Many fans of The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 9 enjoyed newbie Stacey Rusch, but they weren’t convinced by her “romance” with her supposed “best friend,” Thomas Anthony “TJ” Jones. Something about their relationship felt off. Rusch was still living with her estranged husband and co-parenting their 10-year-old daughter while waiting for her divorce to be finalized. Despite that, she began dating Jones, whom she claimed to have known for years.
Jones’ religious stance and icy behavior raised eyebrows
Jones, who presented himself as a devout Christian, chose to abstain from sex and instead focused on building intimacy in other ways. Their dates consisted of outings to the zoo and low-key at-home pizza nights. However, when Jones appeared on camera, he often seemed distant and even spoke harshly to Rusch at times.
By the time the reunion aired, Rusch revealed that she and Jones had parted ways. Watching their scenes back made her realize how poorly he had treated her. Despite their split, she insisted they remained best friends—until the reunion seemingly changed everything.
Jones’ shocking allegation: Was their romance staged?
During the reunion, Wendy Osefo’s husband, Eddie, dropped a bombshell: Jones allegedly claimed that Rusch paid him to act as her boyfriend on the show—and that she still owed him money. Despite their own issues with Jones, most of Rusch’s co-stars believed his claims. Rusch, however, vehemently denied them. Initially, she refused to believe Jones had even made the accusation—until host Andy Cohen played a recording of Jones’ FaceTime call with Eddie.
Rusch’s response: A disgruntled ex seeking revenge?
Rusch dismissed Jones’ claims, chalking them up to bitterness over not being invited to the reunion. When Cohen and her co-stars urged her to call Jones from the reunion stage to clear things up, she refused, stating that she didn’t care what people believed and had no desire to defend a lie.
Rusch confronts Jones after the reunion
During a Watch What Happens Live taping that aired after the reunion, Rusch shared that she called Jones immediately after to confront him. “He was very remorseful, he was very emotional, and it was a hard call to have,” she said.
She stood firm in denying any financial agreement with Jones. “I did not pay him. I was in a real relationship with him, and he treated me very poorly. To see him be so disrespectful and so unchristian and then do this to me at the reunion—it was jarring, quite frankly,” she added.
Looking rack, Rusch admits her co-stars were right
Rusch acknowledged that her co-stars had warned her about Jones. “It’s so obvious to me, and I hate to say this, but the ladies were right. He’s not the man for me,” she admitted. “I was looking for love, and he was in love with being in front of the camera.”
Jones hints at dropping receipts
Following the reunion, Jones took to Instagram, hinting that he had receipts to prove his claims. Whether he follows through remains to be seen—but if there’s proof, we’re sure he’ll release it.
