The Real Housewives of Potomac newcomer Stacey Rusch and boyfriend Thomas Anthony Jones “TJ” have a strong connection while choosing to remain celibate.
“TJ is a devout Christian, and so when we realized that we had feelings for each other and we talked about intimacy, he was very clear with where he stood in his faith,” Stacey, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the new season of RHOP. “It wasn’t, like, I was trying to change his mind.”
She added, “I’ve been married for 16 years. I was together with my husband [Thiemo Rusch]. Our lives were together for almost 18 years; we’ve lived together. I wasn’t necessarily ready to jump into the next intimate relationship either.”
Stacey and Thiemo, who share daughter Arabella, are separated but have yet to finalize their divorce. In the meantime, they have each moved on. Stacey’s relationship with TJ has been part of her RHOP season 9 story line.
Stacey further noted to Us that taking sex off the table “takes away the pressure” in their relationship.
“It just allows you to focus on what’s really important in your life,” Stacey said. “But I get that people think that’s odd. I don’t think it’s strange that people don’t believe it or think it’s odd because it is not the usual way that you would approach your relationship, but, I’m not a usual girl.”
Despite abstaining from sex, Stacey asserted that she and TJ do not “have any boundaries.”
“We’re just taking this day by day,” Stacey explained. “We know where we stand. We know what’s important to us as Christians. We know what’s important to us, him in terms of how he’s leading his life, me as a mother and what I want for my daughter now that I’m becoming divorced. We’re just trying to do the best we can. We don’t put boundaries. We don’t say, ‘Let’s not do this and that.’ We stay true to who we are individually and also as couples and try to do the best we can.”
Stacey went on to call their relationship “beautiful.”
“I’m really, really blessed,” she gushed. “I have a lot of people around me right now, who are so supportive and so good, and TJ is definitely at the top of the list.”
Stacey and TJ are not rushing their relationship, but she notes that she would “absolutely” want to get married again.
“I would love to get married again. I’m a wife, I am not a girlfriend. I’m a Housewife,” she quipped. “Let it be clear, I would love to get married again.”
While Stacey and TJ are on cloud nine, several of her new RHOP castmates questioned his intentions.
“I appreciate the concern. I feel like everyone’s like, ‘We’re concerned about you and I appreciate that, but I am OK.’ I’m better than OK,” Stacey told Us. “TJ is a successful actor. He’s fine. I don’t know what ulterior motive he could have. He’s a great guy.”
In addition to sharing her relationship with TJ on RHOP, Stacey bonded with the other Housewives while filming.
“I’m having so much fun as I’m looking at the episodes, it’s just crazy. It’s such a fun ride,” she said. “Going in, I had met a few of the ladies, so I’ve seen them socially and we sort of knew of each other, but getting to know them on a deeper level, for me, that was extraordinary. And so, although I’ve watched episodes in the past, I haven’t seen things recently because I am one of those people I hate when you meet someone and they Google you and they know everything about you, it takes away the joy and the mystique of getting to know someone.”
Stacey added, “So I didn’t want to know everything about the ladies, so I purposefully just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to put everything on pause. I know some of them socially, I have watched episodes in the past, I’m just going to go in and let it be organic and see what happens.’ So that is what I’m literally doing as I am getting to know them.”
Stacey found that most of the Bravo stars were “welcoming,” while others remained “apprehensive” about her place in the group.
The Real Housewives of Potomac airs on Bravo Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
