The Real Housewives of Rhode Island just premiered, but already, we can’t get enough of the latest batch of Housewives. Luckily, we’ve been diving in with the women today to learn more about their experiences filming and get to know them even better.
Rulla Nehme Pontarelli participated in a live Q&A with fans and BravoTV.com on Bravo’s The Daily Dish Instagram recently, where she opened up about the status of her marriage after all the rumors, her med spa business, Rhode Island’s reaction to RHORI, and more. Don’t worry if you missed it — we have the full transcript below.
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Read Rulla Nehme Pontarelli’s Live Q&A with Fans Transcript
BravoTV.com: We have a lot of questions about Cranston. We have Becca from Cranston, Rhode Island: What would it take for Rulla to move to Cranston?
Rulla: Whew. I don’t know if all the money in the world would make me move to Cranston. But I really don’t have anything against Cranston. It’s just that I choose not to live there. It’s just not my geography. It’s just, it’s not my vibe.
BravoTV.com: Yeah, so we got Derek C. He says, Rulla, you said you would never live in Cranston. But can you name three things that you like about Cranston?
Rulla: Sure, shopping, restaurants. Let me think of the third thing that I really like about Cranston: The proximity to everywhere.
BravoTV.com: Cool. OK, this is Chris from West Warwick, Rhode Island. Rulla, we know you’d never live in Cranston. But where else would you consider here in little old Rhode Island to live?
Rulla: If I weren’t in Lincoln, I would strongly consider East Greenwich. Because that was my debate: It’s on the water. It’s near my marina. East Greenwich, Newport, because Newport is one of my faves. It’s an international destination. We’ve got all the water, the mansions, everything. So I would say my next two choices would be East Greenwich or Newport.
BravoTV.com: Amazing. Cool. OK, this is from Ianquinner. You recently took your married name off your Insta. Have you split with your husband?
Rulla: Oh, that was not intentional. So when I was being verified, because of Bravo now being more of a public personality slash celebrity, I just— my first name is so distinctive that we changed it to RullaOfficial. But if you look deeper, my name is still Rulla Nehme Pontarelli. And it shows that on like, the sub profile. So no, we are not. We’re together.
BravoTV.com: Wonderful. Cool. This is from Hemseed34Quinn, a lot of Quinns. What made her and Brian open up a med spa?
Rulla: You know, it’s always been my passion. I’m not in medicine, but I always was interested in aesthetics. Â I was really the one who spearheaded the whole idea. He’s into dietary, and I had him starting to sell certain medical-grade skincare, you know, some of those products. And then I finally said, you know what? We know a lot of people in the industry. Let’s bring some of the best people and have them help work the spa and make it a success. So it was really just an area of interest. And who doesn’t need Botox, filler, laser hair removal, right?
BravoTV.com: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Cool. We have Ivanzarek1983 asking, who is your bestie on the show? Which lady do you feel closest to?
Rulla: Sigh. That’s kind of a tough one. I don’t think I have any one bestie. But right now, and throughout the latter part of the season, I’ve been closest with Alicia, Ashley, and even Rosie— the three of those and I tend to kind of band together. I do like everyone. It’s just I tend to spend more time with them.
BravoTV.com: Cool. Madlymaimai says, what authentic trait do you have that no other Housewife has?
Rulla: Oh boy. Well, I am first-generation United States. I speak three languages fluently. And I am the only white-collar professional on the show. And I think those three would probably be the most authentic.
BravoTV.com: We have a question from Tosh. She said, did you get mad at Brian for calling Jo-Ellen’s job and trying to get her fired? If not, why?
Rulla: So just to clarify that, Brian did not call Jo-Ellen’s job to get her fired. He had known her boss at the time for 20 years. And we’ve been trying to clarify that. Because at this point, it’s irritating me that that narrative has perpetuated. I had nothing to do with it. Obviously, I think everybody knows now. And his intention was just having a chat with a friend of his, his longtime friend of 20-plus years, and letting him know when the topic came up about filming and Jo-Ellen, what she had been doing.
He just simply wanted to let his friend know that she had really been overstepping her boundaries, and it was affecting Brian’s reputation. Just the fact that the information kept perpetuating, and that Jo-Ellen was taking it to different levels, you know, speaking with the mistress and engaging in collecting more information and stirring the pot. That is really what the situation was, not Brian calling to get her fired. Um, as I’ve said before, even with a job, Jo-Ellen has a lot of time on her hands where she likes to be in everybody’s business. So we want her employed and busy, as busy as possible, so she can maybe stay off the internet a little bit. Less FBI. And no deflection. Stop deflecting.
BravoTV.com: These are a little bit related. This is also from Madlymaimai. She says, are you and Jo-Ellen cordial now? Would you make things better with Jo-Ellen?
Rulla: We are cordial. Jo-Ellen and I are cordial. I think we both tried to make things cordial. And I think I’ve even taken it a step further in taking the high road, given everything that I’ve gone through as a result of some of the things that she’s done, to keep things that way. And what I mean by that is I was grateful for the information at the beginning, prior to filming, that she brought to light. What really stirred the pot were the things that she was doing thereafter that viewers might not be aware of.
BravoTV.com: We have Mike from Portland, Oregon. He wants to know how Providence is reacting to the launch of RHORI.
Rulla: Providence and Rhode Island are very excited to the launch of RHORI. We’re grateful, you know. You’re always going to have your viewers or people locally who just say, oh God, what’s this show? It’s not going to bring good to the state, what an embarrassment, some of that stuff. But honestly, we have so many fans across the board. It’s so humbling and so exciting. And we really appreciate it.
BravoTV.com: Yeah, yeah, it’s such a fun time.
Rulla: It is.
BravoTV.com: Kathy Fisher asks, now that you are a Housewife, how has your life changed?
Rulla: People recognize me more than I was recognized before. I think just having all the fandom has put a lot on my plate that I’ve obviously had to — what’s the word? Delegate to my team, so that they can help. Because I do have a career. My priority is taking care of my clients and my practice.
And I have a team for that as well. But it’s very exciting to be stopped when I’m out and about, and just see how many fans I actually have, people asking to snap a picture or sending DMs or wanting collabs. I’ve gone from being known and trusted to just being absolutely bombarded. But I say bombarded in a good way, because I really love all the love that’s out there right now.
BravoTV.com: Yeah, yeah, kind of on the flip side of that: Janona Blue said what has been the biggest surprise of having cameras and viewers in your home and space?
Rulla: Having cameras in the home was definitely invasive at first. It took a lot to get used to that. I don’t want people to think there might be just one or two cameramen or women or crew in the house. It’s literally a team. At any given point, we might have a dozen or 15 or 20. Â I think after a while you get used to it. But at first, it was a little bit overwhelming.
But then, sometimes you forget the cameras are there. You forget that you’re mic’d. And it just becomes a part of your daily life. I try not to let go too much or forget myself.But it’s been fun. It’s just different. It’s different than what I’m used to, having been a private person.
