Ashley Iaconetti is clearing the air after Kelsey Swanson claimed she has not made an effort with the Real Housewives of Rhode Island cast.
While appearing on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio with Danny Murphy and Evan Real, Ashley addressed Kelsey’s recent comments about her allegedly not wanting to hang out with the women outside of filming. And according to Ashley, Kelsey’s version of events is not accurate.
The Bachelor alum, who joined The Real Housewives of Rhode Island with an existing friendship with Rosie DiMare, admitted that she did not know most of the cast before filming. Because of that, Ashley said she was careful about jumping into drama that had years of history behind it.
When asked if she would be willing to yell more now that she understands the Housewives fandom better, Ashley said that is still not really who she is.
“Probably not. It’s just not really in my nature,” Ashley said. “If you see, I’m maybe a little bit more willing, well, it’s two things. I’m a little bit more willing to call it like I see it in the moment because of that, but also because I know these women now because I only knew Rosie going into it and I thought it would be absolutely out of place of me to say anything that wasn’t my place. Do you know what I mean? Like an argument that branches back years. I’m not jumping into it.”
The conversation then shifted to Kelsey, who previously suggested that Ashley does not make an effort with the group and does not respond to attempts to hang out.
Ashley immediately pushed back.
“Yo, do you want me to pull up my phone?” Ashley said.
Ashley clarified that while she has not personally reached out to Kelsey to hang out, Kelsey has also not invited her anywhere.
“Okay, so with Kelsey, to be completely honest, no, not with Kelsey. But the thing is, no, no, it goes both ways,” Ashley explained. “What I didn’t appreciate in that interview with you guys is that she made it seem like she’s been inviting me, texting me, DMing me, and then my invitations have gone declined or unresponded to, and I have not heard from her at all.”
Ashley added, “Yeah. She’s not invited me out once.”
Ashley said Kelsey did reach out to her after the interview aired and claimed she did not mean to throw shade.
“I will tell you honestly, Kelsey reached out to me recently and she said like, ‘I didn’t intend on throwing shade at you at that moment with you guys.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay,’” Ashley said.
Still, Ashley told Kelsey directly that she did not appreciate the way the situation was framed.
“But I was straightforward and I said like, ‘I was taken aback by you saying that I don’t respond to your DMs and that it made it seem like you have invited me out when you haven’t,’” Ashley said.
Ashley also made it clear that if Kelsey had invited her somewhere, she likely would have gone.
“If Kelsey invited me out the only reason that I would have, I would probably go like that’s the thing,” Ashley said. “I would probably tell Rosie.”
Ashley explained that her close friendship with Rosie makes things more complicated, but that does not mean she would refuse to get to know Kelsey.
“But also I haven’t reached out to Kelsey to hang out because I think it’s different for me to accept an invitation to hang out with my, one of my closest friends enemy than it is for me to say like, ‘Hey, she reached out to me. Let me let me go,’” Ashley explained.
After the hosts said it did not look like Ashley was leaving Kelsey on read, Ashley said, “Thank you. Like because I truly, you guys like I truly would feel bad if I had done that. I And I want to be part of this camaraderie.”
Ashley then weighed in on the explosive fight between Kelsey and Rosie, which has quickly become one of the most talked about moments of the RHORI season.
The fight reached a boiling point after months of tension between the two women. Rosie previously accused Kelsey of not being fully honest about her “kept woman” storyline, while Kelsey has made claims about Rosie’s marriage and workplace rumors. The argument ultimately ended with Rosie kicking Kelsey out of her house and calling her a “slam pig.”
Ashley said she was proud of Rosie for defending herself.
“It was intense. I am proud of, I’m proud of Rosie for sticking up for herself,” Ashley said. “It was a boiling point though moment. Of course, that wasn’t like I don’t think Rosie would ever act like that if somebody just said something and then she wouldn’t be like, it was because it was two months almost in the making. And there was a lot that you guys didn’t see that really.”
Ashley said the rumors Kelsey was repeating about Rosie would have upset her too, especially because she claims Kelsey had no proof.
“Yeah, I personally would be so ticked off by the, ‘You had an affair and everybody knows it and you had an affair with a basketball coach and you had an affair with this you person higher up at your work,’” Ashley said. “I would have been so annoyed because she has nothing to back up these claims. They’re truly rumors.”
Ashley, who has a journalism background, said she understood why Rosie wanted evidence instead of hearsay.
“And with Rosie as like the journalist, she’s like, ‘I need you to submit me paperwork. Where’s your research on this?’” Ashley said. “All you’re saying that rumors are proof and the thing is and I have a journalism background too. You can’t just rumors are not proof. Where’s your proof? We need to play lawyer here. We need to play journalist.”
Ashley’s comments add more fuel to the ongoing RHORI drama, especially as Kelsey and Rosie’s feud continues to dominate the season. While Ashley may not be the loudest person in the room, she is making it clear that she is not okay with being accused of ignoring invitations that she says never happened.
And when it comes to Rosie’s blowup with Kelsey, Ashley seems firmly Team Rosie.
