The most interesting thing in Part 1 of the Season 3 reunion of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” was the preview for Part 2 — when at least one of the Housewives suggests that Jen Shah pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges to cover for her husband, University of Utah assistant football coach Sharrieff Shah.
In the preview clips, host/executive producer Andy Cohen says, “There was speculation that she pled guilty to keep Coach from being implicated.” Whitney Rose says, “If that was true, it makes sense.” Andy asks if Sharrieff is “letting [Jen] take the fall.” Whitney replies, “Possibly.” (Heather also speculated about Sharrieff’s possible guilt in the previous episode.)
(Seth Wenig | AP) Jennifer Shah leaves federal court in New York, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. A judge has sentenced the member of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" to 6 1/2 years in prison for helping to defraud thousands of people nationwide in a telemarketing scam. Shah, who sobbed Friday as she apologized for her crimes prior to the announcement of the sentence in a New York courtroom, admitted her guilt last July.
To be clear, there is nothing in the court documents hinting at Sharrieff being involved in Jen’s crimes.
Jen isn’t there
Andy says that Jen was invited, “But, unfortunately, her legal team advised her not to come today as her sentencing has yet to occur.” (The reunion was taped in December; Jen was sentenced to 78 months in prison on Jan. 6.)
Lisa vs. Meredith
Former BFFs Lisa Barlow and Meredith Marks continue to hurl accusations at each other. Meredith suggests that “at a minimum, it would be nice to ... treat each other with respect with kindness, and, you know, be cordial and see where it goes.” Lisa says she “never thought it would get to this point where it was so ugly.”
(Charles Sykes | Bravo) Angie Harrington, Meredith Marks, Heather Gay, Andy Cohen and Whitney Rose on the "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" Season 3 reunion.
Angie H.’s chutzpah
In an argument with Angie Harrington, Lisa says, “Don’t talk about my husband’s character.” Angie H. replies, “Don’t talk about MY husband’s character.” This is sort of stunning, because we already know that Chris’ character is suspect. He admitted to being behind a fake Instagram account that trolled both Lisa and Jen.
Angie K. smacked down
During an argument, Angie K. weirdly suggests that Meredith “should work in a cubicle.” (Huh?) “You apparently have zero people skills.” Meredith replies, “No, I don’t work in a cubicle and ... I have very good people skills, Angie. I haven’t been the one trying to get on this show for three years.”
We may never know about the black eye
Heather, who woke up during a group trip to San Diego trip with a black eye, scratches and bruises, finally offers an explanation for her various and conflicting statements about what happened: She doesn’t know what happened; she drank so much she blacked out; she’s embarrassed by her drunken blackout, which is why she didn’t immediately (or, even, subsequently) admit to it.
(Bravo) Somehow, Heather Gay is going to end up with a black eye on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Lisa castigates Heather for casting suspicion on other cast members and members of the crew. Andy says there is no additional footage. Heather says she wanted an investigation into what happened, then says she didn’t want an investigation. Multiple Housewives speculate that Jen hit Heather, perhaps accidentally.
Part 2 of the Season 3 reunion airs Wednesday, Feb. 1 on Bravo — 6 p.m. on Dish and DirecTV; 9 p.m. on Comcast.