Meredith Marks is weighing in on Heather Gay and Jen Shah‘s once-close friendship.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star joined actor Adam Pally and host Andy Cohen in the Bravo Clubhouse for Wednesday night’s episode of the Watch What Happens Live: After Show, where one virtual fan asked whether Gay has displayed more “blind loyalty” to Shah or Lisa Barlow.
“I mean, Jen Shah,” Marks responded without much hesitation. “I don’t think her loyalty to Lisa has been blind loyalty. They had conflict for years.”
Gay spent years serving as Shah’s ride-or-die friend. Not only did she believe Shah was innocent amid her legal troubles, but she also refused to name her as the alleged cause of her black eye in The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 3.
However, Shah’s guilty conviction put a damper on their friendship. In 2023, Shah was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud surrounding her involvement in a telemarketing scheme that targeted elderly people.
“I was labeled ride-or-die because I had a friend that was looking at me and telling me she was innocent,” Gay told Us Weekly shortly after Shah’s sentencing. “Now my focus is on the victims and her family and the collateral damage of this crime that she perpetuated and admitted to perpetuating. And I just hope that everyone can be made whole.”
Gay also revealed during the Season 4 finale that Shah was the one who allegedly gave her a black eye the year before. However, Shah vehemently denied the accusation in a statement released from prison.
Shah’s prison sentence was recently reduced for the second time, making her new projected release date Dec. 19, 2027.
Barlow, for her part, told Entertainment Tonight whether she could ever imagine Shah returning to the hit franchise.
“Anything can happen,” she said. “Like anything can happen. I mean, I feel like she did so much damage, it would be a liability. But, I mean, I’m not the one that makes those decisions. She did tell me and Meredith that she would love to reconnect with us when she is out of prison.”
Watch What Happens Live airs Sunday through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
