1
Andy is gearing up to delve into the heart of Rhode Island’s most renowned drama gems. In the first part of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, the cast quite literally takes the plunge off the plank to confront what’s ahead.
Rulla has moved forward with her plans for rhinoplasty and a lip lift, leaving Alicia in disbelief at the audacity of another “crackah” taking off like that. One of the unique elements of this group is the rich history between its members. Take Liz and Alicia, for example. Liz fondly recalls Alicia’s birth, highlighting their long-standing connection.
Yet, identifying each cast member posed a challenge for some viewers initially. For her part, Liz couldn’t fathom why it was difficult and insists she avoided using a Dolores picture as inspiration for her plastic surgery choices.
Currently, Rosie continues her efforts to find common ground with Kelsey. Kelsey, having been privy to numerous details before the cameras rolled, was never a fan of Rosie’s overbearing competitiveness. Their friction didn’t originate from Rosie neglecting to share after Kelsey chopped her hair. Rather, it was due to Rosie’s tendency to document everything for others. Ashley adds that Rosie assumed all was resolved after compensating Kelsey and sending a thoughtful text.
Kelsey refers to Rosie as a silent killer who instigated her the entire season. The fights escalated, especially when Rosie referred to Kelsey as “slam pig.” Rosie explains that slam pig is a term she learned from one of Alicia’s friends. Apparently, slam pig is “just a word you use when you’re p*ssed off.” Rosie does not really think Kelsey is that, but Kelsey did come after everything in her life.
Rosie is tired of Kelsey taking a moment at her expense and yes, there IS a siren ordinance in her neighborhood (“I’m surprised you don’t know”- Rulla to Jo-Ellen). Rosie points out that Kelsey does not even have a house, but Kelsey explains that it’s just about the truth. And when it comes to Kelsey’s ex, Rosie reminds us that “the only other coworker he had was a girlfriend in Florida.” Ooph.
Jo-Ellen and Kelsey question if Rosie slept with a coach…which was a hot topic on Reddit from 3 ½ years ago. During that time the coach was having an affair with a student reporter, according to Rosie. But, Jo-Ellen claims there was a cop that pulled the car over with Rosie in it. It turns out this guy was getting a DUI and Rosie’s name was in the police report.
Rosie continues to deny this and demands to get the police report. There was never a picture, never a video of Rosie in a questionable position with this guy! Jo-Ellen claims she spoke to a few officers who have seen the police report and Rosie explains Jo-Ellen has not seen it herself because it’s NOT REAL. Liz thinks that Rosie and Kelsey are more alike than they think they are, but Rosie does not care where their future is going.
Liz’s cat has passed away since filming, but she is now a grandmom…excuse me, a GiGi. When it comes to her family, Liz going from no kids to three kids really changed her life. There was a time when she was going to have her own kids with Jerry, but the time never came. Rulla explains that just because she did not carry Jerry’s kids, it does not make Liz any less of a mother.
But, Rulla does like to stir the pot. She repeats the line, “When the cat’s away the mice shall play,” insinuating that Liz cheated on her husband. Rulla sure has a lot to say about Liz’s marriage. She knows Liz tried to fill her time with other things and other support systems. Rulla claims she does not know of anything definitively and Liz demands to talk about what Rulla is hinting at.
Rulla has seen Liz hanging out with other people having a good time, but Liz jumps in to say there was a time she was separated from Jerry and went to Block Island. She admits to meeting up with someone she hasn’t seen in 30 years, but the next day Jerry got a 6 am phone call from Rulla and Brian. Liz’s goal was for Jerry to find out she was with someone else (just not this way), but Rulla swears that this is a blatant lie.
Rulla says that people have seen other things about Liz and Rulla points out that Jerry has allegedly done his thing when they’ve had issues. It seems like this infidelity in Liz’s marriage is not an isolated incident according to Rulla.
Regarding the “ongoing” comment Kelsey made to Liz, it seemed harmful and embarrassing to Liz because Kelsey knew of the accusations. Despite Liz’s tough exterior, Alicia knows that Liz has “been through a lot.” She’s not one to mess with and Ashley refers to Liz as “an intimidating figure.” Liz admits that she does have a bold personality…
At the break, Rulla demands to talk to Jerry because she swears on her life that she did not do anything. Liz swats her away, claiming that Jerry does not even know what day of the week it is. LOL.
Ashley’s cry counter for the season brought her to 7. We learn that Ashley moved to RI in 2021 and the only one she knew previous to the show was Rosie. Because Ashley is close with Rosie, she has never been invited by Kelsey to do anything. Ashley’s loyalty to Rosie shows how special their friendship is and Ashley becomes emotional talking about how Rosie fits their friendship into her lifestyle. BTW: Audrey’s is doing much better since the show, but its success is making things harder.
As of now, Jo-Ellen’s relationship with her mom is not going great. On top of that, Jo-Ellen was laid off and believes that Brian calling her co-worker certainly did not help the situation. Jo-Ellen just decided that work is too much right now and so she will be a stay at home mom. Rulla butts in, prompting Jo-Ellen to ask, “Why is she still here? She’s in three episodes.”
At the next break, Rulla pulls out Brian’s surgery records for the day the alleged video of him cheating was taken. Jo-Ellen reminds Rulla that Brian is the AI committee and they go at each other’s throats during the break until they are told to essentially save it for the cameras.
When Liz said Alicia was not homeless she never meant to demean her feelings, but instead try to protect her from the backlash of those who would not have taken kindly to it. She apologizes profusely to Alicia, who accepts. Alicia shares that having a crappy father embarrassed her and she lost control of her emotions when Liz kept at it.
Liz points out that she was not the one who brought it up in the car and she felt ambushed because Jo-Ellen and Alicia “manufactured” this situation. Alicia wonders why she would tell Liz if it was a set up! Alicia could not breathe in the moment and denies that she ever told Liz she was going to bring up that touchy topic.
Jo-Ellen was surprised at how quickly the situation escalated and how long it continued. According to Liz, Jo-Ellen knew this was coming beforehand. Liz refuses to let Jo-Ellen win and does not trust anything that Jo-Ellen says. Jo-Ellen claims she was trying to make it better by putting her hand on Liz. In fact, Jo-Ellen was desperately trying to protect Liz from looking crazy.
Andy makes them break for lunch. Jo-Ellen believes that Liz has feelings of paranoia whereas Liz feels ambushed. Jo-Ellen is sick of Rulla interjecting, but once the guys enter the set, it’s really gonna shake things up.
After the break, Liz explains that she was mad at Jo-Ellen for setting her up to discuss the conversation. However, Jo-Ellen was not the one who flipped out on Alicia in the car. Alicia wonders what is wrong with Liz and demands she wake up. Alicia calls this a stupid conversation and if it was a set up, it would have been a lot better than that.
Liz calls herself “tactile defensive,” but explains that she pushed her and pulled her hair because she just wanted Jo-Ellen away from her. Jo-Ellen calls Liz a not nice person, but Liz wonders if it’s normal behavior to have “your devil hands” on someone for three hours.
Liz wonders where this narrative came from that she was ever best friends with Jo-Ellen. Liz calls Jo-Ellen a “dangerous mother f*cker” and says she “embodies something that” her soul rejects, despite celebrating Mother’s Day with her.
According to some of the cast, Jo-Ellen, Liz, and Kelsey have a Cranston clique. Alicia became known as the flip-flopper and Rosie shares that there is some blind loyalty amongst the women. At the mansion, Kelsey pointing out that Rosie was being “honest for the first time” was a little shady. Alicia explains that the ladies were trying to sniff Alicia out. Liz admits that sometimes they talked sh*t about Rosie, proving that Rosie has good reason to be sus of the ladies.
On top of that, Jo-Ellen went ahead and mocked Rosie’s “road trippin” videos with her own version of the segment. Rulla can’t seem to help herself and continues to throw little jabs into the conversation, calling Jo-Ellen a slut who sleeps with doctors. Rulla says, “I don’t know what’s bigger- your mouth or what’s between your legs.” She refers to Jo-Ellen as a wh*re, but Jo-Ellen does not skip a beat, bringing the infidelity spotlight right back onto Rulla’s husband. Will these two ever figure out how to merely co-exist ala Rosie and Kelsey?
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RHORI REUNION EPISODE?