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‘RHORI’ enemies Jo-Ellen Tiberi and Rulla Nehme Pontarelli reveal they’re now friends: ‘We’ve had an epiphany’

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Nungesser, S. (2026, October 8). ‘RHORI’ enemies Jo-Ellen Tiberi and Rulla Nehme Pontarelli reveal they’re now friends: ‘We’ve had an epiphany’. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/10/08/entertainment/rhori-enemies-jo-ellen-tiberi-and-rulla-nehme-pontarelli-reveal-theyre-now-friends/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-08 · by Samantha Nungesser

Quick Summary

Rulla Nehme Pontarelli and Jo-Ellen Tiberi, former enemies from "Real Housewives of Rhode Island," revealed during the 2026 VRT Awards that they are now friends. The reconciliation stems from Rulla’s husband, Brian Pontarelli, admitting to an affair, which led both women to move past their feud. The event was sponsored by several companies including Tri-State Cadillac and Philo, with the full show available for free on Philo starting October 9.
Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The second annual Virtual Reali-Tea Awards, held at Edison Ballroom in New York City, celebrated reality TV stars from shows like "The Real Housewives," "Summer House," and "Selling Sunset." The event featured over 60 honorees walking the red carpet, with highlights including Rowan Henchy's homage to her mother Brooke Shields' style. Golden Kettle winners included Luann de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, Dorinda Medley, and Kelly Bensimon, who received a lifetime achievement award from Joan Vassos of "The Golden Bachelorette." Additionally, Ariana Biermann won the “Breakout Star” award despite recent challenges related to her brother KJ's arrest.

Written for “VRT Awards 2026 Red Carpet” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 VRT Awards 2026 Red Carpet
Entertainment · 10 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
10
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15783 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Samantha Nungesser
25 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The “Real Housewives of New York City” newbie exclusively told Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” why she wouldn’t want Stewart, whom she described as her “best friend,” to join the hit Bravo show in a full-time capacity.
🔮 Porsha Williams confirmed Erin Lichy was “acting up” at Dorinda Medley’s party featured in the “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th” finale.
🔮 “I made mistakes and I will take responsibility for my own actions.”
🔮 However, they broke up in May 2026 after nearly three years of dating.
🔮 Toye said she was “not impressed” by the mansion, stating that her boss and friend, Martha Stewart, would think it was a “dump.”
🔮 Whether or not that will last remains to be seen.
🔮 “They’re constantly trying to get info that they can throw up on the show, instead of just being themselves and acting like themselves, and not be higher than mighty.”
🔮 The reality TV icons, whose Palm Beach-based spinoff will premiere later this month, made their way up to the stage, where they delivered an iconic acceptance speech. Want to watch from home?Philo
🔮 De Lesseps — who has had a busy year of filming “The Golden Life” and Bravo’s “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th” — will also embark on The Love Tour, her new Countess Cabaret show that’s themed around the single.
🔮 It looks like Austen Kroll and Salley Carson’s will-they-won’t-they romance will continue into “Southern Charm” Season 12.
Also by Samantha Nungesser
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 25 articles by Samantha Nungesser →

Topics

CoverGirl Kahlúa Philo Tri-State Cadillac the 2026 VRT Awards

Subjects

Tiberi PERSON · 9× Rulla PERSON · 6× Brian PERSON · 5× Philo ORG · 2× Walker PERSON · 2× Danny Murphy PERSON · 1× Evan Real PERSON · 1× Jo-Ellen Tiberi PERSON · 1× Rulla Nehme Pontarelli PERSON · 1× Tri-State Cadillac ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 Whether or not that will last remains to be seen.

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

Hell hath frozen over — because Rulla Nehme Pontarelli and Jo-Ellen Tiberi have buried the hatchet. asserted
Pontarelli → freeze → 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. asserted
Murphy → give → Cadillac
“We’ve had an epiphany,” Rulla told the guys. asserted
Rulla → have → guys
“Jo-Ellen realized that I have feelings, that I’m innocent; we’ve bridged the gap.” asserted
we → realize → 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. asserted
you → want → show
It’s free to watch on Philo’s ad-supported platform starting Oct. 9.Plus asserted
It → ’ → Oct.
, you can catch up on last year’s awards now on Philo.com/VRTs. asserted
you → catch → 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. asserted
husband → confirm → woman
“They moved past it, and that’s the best thing,” Tiberi said. asserted
Tiberi → move → it
“I was vindicated.” asserted
I → vindicate → ?
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.” asserted
Rulla → begin → 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. asserted
that → insist → evidence
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. uncertain
that → persist → 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. asserted
her → have → 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. uncertain
affair → continue → filming
The women traded insults, as Rulla called Tiberi a “slut” and Tiberi threatened to “break” Rulla’s newly redone nose. asserted
Tiberi → trade → 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. asserted
which → fail → start
Whether or not that will last remains to be seen. asserted
last → last → ?
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. asserted
frenemies → join → night
“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. asserted
Brian → grow → 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.” asserted
we → show → it
“The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock. asserted
Season → stream → Peacock
Conversation Your voice matters. asserted
voice → matter → Conversation
Discussions are moderated for civility. asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
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