Throughout Season 3 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Jen Shah maintained her innocence after being accused of wire fraud and targeting the elderly, but in the Jan. 11 season finale, she shocked her co-stars by pleading guilty to the charges she was facing. In real time, we already know Jen was sentenced to six and half years in prison for her crimes, but on the show, Heather Gay and Lisa Barlow were still trying to wrap their heads around the surprising plea news.
The season initially wrapped production after Heatherâs book reveal party, but three months later, Jen traveled to NYC with Heather and Meredith Marks for some pre-trial hearings, so producers and cameras followed. It was then and there that Jen and her husband, Sharrieff, discovered who would be testifying during her trial, as well as what theyâd be saying. And apparently, it spooked Jen so much that she changed her plea from innocent to guilty. Or at least thatâs what Heather thought.
After Heather learned of Jenâs guilty plea and returned home from NYC, she met up with Lisa for lunch and they discussed what had happened. But first, they made sure to order some crab cakes, burrata and two Vida cocktails! After they placed their order, however, all talk was about Jen and her guilty plea.
âI have so many questions,â Lisa said. âIt feels so surreal. Yesterday, I felt like the gamut. I was angry, I was sad, confused, Iâm like, âWow⊠this is who she is.â This is a bad [and] awful thing sheâs done.â
And Heather agreed. âI am overwhelmed with grief. Grief that we are in this situation, that there [are] victims, that our friend is going away for a decade, and she has a 16 year old [son].â
Lisa then asked Heather, âWhen you read what she said [in her guilty plea statement], what did you feel?â
âShock,â Heather said. âWhat she pled guilty to is so bad. And that fact that sheâs taken it this far and gone for this long and proclaimed her innocence, and now â I can only think she did it and thought she was going to get away with it. And then when she realized she didnât get away with it, her story changed.â
Lisa said she âdidnât want to believe any of itâ, and Heather said Jen pleading guilty was âthe last thingâ she expected. Then, when Lisa asked Heather why she thinks Jen decided to give up on fighting the charges, she said, âThis is a theory⊠I think that Coach discovered what Jen was doing, and that it was impossible to explain away. And then in that 3500 with all the witness statements and witnesses, there was something that they could not get out of [or refute]. And it was a smoking gun that said, âOK, the gig is up. You have to walk in there. You have to say you did these things. You have to go to prison for a decade.â And Iâll tell you right now. If my husband knew about it, and my husband was involved, and he said, âThere you go, sis. Iâll take care of the boys. Iâll see you in 15 years,â that to me⊠is a whole other tragedy. I think she did it. I think she did it, and sheâs choking on the words and doesnât want to say it. Itâs too big and the penalties are too big.â
âItâs a lot,â Lisa said as tears welled up in her eyes.
Want more drama? The Season 3 reunion for RHOSLC starts next Wednesday at 8pm ET on Bravo.