In a way, we’re all Real Housewives of Rhode Island winners. Because we got to watch the best Real Housewives season in years. RHORI lived up to the hype and then some. I’m already sad about the impending hiatus. And, like many viewers, I’m wondering why the reunion is only a two-parter when there’s more than enough material for three!
Personally, I hope everyone comes back next season. But while some RHORI stars entered the Real Housewives pantheon, others had their debut as more of a mixed bag. So, who were the winners and losers of Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1? Read on to see our picks, and let us know how you’d rank the cast in the comments.
Alicia Carmody may be the biggest Real Housewives of Rhode Island winner
The biggest winner of Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 has to be Alicia Carmody, who feels like she was made in a lab to be the perfect Real Housewife. I can’t remember the last time a Real Housewives cast member was so instantly, universally beloved. She’s everything you could want in a Housewife: gorgeous, hilarious, quotable, and the right amount of delusional.
Every episode, she was such a joy to watch. From her list of things she loves (a cracker, Jane’s Fonda, a horse, Britney Spears) to her doll collection to her casually revealing she ran over a woman. She’s like a real life Cher Horowitz. The best thing about Alicia is that you can tell she isn’t putting on an act, but just genuinely being herself.
When RHORI goes on hiatus, I already know I’ll miss Alicia most of all. Like all RHORI fans, I wish nothing but success for her, with her upcoming cracker line, her beloved Pizza Mamma, and her journey towards financial independence.
Liz McGraw lost fans by the end of RHORI Season 1
Liz McGraw, what happened? After the RHORI series premiere, I was convinced Liz would be the fan favorite. On first impression, Liz was wonderfully kooky, with an amazing mansion, blunt honesty (revealing she’s related to her husband right away!), and larger-than-life personality. She gave us the series first iconic line, “But he is, Ma.” She warned us people find her scary, but we didn’t see this side until her Studio 54 party. Even then, her blow up at Kelsey Swanson could be written off as a drunken “menopause moment.”
But in the second half of Season 1, Liz’s stock plummeted. Maybe she initially had good intentions for insisting “you were nev-ah HOMELESS” at Alicia. But by stubbornly holding on to this, she wound up invalidating Alicia’s childhood pain. By the disastrous Cabo trip, she managed to crush both Jo-Ellen Tiberi and Alicia’s souls. Both women called her abusive. And Liz never really took accountability for it, insisting she was just “real.” When Jo-Ellen said “it’s not real, it’s cruel,” fans at home surely nodded in agreement.
Despite Liz ending the season as RHORI’s villain, we do have to give her props by bringing awareness to menopause and using her Queen of Weed prowess to develop a menopause gummy.
Jo-Ellen Tiberi is great Real Housewives material
Jo-Ellen was initially singled out as the RHORI villain. I don’t think that’s entirely accurate, but it does reflect her willingness to get messy. Which is one of the reasons she’s already a great reality star. She also has a quick wit none of her co-stars can match. Never forget “Does Brian look like he goes to the gym?”
Another reason Jo-Ellen is great Real Housewives material is that she’s so open and honest about her life. She even admitted she might have overshared at times. She got a lot of praise for opening up about her difficult childhood, including the multiple times she was sent away to behavioral programs. It also took a lot of guts for her to share her difficult relationship with her mother.
In addition to RHORI Season 2, I’m hoping we’ll see Jo-Ellen on a future season of The Traitors.
Rulla Pontarelli missed lots of RHORI filming but remained the center of conversation
I don’t know if I can designate Rulla Pontarelli as a winner or a loser of RHORI Season 1. On the one hand, she skipped a lot of filming. It was truly shocking in the penultimate episode to realize she hadn’t seen most of the cast since the polo match six episodes prior! For that reason, many fans were surprised to see her get second chair at RHORI’s first reunion.
However, even when Rulla wasn’t physically there, she was the topic of conversation. It’s reportedly why she was bumped from “friend of” to Real Housewife. Undoubtedly, Brian’s affair was the biggest storyline of RHORI Season 1. Judging from the RHORI reunion trailer, it will be the center of attention there as well.
It’s impossible not to feel empathy for Rulla with Brian’s behavior, especially after his arrest. It’s also frustrating to see her repeatedly act like Jo-Ellen is the villain in the situation.
I’ve enjoyed the bits of Rulla’s personality we’ve seen outside of her stress with Brian. Like her shaking a margarita on the rail explorers, the incredible Arabian Nights party, or her excellent confessional one-liners. In order for Rulla to be a RHORI Season 2 winner, I hope to see more of that side of her.
Ashley Iaconetti is RHORI’s odd one out
Unlike the other RHORI cast members, Ashley Iaconetti started her Real Housewives experience as a reality TV veteran. Her Bachelor fame brought in viewers that helped make RHORI a hit. But outside of her pre-existing fanbase, lots of RHORI fans were skeptical of her role on the show.
Ashley herself admitted she was the odd one out. She wasn’t born in Rhode Island, and her only friend on the cast was Rosie DiMare. She frequently positioned herself as the regular mom without the cheating scandals or shocking backstories of her castmates. Because of this, there was a lot of social media chatter questioning if Ashley was a poor fit for the show, with some calling for her to be fired.
Like many RHORI fans, I am of two minds on Ashley I. Considering how insular this world is, I do think we needed an audience surrogate like her. However, “I’m just a regular mom and these women are so wacky” could get repetitive. As did her one major storyline of lamenting her husband’s commitment to his restaurant. Did she just join RHORI to promote his business?
In order for Ashley to be a RHORI winner in Season 2, she should integrate with the cast more. And have a more engaging storyline.
Rosie DiMare won over viewers throughout RHORI Season 1
At the beginning of RHORI Season 1, Rosie was compared to polarizing Real Housewives like Whitney Rose and Ashley Darby. She definitely fit the role of pot-stirrer. Take her bringing up Kelsey’s relationship in the premiere. Or bringing up Ashley I to Liz, and then acting like Liz was the one who brought her up. Or the instance that made Alicia lose it. Lots of RHORI fans also agreed with Liz that she was annoying.
But fans started to come around on Rosie after she was the center of the dreaded Real Housewives pile-on. It helped that Kelsey started a feud with her over literally nothing! Her confessionals also started to get really good. I still laugh at her calling Kelsey a “high end squatter.” Then she gave us “slam pig,” undoubtedly the most viral Real Housewives insult since “gout dick sucker.” Ultimately, Rosie walked from the feud, and RHORI Season 1, victorious.
Kelsey Swanson lost her feud with Rosie
After Kelsey broke up with her boyfriend, she seemed to pick a fight with Rosie just to have a new storyline. And it really backfired. Kelsey clearly underestimated Rosie, who repeatedly left her speechless with accusations like her ex paying for the Miss Rhode Island win. Kelsey also dragged Ashley for not responding to messages, only to back down after Ashley pulled out receipts. Yikes.
Personally, I won’t be that bothered if the rumor that Kelsey actually broke up with her mystery boyfriend ahead of filming is true. I’d assume this was a production decision – it gave Kelsey a storyline and enabled filming in that incredible house. But if that’s true, it’s not a good look for Kelsey to insist she hates Rosie solely because she’s dishonest.
For Kelsey to be a winner of RHORI Season 2, I’d suggest she up her game for her Rosie feud. Because those bad jokes aren’t cutting it. We’ll see how their battle progresses at RHORI’s first reunion.
Real Housewives of Rhode Island is available to stream on Peacock.
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