The Real Housewives of Rhode Island Dish on Season One

Dolores Catania, Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, Alicia Carmody, Kelsey Swanson, Jo-Ellen Tiberi, Ashley Iaconetti, Liz McGraw, Rosie DiMare at The Yacht Club at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in New York City.

As the season continues, so does the drama. After being renewed for a second season, The Real Housewives of Rhode Island is proving during season one that no matter the size of a state, the personalities and drama can be huge. We caught up with three cast members of the Bravo series to talk all things season one. Were Kelsey Swanson and her long-term boyfriend broken up before filming began? Did Rulla already know the information that Jo-Ellen provided her with about her cheating husband? How did Jo-Ellen feel about her and long time friend Liz having a blow-up fight? Find out by reading below.

You guys have already filmed the reunion. What was the biggest thing you wanted to clear up during the reunion?

Kelsey: I think you see my fights with Rosie last all season long so being able to talk about how it’s hard to build a real friendship on a show and just getting across where I was coming from with certain things.

Jo-Ellen: I think for the reunion what I wanted to do is I wanted to be truthful and honest. Watching the series back, obviously you’re seeing what people are saying in their confessionals and some of what they’re saying isn’t true. There were definitely things that I needed to take ownership for and apologize for. Then there were other things that I really felt the need to be vindicated for. I think that all happened.

What’s your advice for getting through girl drama?

Kelsey: You have to understand that everybody handles conflict and resolution differently. Understanding where people are and how they cope with things before you figure out a plan for an apology is usually your best bet. Just know that not everyone things the same way as you do and you have to kind of open up your brain to learn other peoples habits.

In watching back any of your interactions, have there been any scenes that you regret?

Kelsey: No. I think not liking the edit is one thing. They can make shit look like gold and gold look like shit so I don’t regret anything that I’ve done. I think I handle certain things differently than other people. You have to understand that not everyone’s going to take what you say the same way that you are. You just have to be confident in your reactions to people but I don’t regret anything that I’ve done.

Jo-Ellen: I think the scene where I’m sitting down with Liz and Kelsey and their husbands when we’re talking about Alicias homelessness, I was saying she wasn’t living under the stars but I do understand that she was displaced. Alicia sometimes minces her words. I do believe Alicia was homeless; I do believe she was displaced. And I also believe that when somebody’s a child, you really can’t tell a child what you’re thinking. That scene was a little bit difficult because that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that she didn’t live under the stars in a sleeping bag but she was definitely homeless. She was displaced. You can’t take that away.

Jo-Ellen Tiberi, Kelsey Swanson at The Yacht Club at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in New York City.

Has watching the confessionals made you see certain people in a different light?

Kelsey: Everyone always ends up saying more in a confessional. You have to understand that we film for sometimes four hours in each scene and maybe ten minutes of it gets aired. So although it may seem like we’re not saying something in the scene there’s a chance we actually did it just didn’t air.

Jo-Ellen: Rulla wasn’t really in a lot of scenes, so I wasn’t surprised with the things that she said about me. There are some things that I was confused about where they were even coming from. The person that surprised me the most with her confessionals would be Liz. She and I had talked about confessionals, and she told me that anything she said in confessionals she would say to my face. Some of the things that she said were definitely very hurtful and I was surprised because I do consider us friends. Right now, I’m in a good place with just about everybody except for Rulla.

Rulla: I think Alicia rides the wave. Some of the things said I couldn’t believe were said. Alicia wants to help make the show. She didn’t mean any harm or malice by what she said. Some things that Kelsey has said on Watch What Happens Live where she was commenting on my makeup, which I’m always complimented on. There’s one cast member that’s always running her mouth, but we’re going to let that be because it’ll never change.

Did you know about any of the evidence that Jo-Ellen was bringing to you before she brought it?

Rulla: That’s a great question. The way that everything had played out, I obviously didn’t deny what happened. I feel like that was a point or narrative that kept playing out that I was getting upset about. I’m not dumb. I’m not in this for financial reasons. I didn’t get to where I am today because I’m stupid you know both personally and professionally. So, I know what happened. I acknowledged what happened. I had thanked her as one person for bringing me the info, but there was a lot that happened from when the info surfaced to when we started filming that she would not let up on. I knew what he was doing to try to end things without it backfiring. He was afraid, like any other person who’s done something like this, that I was going to find out more. Some of those things he tried to do were foolish because obviously they did backfire. You have an angry, unhinged person who is trying to break someone’s family and what do people do in that situation? They lie. Whether it’s a woman or a man, they lie. I always say, the truth will always surface. I wasn’t trying to deny anything or turn a blind eye. I wanted to figure things out for myself in my own way. Jo-Ellen and I also did not start out as friends. We didn’t know each other and so when I see that she is befriending and going out of her to use another person for information and that person is using her a mouthpiece, who’s more credible? Am I going to trust the person I’ve been with for years or the person who really isn’t my friend and is just trying to make a storyline for herself.

Rulla Nehme Pontarelli and husband Brian Pontarelli at The Yacht Club at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in New York City.

Have any of your relationships changed since the show came out?

Jo-Ellen: I think that Rosie and I have gotten closer. Ashley and I have gotten closer. I’m still very close to Kelsey, Alicia and Liz. Obviously, the reunion is going to bring up and rehash a lot of stuff so that’s been difficult and reliving the past couple of episodes that just aired was really difficult to watch.

What can you tell me about that fight scene with Liz?

Jo-Ellen: It was hard to be in that scene from last week with Liz. It gave me a ton of anxiety and I couldn’t breathe. My heart was racing even re-watching it, let alone being in the scene. I think the hardest part is I don’t want anyone to pick between Liz and I. I love Liz. I don’t want to see somebody that I care about getting dragged online. I hate it. I’ve been texting Liz and checking up on her, so that’s definitely been awful to see.

What do you think needs to happen for you and Rulla to not just be cordial but to be friend status?

Jo-Ellen: I think I call out a lot of bullshit and falsehoods, and I don’t think she’ll ever say thank you. I’m not necessarily looking for a thank you. I’m looking for a ‘I’m sorry that I was so tough on you when I feel like I was putting the blame on you versus putting the blame on my husband, where it should have been.’ I think that would be what I would need to happen before Rulla and my relationship turns into a friendship.

Do you think that Brian could do anything to make Rulla leave him?

Jo-Ellen: I mean, I think Brian’s done just about everything he could to have Rulla leave, I don’t think there’s much more that he could do. I support her decision of keeping her family together, I’m nto against that. I think that if the affair continues or kicks back on or he goes on to the next victim, she’ll probably put her foot down.

Has there been a certain scene or situation where the edit bothered you?

Kelsey: Yeah, the boat scene where it seems like I’m the aggressor about Rosie not posting my haircut. There was so much more that was left out, unfortunately. It makes it seem like I just abruptly said that she didn’t post me but we talked for quite a bit prior to that. People have to understand that I make light of bad situations by joking and not everyone else does that. It pisses me off that people are calling me a mean girl because I’ve never been called that my entire life. I treat my friends, most importantly, with respect. Hearing that based off a certain ten minute scene is sometimes aggravating.

Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, Alicia Carmody, and Kelsey Swanson.

How have you been dealing with the newfound fame that you have?

Kelsey: It’s been good so far and I’m enjoying it. Of course you get the negative side of the internet and that’s probably the hardest thing to deal with. But for me, ignorance is bliss. When I don’t go on the internet and read things, my day is joyful.

Jo-Ellen: I think online is, you know, it’s tough. You have some really harsh people that are just bullies. I would never reach out to a celebrity or even just a regular human being and be so cruel to them. I think a lot of people have been very supportive of my past and my upbringing and I’ve gotten really great messages. I’m reading them and I’m writing back because people went through real things. I think all of us are trying to get better about not looking at these comments.

Rulla: I’m flattered and overwhelmed by all the love I’ve received. I’ve had DM’s that I can’t even keep up with that other people have been helping me with because I don’t want any of my fans to be ignored. A lot of people sharing how real they feel I am, how I’m their favorite and how I should keep going and stay strong. On the flip side, this entire season, unlike other people have who shouldn’t have, I haven’t played victim despite truly being a victim. It really hurt me to be scrutinized by how I chose to handle things, because I do handle things privately. I think people not seeing me maybe kicking, screaming, throwing daggers at my husband Brian, without knowing everything else that’s going on behind the scenes is tough. People will say leave because they’re taking what they see on TV right on the show.

What are your tried-and-true beauty rituals?

Kelsey: Always having a good skincare routine. A lot of people don’t know that I’m a huge fan of microblading. So, when you take a mini razor to your skin you can take all the peach fuzz off. I don’t think a lot of girls realize how much better your makeup goes on and how much it sits and stays on when you don’t have a barrier of tiny peach fuzz that’s coating your face. That’s definitely part of my beauty routine. Also setting spray and settling powder. I don’t know how I ever lasted wearing makeup when I was younger without the powder.

Jo-Ellen: I would say I take very good care of my skin. I use medical grade skincare and am really big about lasers and Botox, that’s what’s keeping me young.

Elizabeth McGraw, Kelsey Swanson, Jo-Ellen Tiberi.

There have been a lot of rumors regarding if you and your boyfriend were already separated at the time of filming. Do you have anything to say about that or is there any weight to those rumors?

Kelsey: People are not getting that I never lied about anything. When producers met me, they met me living in my house with my boyfriend and it was that way the entire way through. When I cut Rosie’s hair a couple months before filming, I cut her hair at my house. It’s funny that she [Rosie] says that we weren’t together for two years before filming. You can go online and you can see me at his daughter’s wedding in September at the house. So no I didn’t lie. He was on my casting tape, and every time they came to visit me in Rhode Island, he was there and I was at the house. I think whoever was running with that completely fabricated the storyline. Nobody really knows the exact timing of my relationship with my ex except him and I. Some people were seeing me with Bill and they wouldn’t know even two years prior to that if I was with John or if I was with Bill because they would see me with both of them. That’s been aggravating as well.

What’s been the biggest misconception that you’ve heard about yourself?

Kelsey: That I’m a mean girl and that I’m broke and never had a career. I always worked leisurely. When I was with my ex, I didn’t work because I had to survive, but I worked actually because I wanted to. The entire makeup business that I had, I started that five years ago. I was working every weekend doing weddings because I genuinely loved it and I had a passion for it. It never felt like work, but I was able to save all my money in 10 years because I never had bills to pay. So, I left in the best possible position that I could have. When you don’t have bills to pay and you have a credit card from your boyfriend, it’s very easy to build up money and your savings.

What do you hope people take away from your storyline in a positive light?

Kelsey: I think in your 20’s, don’t rush to get married. Do whatever makes you happy. If that’s dating multiple people at once, if that’s not dating at all, if that’s not being in a monogamous relationship, just do whatever makes you happy. I think there’s no rush to step into a binding relationship instead of just enjoying your youth. For me, I had the best ten years of my life when I dated my ex. I did all the things that I hoped I would get to do with my life because of him. So, I don’t regret it. I am happy that I left when I did just because I’m now in a different phase of my life and I get to now have the possibility of having kids. What I had before was great and what I have now is also great. I don’t think that necessarily having uber wealth was where my priorities and happiness were lying. I was still finding myself in my 20’s, so I’m happy that I was in that kind of relationship.

See also:

The Real Housewives of Rhode Island Get Real About Season One So Far

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