Rulla Pontarelli has opened up about the current status of her marriage to Brian Pontarelli following the season finale of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.
In the wake of Brian’s arrest for placing a tracker on her car and his alleged affair with Beth Walker, Rulla, 46, shared insights into their relationship’s status and acknowledged the “trauma” she endured due to his infidelity. Her fellow cast members also shared their thoughts on the situation.
“As of today, Brian and I are still together,” Rulla stated during the June 14 episode of the RHORI: After Show. “Honestly, we’re better than ever. It’s like we’ve reignited the spark we always had, but I’m proceeding with caution, taking it one day at a time. I’m approaching everything with a fresh perspective. Brian is now treating me as he always did, but with even more dedication. He’s fully committed to me, the kids, and our relationship. He’s actively going to church, repenting, and attending therapy. He’s really making an effort.”
When Rosie DiMare, 35, expressed that she couldn’t have forgiven Brian, 49, if she were in Rulla’s position, Rulla confessed that overcoming the affair’s aftermath has been “extremely difficult.”
After Rosie DiMare, 35, said she could never forgive Brian, 49, if she were in Rulla’s shoes, Rulla admitted that moving forward from the affair was “so hard.”
“Unless you’re in the shoes and you really like, lived the life and know the person, and have a family, and dissect the situation, it’s so easy to say something … it’s certainly not the place that I ever wanted to or expected to be. And the reason why I, like, made certain decisions to kind of continue on is just because of who I am and what I consider to be important, and just, knowing Brian the way I’ve known him all my life,” she reasoned. “That is all, you know, in the past. Major, major series of mistakes, but it’s definitely water well under the bridge, dead and buried, where it should be.”
In recent months, Rulla and Brian have had discussions about his decision to cheat, but he doesn’t seem to understand what led him down that path.
“I’m still trying to figure out how it even happened, and he really can’t even understand how. But unfortunately, it did, and he just says like, ‘I don’t know what happened to me, I can’t even explain it,’” she shared. “I said, ‘Well, you have to kind of dig deep to explain it to yourself,’ and he’s like, ‘I’m just so disgusted. I’m disgusted with myself. I can’t believe that I was even engaged or capable.’ He’s like, ‘There’s no reason why,’ he’s like, ‘it was almost like something I slipped into, and I couldn’t get out of it fast enough.’”
According to Rulla, she “just [knows]” that things are over between Brian and his other woman because she’s “all over it.”
Meanwhile, Ashley Iaconetti, 38, pointed out that he could never “get away with anything now.”
“Oh God, no,” Rulla agreed. “I think the looking over the shoulder will resonate with me for a long time. When you go through something like this, there’s trauma. There’s a lot of trauma that you have to overcome. You know, I still have healing, and that’ll be sort of like a long road ahead.”
In her own segment, Jo-Ellen Tiberi, 38, revealed shocking news in regard to the mistress’s supposed plan to write a book.
“The mistress is wanting to write a tell-all book at this point. You think I’m against that? Tell your truth, girlfriend,” she declared. “But truthfully, she was in love because of a degenerate, small little pr*ck.”
Jo-Ellen went on to suspect that Brian would cheat again.
“I think this affair with this woman might be in the past, but there will be a new one, just like there was the last marriage,” she noted.
Elsewhere, Liz McGraw, 55, and Kelsey Swanson, 32, advised Rulla to get back at Brian with her own affair, as Liz admitted that the couple seemed “really good,” but Kelsey hinted at otherwise.
“Nothing is ever as it seems,” Kelsey stated.
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island season one reunion begins this Sunday, June 21, at 9/8c on Bravo.