Seven months have passed since Angela “Big Ang” Raiola died, and her presence is still deeply missed.
Raiola’s former Mob Wives costar Karen Gravano opened up to PEOPLE on Thursday about how she and the rest of Raiola’s cast mates are coping with the loss.
“It’s a void every day,” said Gravano, 44, at WEtv’s New York City celebration of the return of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars. “Especially being in this industry, you’re always asked about her and she’ll never be forgotten.”
Raiola died Feb. 18 after battling stage 4 lung and brain cancer. She was 55.
“She’s missed every day,” Gravano added. “She was a larger-than-life personality and I’m glad that people remember her that way.”
Gravano previously told PEOPLE Raiola’s ability to put things in perspective was one of her favorite things about the late VH1 star.
“She never really wanted to be caught up in the drama so everything in life,” said Gravano.
So did Gravano take that level-headed approach when she decided to join the upcoming season of Marriage Boot Camp? Not quite!
“It was definitely interesting,” said Gravano, who admits she and her boyfriend Storm were probably one of this season’s most dramatic couples. “Well, look where I came from! I came from a show like Mob Wives, where we’re beating each other up every 10 minutes. And Storm and I are both very passionate people.”
That being said, the reality star said the show taught her a lot.
“I took a lot of tools away from the experience – not just in my relationship with my significant other, but in my relationship with my friends, with my daughter,” she said. “There was a lot of things that I didn’t know about myself that I really found out.”
And according to Gravano, it’s a “great cast.”
“When I went into this, I thought: ‘I’m just going to be quiet, and sit down, and just get through it.’ But you can’t help but get involved,” she said. “Watching other people just let their guard down and go through situations, you can’t help but bond with them.”
via people