Hell hath frozen over — because Rulla Nehme Pontarelli and Jo-Ellen Tiberi have buried the hatchet.
The “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” stars gave a shocking update on their friendship when “Virtual Reali-Tea” co-hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real stopped to talk to them in the crowd during the 2026 VRT Awards, sponsored by Tri-State Cadillac, CoverGirl, Philo and Kahlúa.
“We’ve had an epiphany,” Rulla told the guys. “Jo-Ellen realized that I have feelings, that I’m innocent; we’ve bridged the gap.”
Want to watch from home? Philo is the exclusive streaming partner for the 2026 VRT Awards, and the only place you’ll find the full show this year. The best part? It’s free to watch on Philo’s ad-supported platform starting Oct. 9. Plus, you can catch up on last year’s awards now on Philo.com/VRTs.
On the other side of the table, Tiberi confirmed as much, explaining that Rulla’s husband, Brian Pontarelli, finally “admitted the truth” about his affair with another woman.
“They moved past it, and that’s the best thing,” Tiberi said. “I was vindicated.”
Their feud began before cameras went up for “RHORI” Season 1, with Rulla accusing Tiberi of gossiping around town about Brian’s affair and showing people photos of him with his alleged “mistress.”
While Brian repeatedly insisted his relationship with the unnamed mistress — later identified as Cranston-based medical aesthetician Beth Walker — was a thing of the past, Tiberi continued to present evidence that said otherwise.
As Tiberi’s sleuthing persisted, she uncovered a video of Brian and Walker, allegedly taken during filming for “RHORI” Season 1, as well as incriminating photos that were posted on social media.
Tiberi, of course, had her own set of issues with the couple, whom she accused of trying to get her fired from her office job at a local aesthetics center.
Their beef continued well into the Season 1 reunion, with Tiberi questioning whether Brian was still married to his ex-wife when he and Rulla began their relationship over a decade ago, and doubling down on the claims that his affair with Walker was still ongoing at the time of filming.
The women traded insults, as Rulla called Tiberi a “slut” and Tiberi threatened to “break” Rulla’s newly redone nose.
While they failed to reconcile their friendship during the two-part reunion, it sounds like “RHORI” Season 2 — which recently wrapped filming — was able to give the women a fresh start. Whether or not that will last remains to be seen.
However, as of the VRT Awards — where they joined their co-stars on stage to accept the award for “Best Cast” — the frenemies seemed to have put their differences aside, at least for the night.
As for Rulla and Brian’s relationship, the parents of two appear to be stronger than ever.
“I’ve grown as a person, we’ve grown together, and the most important thing is that our family is very strong,” Brian told Page Six on the red carpet earlier in the evening. “If we can just show other families going through the same thing that with hard work and dedication and, most importantly, love, we can get through it.”
“The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock.
The post ‘RHORI’ enemies Jo-Ellen Tiberi and Rulla Nehme Pontarelli reveal they’re now friends: ‘We’ve had an epiphany’ appeared first on Page Six.
