezra Sosa, who competed with Anna Delvy for the current season before they were eliminated. 

“We’re kind of the same age, he’s super fun, I’m super fun,” she said. 

The Connecticut-based hairstylist revealed she met Ezra at a recent event in New York. 

“Ezra was there and I got to chat with him. He even danced with my mom! He said, ‘But who is going to get sent home first?’ And I said, ‘It’s not going to be me,” Gabriella teased. 

Catherine quipped back, “It’s not going to be me! No way no how. 

“I’ll take Val,” she said of Val Chmerkovskiy.

TAKING THE CROWN

Smothered fans watched as Gabriella trained for the Miss Connecticut USA pageant on the show. 

Catherine helped her daughter with her walk by practicing in front of flamingos at a Connecticut zoo and traveling to Manhattan to design her custom evening gown.

Despite Gabriella’s hard work, as she nailed the tough question-and-answer round, she placed fourth runner-up.

Catherine said of her daughter’s shocking defeat, “I think she came in fourth runner-up because the cameras were there. Even though they were discreet and it didn’t interfere with the competition, I think it did make a difference. 

“Even though the judges aren’t supposed to know which contestant they were filming for the show, they did know. So that’s what I think.”

You have to know your value and I’m not going back to a place that doesn’t value me.”

Gabriella Vigorito

Gabriella added, “We went in hoping it would be fair and square because I put so much preparation, so much hard work… So much goes into it, so much preparation for months… You see the training methods on the show. 

“It’s something that I love because it’s my mom’s legacy. And it’s a goal I have had for myself since I was literally born. Just watching Miss USA growing up with my mom.”

Gabriella continued that she plans to move away from pageants and focus on other ventures. 

“Since you’ve seen it on the show and since maybe I competed again, I think we’re moving away from pageantry into something new,” she said. “You’ll have to wait and see.

“You have to know your value and I’m not going back to a place that doesn’t value me and value what I bring to the table. With the show and with all of the press and media that we’ve been doing, it would’ve just given so much positive press to the pageant industry.

“We’re on our own journey and God’s timing is everything so we’re good with that.”

Catherine, who won Miss Connecticut and competed for Miss USA in 1988, added, “It would have been wonderful for her to follow in my footsteps for her to take over where I left off, but in the big picture, you don’t need a crown to win.

“Just her wanting to is enough to warm my heart.”

SHINY NEW VENTURE

In addition to the “something new” being a potential stint on Dancing With the Stars, Gabriella is also focusing on their jewelry line, The Diamond Crown Collection. 

Gabriella sells statement piece necklaces that feature a diamond crown on a thick chain in gold, silver and rose gold. 

She said of the collection, “Personally, I am obsessed with it. I love a good, thick chain. It’s very modern. And crowns stand for pageantry, no matter if you win or lose a pageant, always wear a crown.

“Diamonds are my birth stone so I love that. It’s a little boost of confidence. 

“Just this statement piece can really elevate the look. Seeing it on the show and having it in real life for yourself kind of connects us all and it’s a great piece.”

The stars plan to expand the collection “very soon.”

REALITY TV FAME

The mom of four first applied for the show ahead of the premiere season when she saw a casting ad for “mini-me mother and daughters.”

After three years of silence, she realized the ad was for Smothered and reapplied to the TLC series. 

“It wasn’t right at that time, but the casting producer did keep us in mind,” Catherine explained. “We started doing a lot of social media. Gabriella has a big following on TikTok. Whenever I would show up, the numbers would go crazy! When the mama shows up, the numbers go up!

“We had so many viral TikToks. I would follow up and send them to the casting agent. And he did say the next time they opened casting we would be the first ones he called and he did. It took a lot of persistence. I just knew it was for us.

“We’re very grateful that he gave us the opportunity.”

Gabriella added, “I actually had never seen an episode before. And then when my mom said, oh I applied for this show, I said okay let me look into it.

“I think you can see on our season we really made it our own. We made it about our own journey. Everyone’s journey looks different but, ours I particularly loved.”

Gabriella describes themselves as the “ultimate mother-daughter duo” that “literally does everything together,” including “matching from head to toe and spending time together.”

The close pair insisted they don’t only match for social media and television, as Gabriella said, “If we didn’t match all the time it would be so inauthentic. 

“With us, what you see is what you get. When we walk down the street, people definitely do a double take. And they’re like, ‘Sisters? Twins? And we’re like, yes!’”

As far as storylines, we have a lot up our sleeves.”

Catherine Galasso-Vigorito

If the show is renewed for Season 6, viewers could expect to see more from the tight-knit duo. 

Catherine said, “If there is another season, we would 100 percent love to return. We love the show and we love the producers. 

“As far as storylines, we have a lot up our sleeves. 

“From pageants to modeling to a little new project we’re working on. We have a lot in the future.”