Bravoholics are well fed with the network's hottest new reality show. The Real Housewives franchise has expanded once again, and this new crop of East Coast elites are already stirring up drama.
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island is only a few episodes into its inaugural season, but that hasn’t stopped the new cast members from delivering A+ television.
Between screaming matches over infidelity, cheating scandals coming to light, and modern relationships exploring polyamory, the RHORI ladies understand the assignment.
So, who are the new Housewives and why is everyone talking about these controversies?
Who is in the ‘Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ cast?
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island stars Alicia Carmody, Rosie DiMare, Ashley Iaconetti (who also starred on The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise), Liz McGraw, Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, Kelsey Swanson, and Jo-Ellen Tiberi.
Dolores Catania from The Real Housewives of New Jersey is featured in a "friend of" role.
Is Kelsey Swanson polyamorous?
While rumors that Swanson is a polygamist have been debunked, the newly minted Housewife admitted that she has dated two men at the same time, and one of them also dated other people.
On an episode of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island After Show, Swanson said she doesn't like labels, but that her relationship was probably closer to polyamory than polygamy.
"I was in a relationship with a man, okay?" she said. "This man ended up having — not at the same time, but later on — another person [who] was involved for the first five years. That was it. Was there other people involved, probably, after that? Yeah. But it wasn't like, 'Okay, we're in a polygamous relationship.'"
Swanson introduced her second boyfriend during the third episode of RHORI, but admitted that she wasn't ready to move on from the life of luxury she's built with her first boyfriend, who lives in Miami six months out of the year.
This modern take on dating that explores polyamory and open relationships is a first on Bravo that has fans begging for more.
Is Jo-Ellen Tiberi a swinger?
After eagle-eyed fans noticed that Tiberi was wearing pineapple earrings — a symbol associated with swinging — Tiberi felt the need to address the rumors.
"I am not a swinger. Gary and I are not swingers. I wish Gary would let me and him swing," she joked. "We had a threesome once. My mom's gonna hear this."
Tiberi elaborated more on the rumors during the After Show, where she said she "would punch a b**ch in the face if they were f—king my husband."
She also admitted that she knew what the pineapple symbol meant and wore the earrings "just to f—k with people."
Did Rulla Nehme Pontarelli's husband have an affair?
In 2024, long before the show premiered, Tiberi warned Pontarelli that her husband, Brian Pontarelli, was having an affair with another woman after photos of the two getting cozy were posted on social media.
When the scandal came to light on a recent episode of the show, Pontarelli said that her husband's affair "is not still ongoing," but McGraw said he's still sleeping with other women.
"It's pretty out there that Brian is still doing his thing with this woman,” McGraw said in a confessional. "If Rulla chooses to not acknowledge what's really going on and live in that land of delusion, I'm sorry, but Elizabeth is allergic to bulls—t."
After filming for the first season wrapped, Brian was arrested after Rhode Island State Police accused him of placing a tracking device in his wife's car in 2025. She later dropped the charges against him.
Is Liz McGraw related to her husband?
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Crosby may have married her step-grandfather, but McGraw admitted she tied the knot with a member of her biological family — even if he is a distant relative.
"Gerry and I were married about six months," she explained on RHORI. "That was when, you know, the whole Ancestry DNA thing was blowing up. If you look at Gerry and you look at me, no one’s ever gonna say we're related. But we are related, somewhere down the line."
