Scott D. Pierce: Ex-’Real Housewives of SLC’ cast member thinks Jen Shah will return — eventually

Angie Harrington said she has no regrets about her time on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” although she will admit to some frustrations. And some of those frustrations were the result of her disputes with Jen Shah.

Angie — who has decided to quit the show to care for her 4-year-old autistic son, Hart — had more than her share of fights with Jen. Like when it was revealed that Angie’s husband, Chris, was behind a fake Instagram account that trolled both Jen and Lisa Barlow.

Of course, it’s also true that Jen was such a big personality that she often dominated the show, squeezing out not only Housewives “friends” (Angie Harrington, Angie Katsanevas and Danna Bui-Negrete) but full-time cast members Barlow, Heather Gay, Meredith Marks and Whitney Rose — both before and after she was arrested on federal fraud charges.

“When you have something as big as the Jen Shah arrest, of course it’s going to go heavy on that stuff,” Harrington said, “and then you don’t get to see the multifaceted sides of some of the other cast members.”

Jen’s false assertions of innocence made it tough on fellow cast members.

“It was a challenge,” Harrington said. “because she would look you in the eyes and tell you she was innocent. And you want to believe people, especially if you have a personal relationship with them.”

It wasn’t just the other cast members (and viewers) to whom Jen was lying. She strongly and emotionally declared her innocence to her husband and her mother.

Harrington said she wishes both Jen and her victims — who number in the thousands — only the best. “My hope for her is that this process will refine her,” she said, “and that everyone will get their restitution.”

(In addition to 78 months in prison, Jen was ordered to pay more than $6.6 million in restitution.)

Angie said she isn’t thinking that she’ll ever return to “RHOSLC,” but she thinks that — if the show is still on the air when Jen gets out of prison, which could be as soon as August 2028 — producers will welcome her back.

“They’d be stupid not to, because she’s great television,” she said.

No regrets

Although her time on “Real Housewives” was “challenging,” Angie said she has no regrets.

“I think life kind of puts you on the path you’re supposed to be on,” she said, “and I’ve learned so many valuable lessons. Like who I can and can’t trust. And I’ve learned my weaknesses. I’ve learned other people’s weaknesses.”

Watching herself on the show was eye-opening.

“That show is like a mirror. You have to stare yourself in the face and go, ‘Oh my gosh, l can see what I need to work on,” Angie said. “Because so many of us are delusional about that.”

And the producers of “Real Housewives” are “pretty good at picking delusional people,” she said with a laugh. “There’s a formula, for sure.”

They hate each other

I’ve long believed that various “RHOSLC” cast members would never be in the same room together again if they weren’t contractually obligated to do so, and Angie confirmed that.

“The show forces you to see these people all the time,” she said. “It’s like there are six people in your world, and you have to figure out how to get along with them.”

More than one cast member has told me that the show is real, but with a caveat. The producers force cast members together at dinners, parties and outings, but the women insist that what happens there is genuine. Often genuinely bad, when arguments break out.

And disagreements that would be minor in real life become major blow-outs on the show.

“In life, you let bygones be bygones,” Angie said. “On the show, you have to address it … and it makes things dramatic.”

Remember, it’s TV

When I watched Angie Harrington on “RHOSLC,” I didn’t much care for her. But in the past four months, I’ve interviewed her twice. Once on the phone, and once in person. And I like her.

In our most recent interview, she brought me up short. I told her that two different people have accused me of taking bribes from Bravo to write so often about “RHOSLC,” and how weird that false accusation is.

“Well, now you know what it’s like when people misjudge you,” she said. “It’s, like, really? You came up with this out of what?”

She made an excellent point.

And, she added, it is “interesting what can be done with television — with how events are edited. … And it feels great to have my voice back fully.”

Being on the show, she said, “taught me a lot about — don’t put yourself in a position where you can’t say your truth.”

By the way, I write a lot about “RHOSLC” because it’s an assignment from my bosses. Not that I disagree. Judging by readership, the series is of interest to a great many people.

Will she keep watching?

Since Season 3 of “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” ended and Angie decided not to return, she hasn’t watched a single episode of any of the shows in the franchise.

“Not because I disagree with what they’re doing or anything,” she said. “I just think I have a little PTSD.”

But she’s “sure” that when Season 4 of “RHOSLC” starts airing, she’ll be watching. “I’ve got to support my friends, right?”

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