Everything You Need to Know About Karina Seabrook From 'Families of the Mafia'

The Gravanos are laying it all bare on MTV's The Families of the Mafia. And the best part? It's actually not a carbon copy of the controversial Made in Staten Island. 

Along with four other families, Karen Gravano and her daughter, Karina Seabrook, are documenting what it's like to live with ties to the mafia. And in their case, it's Salvatore Gravano (aka "Sammy The Bull"), former underboss of the Gambino crime family. But despite the Gravanos' dark history, one thing is already clear: They're determined to move on with their lives and stay on the right path. 

But how much do we really know about Karen's daughter, Karina? And how does she stand with her maternal grandfather post-Made in Staten Island? Here's what we know.

Karina was born to Mob Wives star Karen Gravano and David Seabrook in Arizona in 1999. But only a year after she was born, her father and grandfather Sammy (who worked together) were sent to prison for selling ecstasy pills. It was around this time when her parents were engaged and planning to get married, but they couldn't exchange vows because of the long prison sentence. Eventually, her parents separated when she was 10 years old. 

Karina, who is of mixed ethnicity (Italian-American and African-American), lived with her father in Arizona for four years after the split, then moved to New York to live with her mom. 

She said: "I first moved from Arizona to New York when I was 14 years old, and I was a little nervous because I knew that when I came to New York, I would have to start all over again. But I started to get comfortable, I met people, I was going out, I got a boyfriend."

She currently resides in New York and is enrolled in college. However, she did much more than get settled in her new home. 

You may recognize her from VH1's Mob Wives and especially MTV's controversial Made in Staten Island, where she opened up about life in New York and shared her desire to tell her own story, despite her family's past.  

In an interview, she said: "I would never ever turn my back on [my grandfather] or my family, but I live a completely different life, to be honest I probably know the least about the mob than anyone."

Made in Staten Island was met with tons of backlash, with claims that it misrepresented Staten Island and perpetuated harmful stereotypes about Italian-Americans. A petition was also launched on Change.org, calling for the series to remove Staten Island from their show because they portrayed the borough as "a cesspool of gangsters, meatheads, and low lives." Yikes.

Karina defended to series, claiming that people were only "judging a book by its cover." But MTV only aired three episodes in 2019 before quietly pulling the plug. It wasn't until March 2020 when the network announced their plans to remake the show as Families of the Mafia. 

Speaking of Made in Staten Island, Karina debuted her romantic relationship with her boyfriend and former co-star, Paulie Fuscos, on the series. They've reportedly been dating for years, but many have labeled their relationship as toxic because of the fights they had on the short-lived series. However, Paulie insisted that they were just fine.

He said: "We have an up and down relationship, but we never lose sight of each other. It's just like anybody else's relationship. Everybody fights, [it's] just that not everybody sees it. We are not shy to show you the real meat of our relationship." 

Paulie also opened up about the positive impact that Karina had on his life, saying that he used to be a "lost cause" before she came into his life and "whipped him up into shape."

Back when she starred in Made in Staten Island, she revealed that she stayed in communication with her grandfather by calling him on a weekly basis. But being so limited proved to be a challenge for her. She said:  "All my memories [of my grandfather] were of going to visit him in jail. It was hard for me." 

But on a brighter note, Sammy was released early from prison in 2017, and Karina isn't passing up the opportunity to connect with her grandfather.

On The Families of the Mafia, she said: "I haven't always had the relationship with my grandfather that I could've because he has been in prison for practically my whole life, but I'm older now, so maybe I can understand a little more of who he is and make up for all the years that he did miss of my life."