Ashley Iaconetti is addressing one of the biggest things fans have noticed about her first season on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.
While appearing on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio with Danny Murphy and Evan Real, Ashley opened up about her frequent crying on the show and why certain situations made her so emotional while filming.
The Bachelor alum has been known for wearing her emotions on her sleeve, but even Ashley admits she cried a lot during her first season in the Housewives universe.
Danny brought up a conversation he had with Dolores Catania before the season started, where Dolores said she told Ashley not to cry as much.
Iaconetti responded, “Yeah. I’m like actually, I like am pretty unapologetic about myself, but like I’m sorry to everyone for the amount that I cried. I don’t think I’ll cry as much in the next season if I’m invited back. Because I feel like I was just crying out of like being uncomfortable a lot because when I’m uncomfortable or having to like describe myself then I’ll cry.”
Ashley also reacted to one specific RHORI moment that quickly became a fan favorite, when she cried at the masquerade dinner because she did not have a reason to cry.
Evan called the moment “Housewives cannon,” while Danny called it “anxiety cannon.”
Iaconetti then explained that fans online had actually connected the moment to anxiety, which resonated with her.
“Somebody told me that. Well, I saw something on the internet that was like that’s actually an anxiety trigger. like she has and like there is like I have like an anxiety OCD thing, you know, thing where it’s just like I’ll go down like the, I used to be I used to be in fourth grade and I would cry when my mom would be like 5 minutes late to pick me up because I thought that she had got in a car crash on the way to school and stuff like that,” Ashley said.
She continued, “So, and then with babysitters or even today like if my mom doesn’t pick up the phone and it’s been, you know, I’ll try her a few times and it’s been a few minutes, I’m like, she fell down the stairs, she’s dead. You know, I do that.”
Ashley said that kind of spiraling still happens for her today, especially when she feels anxious or unsure.
Danny described it as “script writing in your head,” and Ashley agreed.
“Yeah, but I’m not excusing that,” Ashley said.
Ashley also explained that part of her discomfort came from not wanting to insert herself into the other women’s long histories and complicated dynamics too quickly.
“You guys, I said to them, I go, ‘I really feel like it’s inappropriate of me to even share anything because I know your histories and this is just I just want to be here to listen,’” Ashley said.
Ashley’s emotional reactions have become part of her RHORI storyline, but her latest comments give more context to why she was so overwhelmed during filming. She came into the group only knowing Rosie DiMare and was suddenly surrounded by years of unresolved drama, complicated friendships, and explosive arguments.
While Ashley says she is not making excuses, she is hoping that if she returns for another season, viewers may see a different side of her now that she knows the women better.
And according to Ashley, the tears may still come, but maybe not quite as often.
