Does Rulla Think Her Husband Brian Is a “Serial Cheater”?

The Real Housewives of Rhode Island‘s Rulla Nehme Pontarelli does not subscribe to the “once a cheater, always a cheater” school of thought — at least when it comes to her husband Brian Pontarelli and his past “indiscretion.”

Although Rulla admitted on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island After Show for Episode 4 that she does tend to “lean more that way,” in general, she added, “But I feel like there have been people who break that stereotype.”

“I mean, there are people who are serial cheaters; there are people who have done it once or maybe done it twice,” she explained. “I just think it’s hard to lump it all into one category.”

RELATED: Rulla Nehme Pontarelli Shares Unaired Details of Her Husband’s Affair (EXCLUSIVE)

As for her husband Brian’s affair specifically, Rulla continued, “Given the instance, given the timing, and everything of value that was almost lost, [it] definitely shook him up and brought him to a different, like, playing field now — a different vision, a different practice. So, personally, I have faith.”

Why Rulla Nehme Pontarelli is forgiving her husband for cheating 

While Rulla has fully acknowledged Brian’s past infidelity, she’s also made clear why she decided to forgive him and move forward in their nine-year marriage.

“I value what we’ve had,” she elaborated on the RHORI After Show. “And I know that, you know, he made some major mistakes. He was possessed by something, whatever you want to call it, but I see a path. Well, I’d rather try walking that path than just, like, light a match to it.”

RELATED: Rulla Reveals Why Her Husband Brian Was Silent During Their Conversation With Jo-Ellen

Following a discussion on the matter with Alicia Carmody’s aunties and mother in RHORI‘s April 19 episode (more on that below), Rulla also referenced the fact that she and Brian have two young children, Luca, 8, and Laila, 5.

“There’s a lot about Brian that people don’t know, that they haven’t seen,” she insisted in a confessional. “He’s very loving. He’s a great provider.”

Rulla Nehme Pontarelli reflected on Alicia Carmody’s family’s marriage advice 

As mentioned, Rulla got some unexpected tough love from the matriarchs of Alicia’s family when she showed up for a get-together at the latter’s home on RHORI. “I thought we were gonna, you know, have some drinks, have this food from the spread, maybe we’ll jump in the pool; it’s a nice hot day. And then…” she remarked on the After Show.

When the group’s topic of discussion turned to Alicia’s hesitance to marry Billy, her fiancé of nearly a decade, due, in part, to a disagreement over a proposed prenuptial agreement in Episode 4, Rulla weighed in with some unofficial legal advice. The family expressed gratitude for Rulla’s advisement, before Alicia’s mom, Anita, asked her, “Are you happily married?”

Rulla responded, “I am. You know, it’s never perfect, but we get past any bumps. We all have that sometimes.” That’s when Alicia’s Aunt Sandra countered, “Sometimes you can’t get past bumps. … I had a relationship for many years with my husband. Then, I found out that he wandered. My husband wandered.”

“There was an indiscretion,” Rulla told her of Brian. “You are in a healthy, loving relationship, [and] something happens out of the blue… I don’t want to cry.” As the women consoled her, Rulla added, “I’m just having a hard time getting over a lot of the, you know, lying, twisting…”

Alicia’s Aunt Sharon, for her part, chimed in to say that her husband also “had affairs with a lot of women,” and warned Rulla that “it’s hard to trust again.” When she went to say that she could be “looking over her shoulder” for the rest of her life, that comment really hit Rulla, who said, “Nobody wants to live like that.” 

Reflecting on their conversation during the After Show, Rulla shared, “She really did open up, and I admired and appreciated that, and it did resonate with me. And that’s always stuck in my mind since she said that, actually.”

When castmate Ashley Iaconetti opined that, despite the aunties’ “good advice,” she wished they’d also had a separate panel to give a “more forgiving” perspective, however, Rulla declared, “Yeah, it was too much.”

As she navigates the challenges in her marriage on RHORI, don’t miss what else Rulla revealed about Brian’s affair on the After Show.