Alexia Nepola has been a part of The Real Housewives of Miami since the beginning, and throughout that time, the Housewife’s ups and downs have been chronicled by cameras. In 2011, Nepola’s son Frankie Rosello was involved in a near-fatal car accident that left him with a long road to recovery. Now, over a decade later, Frankie has continued to improve, and on Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Miami, Nepola works to help him become more independent.
Alexia Nepola’s son Frankie Rosello was in a near-fatal car accident in 2011
Frankie Rosello was just 13 years old when he was in a traumatic car crash in 2010. His friend was driving the car, and the accident left Frankie with months of recovery in the hospital before being able to go home. He suffered brain damage from the incident and has had to work hard to regain his ability to walk and speak.
Frankie’s initial recovery took place during filming of Season 2 of The Real Housewives of Miami. Nepola wanted to focus on her child, so she took a step back and appeared as a guest on the season, rather than an official Housewife. She returned to the main cast in Season 3.
Frankie’s progress has been chronicled on ‘RHOM’
Alexia reflected on Frankie’s progress in a March 2022 interview on the Dear Reality, You’re Effed podcast. “Frankie has a shadow, so he’s spending more time with a peer his age,” she explained. “The kind [of shadow] that does this for a living, you know, he’s a therapist. And so he’s working on a lot of things. We sat down together as a family. We wanted him to work with Frankie because, you know, life gets complicated and life gets, you know, we’re busy.”
“So, you know, a lot of times I live with this guilt,” she admitted. “Like, should I just give up everything and give up my life? And I did for many years. And he’s still my priority. But you know, sometimes you’re stuck in a difficult position.“
“And, you know, sometimes … I even studied this,” she said of her expertise in the area of working with children who need extra help. “My background is special education. I have a master’s in exceptional student education. But sometimes when it’s your son, there’s only so much you can do. So I’m very happy with this young man that I found that actually does this. And you know, we’re working together. And I’ve already seen a lot of improvement in Frankie.”
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Frankie’s recovery was the subject of an argument among Alexia’s family
Alexia went on to confess that she’s had a difficult time giving Frankie more responsibility and independence, as he’s relied on his mother to be his guide for over a decade. “I’m letting him go. You know, it’s hard when you almost lose a son. And I guess me too, like the Cuban Latina mom. You know, I protect him. I want to do everything for him. [But] sometimes we’re hurting them instead of helping them,” she said on Dear Reality, You’re Effed.
In Season 4 of The Real Housewives of Miami, which premiered nearly a decade after Season 3, Alexia’s continued support of her son became a point of contention with her husband Todd Nepola and her son Peter Rosello. Nepola insisted that Frankie get assistance and family therapy. In an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Alexia revealed that she had started the process of getting Frankie help.
“This should be about Frankie,” she said of the heated moment. “This is all about Frankie. And we acted on it right away, and we have gotten help, like, as a family, just between us. It was really hard to watch, as I said, it’s been many months, so obviously we’re in a good place, we moved forward from that. But the important thing is that Frankie is everything to us. He’s our life, and we got what we needed to get and we’re still working.”
Season 5 of RHOM highlighted Alexia’s partnership with The de Moya Foundation, a Miami-based organization dedicated to creating employment opportunities for young adults with unique abilities.
