Previously on Real Housewives of Rhode Island, the RHORI Newport trip continued as Rosie and Kelsey attempted to make peace. Jo-Ellen opened up to Alicia about the trauma from her mom sending her away to behavioral programs. Ashley had to leave early after her son ended up in the ER. Speaking of, Rulla claimed she missed the trip because she was once again so sick she had to be hospitalized. At the end of the trip, Jo-Ellen was sent video proof of Brian cheating on Rulla … and the group decided Alicia should tell her.
What happened on Real Housewives of Rhode Island Episode 8?
This week on Real Housewives of Rhode Island Season 1 Episode 8, “Splitting Hairs,” Kelsey moves into an apartment (paid for by her ex). Jo-Ellen confronts her mom about her childhood. Alicia dreads telling Rulla about the video at a wildly uncomfortable dinner. Kelsey pranks Rosie, realizes they are absolutely not past their issues, and the resulting fight is so bad RHORI production has to step in.
Alicia faces her fears
The episode opens with Billy pushing Alicia to face her fear of highways so she can pick up their daughter. Alicia says her anxiety can get so bad, her daughter has to calm her down from the backseat. Before she goes, Alicia takes some crackers to calm her down.
As she drives, Alicia tells Billy about the trip. Well, first, she mistakenly asks him about it, forgetting she’s the one who went away. Alicia is still hurt by Liz snapping at her for calling herself homeless. She also tells Billy about the video, while doing an impeccable Jo-Ellen impression. And that she’s been tasked with telling Rulla, which she dreads.
At least she faced her fear of driving on the bridge.
Kelsey’s moving on (and Rosie has thoughts about it)
Kelsey moves into a new apartment, and the background of her confessionals change with it. So does Bill’s identifier- he’s now “Kelsey’s (Only) Boyfriend.” Kelsey’s mom is bothered by the ex still paying for things. She also wants Kelsey to commit to Bill and give her grandchildren. But Kelsey wants to live on her own for at least a year. Bill stops by to help set things up, and encourages Kelsey to sell her car, so that will be one less thing her ex has to pay for (and one less tie to him).
But Rosie throws plenty of shade at the arrangement, even claiming Kelsey cheated on her ex with Bill. Despite clearly still disliking Kelsey, Rosie agrees to let her cut her hair again…and will be sure to post this time. Rich encourages Rosie to raise hell the next time someone comes at her, saying she doesn’t fight back (despite us seeing that she does). In a bit of foreshadowing, Rosie admits she’s gonna freak out the next time.
Ashley once again laments Jared’s commitment to Audrey’s
Ashley’s son Dawson is recovering from his hospital stay, which was for cold-induced asthma. She sends him out of the room a little bit so she can film a sponsored post. Once again, Ashley laments that Jared doesn’t put his large social media following to a better use. She repeatedly emphasizes that one post could make way more than Audrey’s. Ashley is feeling better about her place in the group after the trip, but we’ll see how long that lasts.
Jo-Ellen confronts her mom about her traumatic past
While cleaning out her grandfather’s house, Jo-Ellen looks through a photo album (which includes a picture of her and Bill Clinton) with her mom and Jen. When Jo-Ellen says she was an angel, her mom laughs, “Not!” After a few more digs, Jo-Ellen confronts her. She says her mom should’ve taught her how to be kind, “because now I’m not.”
“I hate that about myself,” she adds, crying. She asks her mom what she did that was bad enough to be sent away three times. Her mom says the lies about hanging out with boys- but Jo argues that’s normal teen behavior. She was depressed as a teen, not bipolar as her mom claimed, but doesn’t understand how those places were supposed to help.
Her mother begins to cry, recalling how overwhelmed she was. Jo-Ellen tearfully asks, “Why didn’t you love me?” Her mom says she does, but had a hard time showing it because of her own mother’s coldness. Jo-Ellen hopes she can break this cycle with her own kids. Her mom promises to be a better mom and better grandmother. Jo-Ellen’s wanted to hear that for ages. While Jen thanks her mom for making them strong, Jo-Ellen laughs, “Yeah, you made me a b*tch.”
Rulla and Brian host the dinner from hell
When she and Billy go over for dinner, Alicia feels like “I know what you did last week” is written all over her face. But I’m pretty sure the dinner would be uncomfortable even if Alicia never saw the video. Brian is in rare form, and admits he pregamed with shots!
You can tell when he starts rambling about Pizza Mamma. He also reveals he “micro-doses” Ozempic, steroids, and Botox. He excuses himself to go to the bathroom, then says it was a work call. Alicia says maybe there was a foot emergency before laughing that she gives him too much credit. Rulla tries to laugh off her annoyance at his oversharing and over drinking.
The worst moment comes when he recalls how they met. He would order drinks for Rulla, and secretly tell the bartender to make hers a double. Um?! There is also no mention of Alicia’s Spanish teacher. When they order steaks, he also repeatedly describes how filet mignon reminds him too much of Achilles tendons. Again, um?!
Ultimately, Alicia is too afraid to bring the video up. I can only imagine she wanted to get out of the world’s most awkward dinner as soon as possible! “Brian, they’ll never come over again!” Rulla jokes (?) as Alicia and Billy’s faces say it all.
Dolores finds her place on RHORI
Liz felt out of place with the younger Housewives last week, but she fits right in with Dolores. They’re developing a weed gummy targeted at menopause, which is an ingenious idea. It’s also apt for Rhode Island, the first state to name people going through menopause as a protected class. As she describes the toll menopause takes, Liz shows us her swollen feet, asking, “why do they look like a bag of dicks?” Her and Dolores bond over their menopause struggles, with Dolores saying she and Paul almost broke up over it!
Many RHORI viewers have pointed out that she feels unnecessary as a friend of, but this storyline gives Dolores a place in the cast. Her friendship with Liz is a joy to see.
Rosie and Kelsey have the biggest RHORI fight so far
Before Kelsey comes over, Rosie lays out the house plans along with a measuring tape. Kelsey also makes a joke, blaring a siren and announcing the “house police” are there and the 8,000 square feet looks more like 8,000 inches. It’s a terrible bit, I was cringing hard. Rosie emphasizes that her “very nice neighborhood” has a no siren rule. Rich said it would be a bad sign if their dog Clemmy didn’t like Kelsey … and lo and behold, Kelsey remarks that Clemmy seems scared of her.
Kelsey walks in thinking her joke went great, while Rosie, clearly embarrassed, is furious right from the start. As Kelsey defends her bad joke and tells her to chill, Rosie gets angrier and angrier. She insists she did nothing to Kelsey. Before long, she accuses Kelsey of being jealous because she doesn’t have a house, a husband, or a career. She calls Kelsey “literally f*cking no one” who accomplished nothing. Except winning a pageant, but Rosie claims Kelsey only won because her sugar daddy bought the title (I don’t know, maybe judges were really impressed by Kelsey’s brain tumor story?). Kelsey insists that she does have a budding career, but Rosie screams, “sucking d*ck is not a career b*tch!”
When Rosie gets in her face, Kelsey pushes her away. Rosie grabs Kelsey’s suitcase and pushes her out the door, screaming that she’s done with her and “the clique.” She gets so aggressive that production has to hold her back. But when she starts to walk away, Kelsey foolishly turns around. She insists that she won Miss Rhode Island fair and square. That’s when Rosie screams that Kelsey “f*cks married men” and is “a slam pig!”
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel this is a true “team no one” Housewives feud. Kelsey’s joke was incredibly tacky, but Rosie overreacted. Kelsey started this feud for a very silly reason, but Rosie’s jabs veer into slut-shaming, which is not okay. And while Kelsey was wrong to touch Rosie and made a huge mistake by going back, production holding Rosie back is not good.
Looks like we’re in for more next week, as Kelsey makes another bad joke by dressing up as “Miss Slam Pig.”
Real Housewives of Rhode Island airs Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo. Episodes can be streamed on Peacock.
TELL US – RHORI FANS, ARE YOU TEAM ROSIE, TEAM KELSEY, OR TEAM NO ONE? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF BRIAN’S BEHAVIOR AT DINNER?
