at the series premiere of real housewives of rhode islandWe met Alicia, Liz, Jo-Ellen, Kelsey, Rosie, and Ashley. Dolores Catania also stayed as a friend. Jo-Ellen emerged as a RHORI villain, particularly due to her rivalry with Rosie. Kelsey’s unconventional relationship was the talk of the town. When she confronts Rosie to gossip about it, she learns that Jo-Ellen had brought up the topic. Liz warns that the truth always comes out at such a young stage.
What happened on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 Episode 2?
On The Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 Episode 2, “Ocean State of Mind”, we meet the seventh RHORI housewife, Rhula. Her husband was accused of cheating and she made Jo-Ellen the villain in the situation. Tired of all the discussion about their relationship, Kelsey proposes a game to get the questions and secrets out into the open. What else happened on Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 Episode 2?
Liz is going to be a grandmother (but don’t call her that name)
This week’s episode starts with Liz visiting her in-laws (who technically belong to her). They are meeting her stepdaughter’s boyfriend’s family. His stepdaughter is expecting a child, who will be the first grandchild. Liz had already decided that she wanted to be called GG, not Grandma or “glam mom.”
Gerry’s three girls may not have been Liz’s biological daughters, but she raised them. For reasons she does not elaborate on, the girls’ mothers were not able to care for them. So Liz made the move, even though it was a big change from living alone to raising three children.
Rulla makes noise
In Episode 2, we meet the seventh RHORI housemate, Rulla. Like Liz, she is half Syrian. Before she arrives, Kelsey jokes about how boring she is. But don’t be fooled into thinking that Rulla is boring. Because she has a lot of drama!
As soon as she arrives, the conversation turns to the affair of Rulla’s husband Brian. At first, Rulla seemed to deny this happening. We learned that Jo-Ellen saw Brian’s photos first (because another woman posted them on social media). She told Liz, who told Rulla. However, Rulla seems more angry at Jo-Ellen and the mistress than at her husband. She accuses Jo-Ellen of spreading rumors about things that don’t involve her husband. “But she is, Mom,” Liz retorts. Rulla then insists that the case is over, but according to Liz, everyone says it is still going on.
Rullah took a dig at Liz by saying that she doesn’t understand what it’s like to raise one’s biological children with a spouse. Oops! Obviously, Liz is very hurt. Rulla has known her for a decade, she knows Liz raised those girls. She may not have given birth to them, but they are her children.
Rulla also says that Liz and Gerry have overcome their respective issues. In a confessional, she says that Gerry was on boats for long periods of time. And when the cat is away the mice will play.
Ashley is feeling the pressure
Her best friend Rosie hates Jo-Ellen, but Ashley joins her at the 4th of July party. Their children are of the same age, so they get together to play.
The pressure of running Audrey is getting to Jared, and it upsets Ashley. He always reassures her that she or her kids aren’t coming after him, but it’s still hard for her not to feel that way. Ashley also feels overwhelmed with taking care of the children all the time while he is often away on his business. Jo-Ellen reassures her that it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed, even if she has a part-time nanny.
In a confessional, Jo-Ellen commented that Ashley always presents a picture of a perfect family on social media. But as we all know, this is not the reality.
Kelsey wants to clear the air
After Alicia expresses confusion about Kelsey’s relationship, she invites her to the huge house. It turns out that Kelsey isn’t completely alone, as there is a live-in staff. Alicia drove there, but she hates driving, especially on highways. She reveals that she ran over a woman, but still doesn’t give much context when a producer asks!
Kelsey explains that she is fed up with everyone’s gossip about their relationship. She knows that there are a lot of rumors and questions about everyone in the group. She wants to bring everyone together and force them to address the gossip and clarify the situation.
Rulla introduced his family
After a blast over lunch, we learn more about Rulla and her family. She is a true Rhode Islander, born and raised in Providence and one of the only female boat captains in the state. Of course, she casts a shadow where Jo-Ellen lives.
Rulla has his own financial planning firm. Her husband is a podiatrist, although Alicia later joked that he “does more than rub feet.” Although he is shorter and lighter than her usual tall dark and handsome type, she finds him handsome, so she checked one of the three boxes. They have been together for 12 years and have two children, son Luca and daughter Laila.
Rulla claims Brian begged her for forgiveness after the affair, although she is still working on it. He insists that it’s over, and she now tracks him down. Bryan says people are just jealous.
Joe-Ellen wants nothing to do with Rulla
This is the first RHORI Sprinter van trip! We’ll have to see if their van ride becomes as iconic as other Real Housewives shows. The RHORI girls take it to a vineyard. It turned out that they didn’t know much about alcohol. Kelsey, who likes “stripper juice,” didn’t know rosé was wine. Jo-Ellen likes expensive things because she thinks they won’t hurt her hangover as much. Take notes Rosie! The women compliment each other’s outfits…except when Ashley shows up in a Renaissance blonde-looking dress. Ashley remains the outsider!
Before eating, Kelsey takes Jo-Ellen aside and warns her that Rullah is coming. Jo-Ellen is angry. After sharing the news about Brian, Rulla and she called out Jo-Ellen’s work to retaliate. She claims that by threatening her job, Rulla threatened her family. And she won’t stand for it.
But it turns out to be a false alarm, as Rulla called and claimed she was so sick that she was put into urgent care. The group doesn’t buy it. Especially because it was full of glamour. Jo-Ellen sneers that she’s getting a headache from taking too much Ozempic. “Take the turkey leg from Ashley,” she jokes. She throws the box with Rulla’s name on it in the bush.
RHORI exposes everything in Kelsey’s game
Speaking of those boxes, Kelsey proposes a table game that would make Heather Gay proud. All the women write notes to each other asking questions about the rumors they have heard. These notes are obviously anonymous, but most women accept the notes they write.
Ashley revealed that she didn’t lose her virginity until she was 29 (this was a big plot point during her Bachelor days). Jo-Ellen denies being a swinger. She asks Alicia if something happened with her and Gary, but Alicia says he’s like a brother to her. Rosie is asked about rumors of a relationship between her and an unnamed basketball coach, which she denies.
She also corrects herself about the polygamous comments she made about Kelsey… because ChatGPT taught her to only do that if you’re married, so the correct word was polygamous. However, Kelsey admits that she has another boyfriend! and it looks like this Desire Appear on RHORI!
Alicia brings up rumors about Liz’s affair which Rulla had hinted at earlier. Liz says she leaned on her good friend Dino while Gerry was gone. She admits that it crossed a line but denies that they had an affair. She is upset that Alicia will ask about this.
With so many rumors, scandals, and fights in just episode 2, I have a great feeling about RHORI. I can’t wait for next week’s episode!
real housewives of rhode island Airs Sundays on Bravo. The episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
Tell Us – What Did You Think of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 Episode 2? What do you think about Rulla?