BIG news! Kelsey officially ended things with her boyfriend, and she is moving on, without his house staff — the horror! Alicia and Liz have decided to host a trip on this episode of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, and everyone is looking forward to fun times ahead. But when Rosie gets a backhanded comment from Kelsey, things get heated. Is Kelsey projecting to keep the heat off of her life?
Liz phones Kelsey to check in post-breakup, and Kelsey shares that the relationship simply ran its course. Her boyfriend could give her nothing more and actually agreed that Kelsey was making the right decision by moving on. He did not even fight it! But now, Kelsey is in for a wake-up call, losing that life of luxury.
Liz and Alicia are setting up a Newport trip to the LARGEST privately owned mansion, mind you. Rosie is psyched for the trip and feels like she saved herself at Polo. She is now good with everyone but Kelsey; however, she is not as anxious because she is now comfortable with the others. Rosie claims she is shy and awkward, which might have gotten her in trouble, but at least she is her authentic self, unlike Jo-Ellen.
Jo-Ellen is shopping with her sister for Newport, and they discuss the death of their 100-year-old grandfather. Losing her grandfather brings up feelings and emotions about Jo-Ellen’s childhood, especially the relationship with her mother. Jo-Ellen feels like her mom favors her sister and that she never had a motherly bond with her. Jo-Ellen wonders why her mom can’t show love, and so she has distanced herself. She finds it hard to forgive her mom for her childhood and leans on her husband for the love and affection she has always been seeking. Jo-Ellen has tried to talk to her mom about her feelings, but at least she stopped the cycle with her own children.
Kelsey is busy packing up at her ex’s, and it is a terrifying thought for her. She was 20 years old when she moved into this mansion, and this is her first time being solo. Liz is there to help support her, and she gives Kelsey a small compass to show how proud she is of her. It’s time for Kelsey to “be an adult” and dive into hair and makeup to help support herself.
Alicia refers to Newport as “iconic,” but will not drive there, so Liz set up some vintage Rolls-Royces so they can arrive in style. No one has heard from Rulla, and so they take off and head on their way. Liz gives us the historical background on the castle they will be staying in — it’s a friend of a friend’s home — and Alicia wonders how Kelsey is coping. Since Kelsey is going through major life changes, she is really looking forward to this trip.
Alicia calls Rulla, who does not answer. Once Liz and Alicia arrive at the castle, they get a tour of the 29 bedrooms and pick their spots. There are two butlers, and so Kelsey will feel right at home with this service. When it comes to her room choice, she is purposely picking the one furthest from Kelsey.
Alicia explains that the girls need to put on cute tea-party outfits so they can have a doll lunch. That’s right, a doll lunch. Alicia brought her dolls along so the ladies could pick the one that spoke to them. According to Alicia, you can tell a lot about a person based on the doll they pick.
As Kelsey curls Jo-Ellen’s hair, she shares how she now needs to figure out adulthood. Bills, mortgage payments — what are these things?
Rosie has some bangs for the luncheon, and Jo-Ellen claims she looks like a stripper. Brutal. The dolls are on full display, and Alicia is happier than I’ve seen her all season. According to Jo-Ellen, “The way Alicia likes dolls is the way I like Botox.”
They still have not heard from Rulla, and at this point, it’s getting rude. Alicia feels like she does not want to hear anything more about her marriage, and Liz points out that she thinks Rulla questions Jo-Ellen’s motives.
Liz lets the group know that they have a little while before the black-tie dinner, and during the downtime, Alicia whips out her metal detector to hunt for some jewels. She is the gift that keeps on giving. In the meantime, Liz is planning this masquerade dinner. She has the butler deliver masks that represent everyone’s personalities. The women are directed to wear the mask to the ball so they can reveal their true selves.
Liz dons a wolf mask because she is trying to portray that she is not the wolf in sheep’s clothing; rather, she is the sheep in wolf’s clothing. She wants the women to share a side that others do not know. Jo-Ellen opens up first and explains that her mom sent her away to a behavioral program in high school, and she admits that she is not the one who starts things; she is the one who continues them. Liz shares that she has had “an incredible loss at a young age,” and so she has abandonment issues. Liz claims that she is hard to get to know because of this.
Ashley talks about her fear of what’s to come and gets highly emotional, which just confuses everyone. Rosie states that she is actually shy in real life. Now, she is working on showing her genuine self. Kelsey is sensitive about her relationship, and she speaks about her breakup with her “sugar daddy,” according to Rosie. Rosie is not surprised by Kelsey’s move, considering Kelsey has spoken about her relationships with others.
Kelsey’s ex still pays for things like her health and car insurance. She is getting a place of her own, and her ex even agreed to pay the rent until she gets on her feet. Kelsey explains this is the least he can do, considering this is like a divorce.
Alicia talks of the dark things that no kid can see, and from what she remembers, her dad left her homeless. Liz points out that Alicia is stretching it, and she was never truly homeless. Her grandparents took her in. Alicia realizes that Liz is trying to protect her family, but she should not diminish what she went through as a child.
Kelsey states that she is happy Rosie is actually telling the truth, and it’s refreshing to see her being honest. Holy backhanded comment. Kelsey claims that her pageant background helps her find BS girls, and Rosie is one of them. But really, who is Rosemary? Ashley jumps to Rosie’s defense, particularly because they JUST had a conversation about Ashley sticking up for her more. Kelsey explains that she has felt an “ingenuineness” from Rosie.
Rosie is confused by Kelsey’s comments and is sharing her feelings with Ashley post-dinner. She is venting behind closed doors, but Kelsey is listening to Rosie NOW, getting into it, slinking out of confrontation. Kelsey barges into the room and demands to know what is going on, shocking both Ashley and Rosie.
Ashley takes the lead, but Kelsey does not think she made a back-handed comment. Kelsey points out that Rosie is not being completely honest with the group (i.e., her house and getting fired from her job). Kelsey claims that Rosie exaggerates things, but the way that Kelsey is delivering the accusations is aggressive. Kelsey does not believe a word that comes out of Rosie’s mouth, and she is discrediting everything in Rosie’s life. Rosie does, however, point out that Kelsey is coming for her marriage (that Kelsey does not have), her house (that Kelsey does not have), and her job (that Kelsey does not have). It’s a lot easier to project things onto Rosie instead of everyone talking about what’s really going on in Kelsey’s life…
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RHORI EPISODE?