‘Real Housewives of RI’ affair allegations fuel courtroom drama

• A Cranston woman is suing the husband of a “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” cast member for slander.
• The lawsuit is a countersuit to one filed by Brian Pontarelli, who accused Beth Walker of violating a confidentiality agreement.
• Walker claims Pontarelli made defamatory comments about her on the show and related broadcasts.
• The dispute centers around an affair Pontarelli had, which is a storyline on the reality show.

It was in a Rhode Island court that “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” heated up as a Cranston woman sued the husband of one of the cast members for slander.

The legal fireworks started April 13, when Brian Pontarelli, husband of “Real Housewife” star Rulla Nehme Pontarelli, sued Beth Walker of Cranston in Superior Court, alleging that she violated a confidentiality agreement in another lawsuit by “making public statements and social media posts” about facts related to the earlier lawsuit.

On Tuesday, May 5, Walker fired back, calling the confidentiality agreement illegal and unenforceable, saying that Pontarelli broke it first by talking on “Real Housewives,” and filing a countersuit saying that he made false, “defamatory and disparaging” comments on the “Real Housewives” main show, as well as during a podcast and an after-show live broadcast. She is seeking unspecified damages.

A past affair, current speculation and a national audience feed lawsuit

Walker particularly identifies the April 26 episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” when host Andy Cohen brings back stars from the show, which was taped last year, for further discussion. In this episode, Brian and Rulla talk about how their marriage has survived his cheating with another woman.

One of the subplots of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” which is midway through its first season, is whether or not the affair Brian had is still ongoing. Texts and social media posts by an unnamed woman, whom the cast refers to as “the mistress,” feature in several episodes.

What Beth Walker has to say

Reached by The Providence Journal on Wednesday afternoon, May 6, Walker’s lawyer, Frank L. Orabona Jr., said that she can’t tell her side of the story right now.

“A public narrative has been created around my client, but narrative and facts are not always the same thing,” Orabona said. “As this unfolds, the evidence will tell a very different story.”

Post-show discussion and podcast fuel drama in court

In the April 26 “Watch What Happens Live” episode, in which Walker’s suit says Pontarelli “discussed a romantic relationship … in a defamatory and disparaging manner,” Rulla and Brian talk about his affair with “the mistress,” also referring to her as “the cockroach.”

Walker’s Tuesday filing also served as her answer to Pontarelli’s suit, and she asked the court to toss his claim based on 16 separate grounds.

Among other things, Walker’s filing says:

• “Walker’s speech relates to topics of public concern being discussed weekly to a nationwide audience of millions of viewers.”
• “Any comments made by Walker were truthful, not disparaging, related to matters in the public domain and/or were made in good faith.”
• “As a result of the national publicity of the show, information related to [Pontarelli’s] personal, romantic relationships is public knowledge nationally across the United States and locally in communities throughout Rhode Island; and is otherwise in the public domain.”
• “It is inequitable and unfair to allow [Pontarelli] a national platform to discuss topics to a coast-to-coast audience and prohibit Walker from speaking on the same topics and/or from correcting false information being spread by [Pontarelli] or others.”
• Prohibiting her from commenting would violate the state and federal constitutions’ guarantee of free speech.

No hearings have been scheduled in the case.

Pontarelli’s lawyer, Jessica L. Basso, declined to comment on the case.

This story has been updated with new information.