As Rulla Nehme Pontarelli continued to defend her marriage on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 reunion, an unaired moment between her husband, Brian Pontarelli, and Jo-Ellen Tiberi from the infamous polo match added a new piece to the puzzle involving his past affair.
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During this particular segment in Part 2 of the RHORI reunion (streaming on Peacock beginning June 29), Jo-Ellen asked Rulla if she remembered her previously warning her that Brian “had a tracker” on her, prior to police eventually discovering an electronic tracking device on her vehicle. “I can’t recall clearly, but maybe you did,” Rulla responded.
That’s when never-before-seen footage rolled, showing Jo-Ellen confronting Brian at the polo match from Episode 5. “Don’t you track her?” she asked Brian in front of Rulla. “Because you told the mistress you did.”
Brian, for his part, insisted, “I don’t track her,” before explaining that Jo-Ellen was referring to something that happened “a long time ago.” But as she fired back, his mistress claimed to her that he’d actually given her that information within the previous week.
RELATED: Are Rulla & Brian Still Together After RHORI Season 1? Hear Her Surprising Answer (EXCLUSIVE)
Back on the reunion stage, Jo-Ellen further alleged, “Brian told the mistress, ‘I’m tracking Rulla. I want to make sure that, you know, I know where she is, so she doesn’t come when we’re together.'”
Brian Pontarelli addresses his arrest for allegedly “tracking” Rulla
As Rulla revealed on the RHORI Season 1 finale, officers, in October 2025, discovered the electronic device that Brian had allegedly placed on her vehicle. Subsequently, Brian was arrested and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. When reunion host Andy Cohen asked Rulla why her husband had been tracking her car, she admitted that she had “no idea.”
When Brian and the other RHORI husbands and partners eventually joined the women on the reunion set, Andy posed the same question to him. “That case has been dismissed, so I can’t really talk about it,” Brian answered.
RELATED: Rulla Reveals Why Her Husband Brian Was Silent During Their Conversation With Jo-Ellen
That prompted the Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen host to respond, “Well, if it’s been dismissed, why can’t you talk about it? I’m assuming that you were tracking her because you were in the midst of an affair and you didn’t want her…”
Before he could complete his statement Brian interjected to “defend” himself, adding, “So, basically, you know, I pled not guilty. I’m glad that that incident happened, because what happened is the State initiated a no-contact order. And for four weeks, I couldn’t talk to [Rulla], I couldn’t see her, I couldn’t be near her. And so, it made me realize how much I love her, how much I miss her, and how much I couldn’t wait to be with her.”
Where Rulla Nehme Pontarelli’s marriage to Brian stands today
Amid the conversation about Brian’s arrest, Andy said that he could tell from Rulla’s face that she was “still not over” what happened. “Of course, it’s very upsetting,” she shared. “I mean, I… I’m traumatized.”
Earlier in the June 28 episode, Rulla had already said that she and Brian were “doing a lot better” and “working on things” in their marriage. As for how she’d come to “forgive” Brian, as Andy put it, she added, “It’s not really to say that he’s been forgiven.”Â
So, the WWHL host pivoted slightly to ask if Rulla at least trusts Brian now. “That would need to be earned back,” she replied. “That just doesn’t come back overnight. That, that will take me a long time.”
While dabbing her tears, Rulla continued, “We really have had a lot of love between us since the beginning. And, yes, that was fractured. And it hurts. It’s painful every day.”
Brian, for his part, weighed in, “Every relationship goes through phases: up and down, up and down. And if the whole goal is for the family to stay together, and she’s the glue that holds the family together, you know, just because someone makes a series of sins against the other person, it doesn’t mean that, you know, that you just throw it away.”
He concluded, “I’m trying to be a better person, be a better husband, and continue to be a good father.”
Now that Season 1 has official ended, get exclusive updates on the RHORI cast’s lives post-filming.
