Ashley Iaconetti isn’t too worried about The Real Housewives of Rhode Island impacting her relationship with husband Jared Haibon.
“I know that since we’ve been through the spotlight together, that neither of us are going to feel affected by it,” Ashley, 38, told Us Weekly exclusively during the RHORI cast’s first interviews. “We have been under the spotlight together. This isn’t going to be a new thing.”
She added, “I just think that’s nice that we’re not gonna have a new thing thrown at our relationship.”
Ashley explained that she and Jared, both Bachelor Nation alums, have already experienced “the struggles” of putting their relationship under a microscope on a reality show.
“We, honestly, know how to navigate it pretty well. It’s our foundation,” Ashley explained. “I would say we, kind of, know how this is gonna go. We know we have our priorities in line, for sure.”
Ashley and Jared, 37, wed in August 2019 after they experienced a series of ups and downs on two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise. The two have since relocated to Rhode Island, where they live with sons Dawson, 4, and Hayden, 20 months.
“We’re very grateful for having previous experience when jumping into this. I cannot imagine starting to get a spotlight on me in my late 30s,” Ashley explained to Us. “We’re really super grateful we’ve had [a] background in it.”
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The RHORI trailer teased an inside look at aspects of Ashley and Jared’s marriage that Bachelor Nation fans haven’t seen before — including the financial aspect of their business Audrey’s Coffee House & Lounge.
“It’s our real life. Audrey’s, ever since it opened, it’s been such a work of love for Jared and so many hours get put into that place. He’s really grateful he did it,” she explained, noting there are always questions about renewing the lease. “It’s always a debate on whether it’s worth keeping because it’s really about his happiness.”
When it came to being so honest on the show, Ashley said she and Jared knew doing RHORI was “too good of an opportunity” to skip out on.
Newcomer Jo-Ellen Tiberi, meanwhile, had in-depth conversations with husband Gary Tiberi about signing on for RHORI.
“Gary and I talked a lot about our family. That’s our No. 1 focus,” she explained, telling Us that their “biggest concern” was with their 11-year-old son and “if anyone was going to tease him.” (The couple are also parents to a 4-year-old and 18-month-old.)
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“I want to protect my kids. That was probably our biggest thing,” she said. “Gary and I have known each other since we were in high school. We know everything about each other. He knows the good, he knows the bad. I do, too. So if my husband loves me and my friends, it’s not going to change anything.”
Rosie DiMare told Us that, looking back, she should have had more discussions with husband Rich DiMare about the show.
“We didn’t have any boundaries going into it, and I kind of wish that we had,” she said. “We should probably talk about that if we’re going to do [another] season.”
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island premieres on Bravo Thursday, April 2, with a second episode premiering on Sunday, April 5. New episodes will be released on Sundays, streaming via Peacock the following day.
For more from the RHORI cast, pick up this week’s issue of Us Weekly.
