During the Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 finale, a shocking family secret was revealed.
The RHORI women and their SOs were enjoying an end of summer cast trip to Block Island. While some of the ladies mended fences, Brian Pontarelli’s alleged affair remained the elephant in the room. After his wife Rulla Nehme Pontarelli being shown a video of him with his mistress, the drama didn’t end there.
In the finale’s last few minutes, production shared that cameras resumed filming a month after the show originally wrapped. Also revealed was that Brian had been arrested for domestic violence.
The RHORI star seems to constantly be in hot water
In October 2025, Brian was arrested for allegedly installing a tracking device on his wife’s car without her knowledge. In the final minutes of the season finale, Rulla shared that she was suspicious that her husband could be tracking her. But when she took her car in to have the device removed, they referred her to the local police.
Under Rhode Island law, installing an electronic tracking device in someone’s car without their consent is a misdemeanor domestic violence offense. According to cast member Jo-Ellen Tiberi, following his arrest, rather than calling his wife, Brian had his mistress pick him up from jail.
Eventually, Brian pled not guilty, and Rulla had the charges dropped in December 2025.
Furthermore, whether Rulla’s husband was cheating or not was a hot topic of conversation during RHORI’s debut season. While Brian insisted the affair was in the past, a video of him and his alleged mistress from the summer of 2025 came to light. Initially, the RI podiatrist claimed the timestamp had been altered. But finally, he admitted his guilt.
“Yeah, I f*cked up,” he confessed. “It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
But despite his cheating on his wife multiple times, Brian and Rulla remain together and are trying to work things out. For Brian’s part, I’m looking forward to watching Andy Cohen put him in the hot seat at the reunion.
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island airs Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo. It streams the following day on Peacock.
TELL US – WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT RULLA FINALLY ACCEPTED THAT BRIAN WAS CHEATING ON HER?