{"id":560183,"date":"2026-04-02T12:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/560183\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:33:08","slug":"rating-the-cast-of-the-real-housewives-of-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/560183\/","title":{"rendered":"Rating the cast of ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court seemed doubtful<\/a> about President Trump\u2019s challenge to birthright citizenship in oral arguments. Three Americans and a Canadian astronaut lifted off last night<\/a> for a trip around the Moon, the first lunar-adjacent mission in over 50 years.In a primetime speech, Trump says US forces will \u201cfinish the job\u201d<\/a> soon in Iran. Here are three takeaways<\/a> from the address to the nation.<\/p>\n

Write to us at startingpoint@globe.com<\/a>. To subscribe, sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Taylor Swift reminds us in \u201cThe Last Great American Dynasty\u201d \u2014 a song about the mysterious woman who used to own her Rhode Island mansion \u2014 \u201cthere\u2019s only so far new money goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep that in mind if you tune into Bravo at 9 p.m. to watch the premiere of \u201cThe Real Housewives of Rhode Island<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cranston wealth<\/a> is most definitely not Newport-Vanderbilt wealth.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already written about the internal Rhode Island debate about whether it\u2019s good or bad<\/a> to be featured so prominently on a reality TV show, and my colleague Beth Teitell perfectly captured the self-righteousness\/jealousy of Boston<\/a> never being featured on the show. <\/p>\n

But the biggest question in the Ocean State is \u201cjust how Rhode Island are these housewives?\u201d So I spent way too much time researching the cast and came up with an entirely subjective rating system (from 1 to 5 coffee milks).<\/p>\n

Without further ado: <\/p>\n

Alicia Carmody<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t get much more Rhode Island than Carmody, who has spent much of her career as a hair stylist and whose partner, William Kitsilis, owns a restaurant called Pizza Mamma in Cranston. Bonus points: Campaign finance records show she donated $750 to current Governor Dan McKee in 2017 when he was still the state\u2019s lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n

5\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Rosie DiMare<\/p>\n

Locals will remember her as Rosie Woods when she worked for both WPRI Channel 12 and WJAR Channel 10, but she actually grew up in Milton, Mass. and graduated from Boston University. She\u2019s married to Rich DiMare, a DJ and singer, and tax records show the couple bought a home in North Kingstown together in 2024.<\/p>\n

2.5\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Kelsey Swanson<\/p>\n

She hits the Rhode Island trifecta in graduating from Cranston High School West, attending URI, and winning a beauty pageant. Swanson won Miss Rhode Island USA in 2017, only a couple of years after Cranston\u2019s Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe. Her love life is a bit of a mystery, although she has been tied to one of the sons of the late Judge Frank Caprio Sr., a reality TV star in his own right<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Liz McGraw<\/p>\n

McGraw\u2019s official show bio calls her \u201cRhode Island\u2019s cannabis queen,\u201d but it\u2019s her husband, Gerald McGraw, who actually owns the Slater Compassion Center and is a frequent political donor to everyone from former governor Gina Raimondo to current House Speaker Joe Shekarchi. The couple lives in a mansion on Seaview Avenue in Cranston, which is like the East Side of Providence with a water view.<\/p>\n

4.5\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Ashley Iaconetti<\/p>\n

A frequent flyer on the reality TV scene \u2014 she\u2019s been on multiple versions of \u201cThe Bachelor\u201d \u2014 there seems to be very little Rhode Island about this Virginia native. But her husband, Jared Haibon, was once a bus boy at Chelo\u2019s in Warwick (he\u2019s also a former reality TV star), and the couple was married at Rosecliff in Newport. They own Audrey\u2019s Coffee House<\/a> in South Kingstown.<\/p>\n

3\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Rulla Nehme Pontarelli<\/p>\n

Pontarelli was an honor roll student in both middle school and high school in Providence, and she attended Classical High School (bonus points because Buddy Cianci spoke at her graduation). She\u2019s married to podiatrist Brian Pontarelli, who faced a misdemeanor charge last year for allegedly placing a tracking device on her car (the charge was dropped<\/a>). <\/p>\n

To add to the Rhode Islandness of it all, Brian Pontarelli\u2019s lawyer was William Murphy, a former speaker of the Rhode Island House.<\/p>\n

4.5\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Jo-Ellen Tiberi<\/p>\n

The Cranston takeover of the Bravo network continues with Tiberi, who also graduated from Cranston High School West and still lives there with her husband, Gary. She was an honor roll student in high school and he was second-team all state in wrestling, according to Providence Journal archives.<\/p>\n

4\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

Dolores Catania<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t think Taylor Swift gets to be a Rhode Islander because she only spends time here every other 4th of July, then Catania might as well face banishment to Mystic, Conn. She\u2019s a \u201cReal Housewives of New Jersey\u201d star who happens to be friends with Liz McGraw. <\/p>\n

0\/5 \u2615\ud83e\udd5b<\/p>\n

So there you have it \u2014 the definitive Rhode Island-ness of each of these new reality stars. The only remaining question is whether I will actually knuckle down and watch the show (I\u2019ve never seen an episode). <\/p>\n

As always, the answer is: if the Globe pays me to.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udde9 6 Across: Most optimal<\/a> | \u26c5\ufe0f 42\u00b0 Not hot<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the worst that could happen? A growing slice of homeowners fed up with high insurance costs are \u201cgoing bare,\u201d<\/a> banking on savings to handle any emergencies.<\/p>\n

Never let a trophy tell me how nice I am: Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla thinks Coach of the Year is \u201ca stupid award.\u201d Here\u2019s why he should win it anyway<\/a>, according to Chris Gasper.<\/p>\n

Back away from the iPad: Cambridge schools are considering a ban on \u201cscreen time\u201d<\/a> for kids from pre-K through 2nd grade. If passed, it would be one of the strictest rules in Mass.<\/p>\n

This high school pitcher could be MLB-bound: Brody Bumila of Bishop Feehan<\/a> is a 6\u20329\u2033 18-year-old lefty whose heater reaches 101 mph. Don\u2019t be surprised if you see scouts with radar guns in the stands this spring.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s difficult to play sad music on a banjo\u2019: Ted Landsmark, soon to retire from the Boston Planning and Development Agency, will have more time to devote to his intense love of antique banjos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But how\u2019s its handwriting? A study of AI \u201cscribe\u201d software<\/a>, which takes voice dictation for busy doctors, delivered only modest efficiency improvements in a new study involving Mass General-Brigham researchers.<\/p>\n

Circle of life: Merrimack Health plans to close its labor and delivery unit in Methuen<\/a>, one of more than a dozen such closures in the past decade.<\/p>\n

Dealmaking time in D.C.: Republican House and Senate leaders say they\u2019re close to a deal<\/a> that would resume Homeland Security spending. Still to come: Democratic votes and support from Trump. <\/p>\n

\u2018We had very lofty goals in the beginning\u2019: The head of Boston\u2019s World Cup organizing committee broke his silence and acknowledged fund-raising woes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By Curt Woodward<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf08 You\u2019ve got to know this one thing: Despite Trump\u2019s claims, \u201cYMCA\u201d is not really in the running for the so-called Gay National Anthem. But these songs are<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd55 That\u2019s what\u2019s up: Our \u201cOne Special Thing\u201d recommendation this week is the timeless silliness of Looney Tunes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddde News about news: VTDigger is a nonprofit news success story. But turnover in its top jobs is raising questions about its future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude94 Hot pursuit: A van fleeing a high-speed chase by ICE agents<\/a> crashed in Medway, and the two people inside escaped on foot.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd16 Not great, Claude: AI leader Anthropic was racing to take down copies<\/a> of its source code after the digital DNA for Claude Code was accidentally posted online.<\/p>\n

\u26be\ufe0f There\u2019s no crying in baseball: But the Sox are not happy<\/a> about their 1-5 start.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading Starting Point.<\/p>\n

This newsletter was edited by Curt Woodward and Heather Ciras<\/a>, and produced by Ryan Orlecki.<\/p>\n

\u2753 Have a question for the team? Email us at startingpoint@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u270d\ud83c\udffc If someone sent you this newsletter, you can sign up for your own copy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcec Delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n

Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @danmcgowan<\/a>.<\/p>\n