‘Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ husband has charges dropped

CRANSTON, R.I. — The misdemeanor case involving the husband of a Real Housewives of Rhode Island cast member has been formally dismissed.

Brian Pontarelli had been accused by Rhode Island State Police in early October of secretly placing a tracking device inside his wife’s vehicle. On October 3, Rulla Pontarelli visited a state police barracks after becoming concerned she was being monitored, and investigators later located a device in her car.

Rulla Pontarelli is part of the upcoming Bravo series Real Housewives of Rhode Island, expected to debut in 2026. Her husband, a North Providence podiatrist who also operates a medical spa, was charged under the state’s domestic violence statute.

Court documents indicate the case was dropped on Monday, the same day a pretrial conference had been scheduled after the complaining witness did not wish to proceed.

A separate no-contact order filed by Rulla Pontarelli was lifted several weeks ago.

Another legal matter involving Brian Pontarelli surfaced in late October, when a licensed practitioner took legal action against Pontarelli, his medical spa, and one of its employees. In her complaint, she said that she and Pontarelli, along with a third partner, teamed up in 2023 to launch and run RI Aesthetics in North Providence.

The lawsuit alleges the partnership quickly broke down, accusing the defendants of failing to honor their business agreement and creating an environment where proper medical spa protocols were repeatedly ignored. The plaintiff claims she had to continually protect her professional license due to the ongoing issues.

She also asserts the business owes her more than $100,000.