The Real Housewives of Rhode Island cast wasted no time diving into all the Ocean State drama in the series premiere. In one early scene, for example, Rosie DiMare and Jo-Ellen Tiberi clashed amid a discussion about rumors that Kelsey Swanson and her longtime boyfriend were in a “polygamous” relationship.
Of course, Rosie, Jo-Ellen, and Kelsey all had plenty to say about the ensuing conflict upon making their debuts on Season 1’s The Real Housewives of Rhode Island After Show. Rosie, for one, defended herself for asking questions about Kelsey’s relationship, even though the latter did not attend her beach picnic.
“It wasn’t like we just randomly brought Kelsey up at the picnic,” she reasoned. “[I was] trying to, like, make small talk, which I think we all know I’m not very good at.”
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From Rosie’s perspective, Jo-Ellen had only exacerbated the situation by dropping vague breadcrumbs about Kelsey “going through a hard time” in her relationship while also refusing to elaborate. She also pointed out that she couldn’t have asked Kelsey anything directly because she and Liz McGraw had both declined her invitation to the picnic.
“I don’t care about her relationship. I was just wondering if it was true,” Rosie explained, before adding, “I was just asking it because it’s, like, what I kept hearing. It could’ve just been as easy as, like, ‘Yeah, but it’s not a big deal.’ And I would’ve been like, ‘All right.’ And that would’ve been the end of it.”
She concluded, “It was never judgmental. It was never malicious. It was literally a question.”
Jo-Ellen Tiberi and Kelsey Swanson react to Rosie DiMare’s “polygamy” questions on RHORI
Jo-Ellen’s blunt take on all the series premiere drama? “I think Rosie should mind her own f–kin’ business,” she declared separately on the RHORI After Show. “She’s nosey. Nosey Rosie.”
Ultimately, she theorized that Rosie had actually been trying to “start s–t” with Kelsey.
“She wants the gossip. I get it,” Jo-Ellen continued. “Don’t gossip to me about one of my friends, ’cause I’ll shut you down.”
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Kelsey, for her part, had her own questions about Rosie’s motives.
“She couldn’t help herself, any opportunity that she could, to just ask the question or bring it up,” Kelsey chimed in. “And then she wanted to, like, dig in more. If you are so curious about polygamy and my relationship, why don’t you ask me? Why are you playing a game?”
As she saw it, Rosie had no “excuse to be an a–hole.” She added, “How about get to know me first?”
How Kelsey Swanson addressed Rosie DiMare “questioning” her relationship on RHORI
While introducing herself to viewers, Kelsey admitted that she and her boyfriend of 10 years have a “very unorthodox” relationship. She shared that her partner spends roughly five months out of the year away from Rhode Island, while she stays behind in their sprawling 16,000-square-foot home.
“For the first half of the year, my boyfriend is in Miami, and when he is in Miami, he’s with somebody else,” Kelsey revealed in a confessional. “But now, I’m at that crossroads where I just hit 30, and I want more for myself. I want to be in a committed relationship with one person. But at his age in his life, there’s not one thing he’s going to change. He is who he is, and either I accept it or I have to leave.”
Later, Jo-Ellen told Kelsey during her 4th of July party that Rosie had been “questioning [her] relationship and polygamy.” After discussing the situation with several of her castmates, Kelsey decided to confront Rosie directly.
After eventually asking Rosie about what happened at her picnic, Kelsey said that she wanted to know if she was the one who brought up her and her boyfriend’s relationship arrangement.
“Honestly, like, I was just questioning stuff. I mean, Jo-Ellen brought it up,” Rosie said, claiming that she and some of the other women were only trying to get more information after Jo-Ellen told them that Kelsey was “going through such a hard time.”Â
Jo-Ellen, meanwhile, interrupted their conversation to announce that they were all about to light sparklers.
As Kelsey remarked to a producer afterward, “You really never know, like, who’s telling you the truth, who’s stabbing you in the back. To be honest, like, yeah, it is very hard to trust people around here. Rumors in Rhode Island are very typical. It’s just part of the culture of our state.”
The drama is only just getting started, however. In the meantime, find out everything to expect from the RHORI cast on Season 1.
