Rulla Nehme Pontarelli‘s husband has some ‘splaining to do.
Over the last few weeks, Brian Pontarelli has quickly become the center of drama in the debut season of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island over his alleged affair with a mystery woman. Rulla shared in the show’s second episode that her husband had cheated on her a year prior, and while she was adamant that his discretions were all in the past, her castmates weren’t exactly buying it.
In tonight’s episode of RHORI, Jo-Ellen Tiberi received a video that seemingly proved Brian’s relationship with the mysterious “blonde woman” was still ongoing at the time they were filming. In the video, which was taken two days before the polo match they attended in the previous episode, he is allegedly hugging the woman, kissing her, and, according to the Housewives, grabbing her butt.
Unfortunately, we have to wait another week to see how Rulla reacts to this video. But, in the meantime, we are answering all of your burning questions about this alleged affair, like who is Brian’s mistress? And are he and Rulla still together? Keep reading for everything we know.
Who is Brian Pontarelli’s mistress?
Brian’s mistress is reportedly Beth Walker, a Cranston-based medical aesthetician. While we don’t know much more about her, she’s certainly not afraid to yell about their alleged affair from the rooftops. In a since-deleted Instagram post, she claimed she was in a two-and-a-half-year relationship, seemingly referring to Brian. In another post that’s been deleted, Walker is taking a video of her drink at a bar, where the bartender can very clearly be heard asking, “Brian, what’s the drink?” Both captions included the #RHORI hashtag. Walker also tagged Bravo in her April 8 post promoting her business.
Why is Brian Pontarelli suing his alleged mistress?
Brian reportedly filed a lawsuit against Walker for breach of contract last month, claiming she broke an NDA she signed amid their relationship by posting photos and videos of or referencing him. Walker has since filed a countersuit against Brian, claiming the NDA was “illegal and unenforceable” since he had talked about their affair first on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island. She also alleges that he made false, “defamatory and disparaging” comments about her both on the show and on Watch What Happens Live.
Walker’s lawyer told The Providence Journal, “A public narrative has been created around my client, but narrative and facts are not always the same thing. As this unfolds, the evidence will tell a very different story.”
Rulla, however, shared a different narrative during a recent interview with Parade. While speaking to the outlet, she said the NDA was the “result of something else that was going on” because Brian had made Walker a “minority owner” in his business. “It had to do with business matters, and a prior issue, not a don’t talk because of the show situation,” she claimed. “So, that’s sort of been taken out of context.”
Are Rulla and Brian still together?
As of their April 26 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Rulla and Brian are still working on their marriage. Rulla told host Andy Cohen, “I don’t think that Brian is a bad person. I think he’s good to the core, but has made some grave mistakes and a bad series of choices.” Meanwhile, Brian, who was seated in the audience, said, “I was a different person then than I am now. I realize what an amazing woman my wife is. The only thing that matters to me now is my wife and children. I just want to move forward.”
As for whether he was still engaging with the mistress at the time the show was filmed, Brian insisted that they were not involved with each other romantically, but that he would allegedly receive “hate texts” from her. “It was more she was bitter that I was on the show or that I was trying to make my marriage work,” he claimed.
How to watch The Real Housewives of Rhode Island:
Those looking to watch The Real Housewives of Rhode Island will need access to Bravo and/or Peacock. If you have a cable subscription, you can access the network on the BravoTV website, or stream the show live on platforms like Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV when it airs on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT. New episodes also become available the next day on Peacock.
Peacock currently offers two subscription types: Premium with ads and Premium Plus ad-free. Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month, while Premium Plus costs $16.99/month.
You can save a bit by subscribing to one of Peacock’s annual plans, which give you 12 months for the price of 10. These cost either $109.99 with ads or $169.99 without ads.
Peacock Premium Plus is also available to subscribe to via Prime Video with a seven-day free trial that you can’t get by subscribing directly on Peacock.