Well, I think it’s safe to say Jo-Ellen Tiberi has been glued to her phone. Bravo fans, you know what I mean. Anyone else trying to figure out what is going on in this mess, welcome! On Monday, August 3, Real Housewives of Rhode Island star Rulla Pontarelli’s husband Brian Pontarelli’s former, uh, girlfriend(?) Beth Walker went on a posting spree on Instagram, sharing photos of herself with Brian and apparently calling him out for how he spoke about their relationship.
Brian supposedly having a “mistress”—as the then-unnamed woman was referred to—and repeatedly denying it was a big storyline during season 1 of RHORI, which aired from April to June. Now, it looks like the story will continue into season 2.
It will be a while before the second season airs, though, and a lot is happening in the meantime. Here’s what to know about the Rulla/Brian/Beth affair drama.
What happened with Brian’s affair during RHORI season 1?
It was brought up often—mostly by RHORI cast member Jo-Ellen, who seriously couldn’t get enough—that Brian supposedly had a mistress. And while Rulla would admit that Brian used to cheat on her, she said that the affair was over. Everyone else was like, “Um, it’s still going on, babe.” When Rulla and Brian were confronted with receipts—such as texts or an Instagram that the other woman supposedly posted from Brian’s car—they denied these and said that evidence like this could be faked.
At the reunion, Rulla maintained that an affair had occurred, but that it was over and that they were trying to rebuild their marriage. (Brian mostly avoided talking about stuff during his segment, citing an ongoing lawsuit—we’ll get to that!) This also came after Brian was arrested for allegedly placing a tracking device on Rulla’s car. He pled not guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. At the reunion, Brian said (via Bravo), “So, basically, you know, I pled not guilty. I'm glad that that incident happened, because what happened is the State initiated a no-contact order. And for four weeks, I couldn't talk to [Rulla], I couldn't see her, I couldn't be near her. And so, it made me realize how much I love her, how much I miss her, and how much I couldn't wait to be with her.”
On top of all of this, Beth and Brian have filed lawsuits against each other, as reported by The Providence Journal, involving an alleged confidentiality agreement being broken, alleged defamatory comments, and more claims from both sides. It is messy.
What did Beth post on Instagram?
As reported by Reality Blurb, on August 3, Beth posted to her Instagram Story a number of photos of herself and Brian looking happy together along with comments about how he sure looks in good spirits for what he is now calling his “darkest time.”
“Amazing how your ‘deepest, darkest time’ somehow produced 2 1/2 years of photos like this,” she wrote over a selfie of them smiling.
Beth also shared a comment from someone that talks about how Rulla and Brian had the affair as a storyline on RHORI, so they are the ones who aren’t moving on, not Beth. Beth commented, “Yup clocked.”
Lastly, Beth posted another happy pic of herself and Brian and wrote, “Standby. The mic drop is coming...” And, apparently, the mic drop takes a while, because that was, like, 20 hours ago at the time of publication of this story.
Did Rulla respond?
Of course. This is the same woman who participated in that Netflix documentary trend with a post that read, “An ugly side chick prepping for her Netflix documentary on how she knew he had a beautiful wife and children but didn’t care because they ‘had such a connection and it was meant to be.’” To really drive the point home, the post showed Rulla with a clown filter over her face.
According to Reality Blurb, after Beth’s posts, Rulla posted an Instagram Story showing a photo of Beth dancing with a man. She called Beth the “attempted home wrecker” and said that the man, tagged as @therealirishcowboy, “is foolish enough to waste his time with her.”
Will this be part of RHORI season 2?
Probably! The Providence Journal reports that the show has been spotted filming in and around Rhode Island and in Boston this summer and Rulla was there. There have been cases in the past where people film for Housewives and don’t end up making the cut, but, I mean, this situation is pretty juicy.
The only thing that would make it more wild? Beth joins the cast. Wait, is that going to be the mic drop?!
