The greatest episode in Real Housewives history graced our screens this past weekend. In it, Salt Lake City finally aired Jen Shah's infamous arrest for fraud and money laundering charges – and shadily used Bourne Identity-esque music to do so. What then followed was a lot of tears and accusations flying from her Bravo co-stars. Meredith Marks had the biggest bombshell of them all, surprisingly, when she implicated Shah in a previous theft at her boutique store. Now both Marks and Shah are deeply unpacking their side of events of the alleged theft.
In case you missed the highly dramatic episode, Meredith Marks specifically alleged that she was “not surprised” one bit about he co-star's legal troubles. She relayed to the cast – save for Jen Shah who was still in jail – that her suspicions really started after an incident last year at her clothing and jewelry store in Utah. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star stated that a member of the “Shah Squad” that was rolling with her had taken a clutch handbag without paying and then brought it back after they questioned Shah on the phone about it. Marks even had text messages and security footage to seemingly back up her claims.
However, Jen Shah said on the Bravo After Show that the allegations are “ridiculous.” According to her, the store manager had said during the phone call that she must have put the clutch in her shopping bags without ringing it up. Shah said it “sounded like a mistake she made.” She continued about her co-star’s account of the story,
If that's the truth, bitch, call the police. Call 9-1-1. If someone stole from you, call 9-1-1. Or, if you think [it's] someone on my team, why wouldn't you call me? Why wouldn't you call me? Because it's bullshit. We literally were in there to support your little 200-square-foot swap meet. Okay? And I bought some things. Like I always do support you. And how are you going to twist this into someone stole something?
Likewise on Bravo's After Show, Meredith Marks reiterated her version of what went down yet again. She claimed that, at that point, she was “already very on guard” with her colleague, who has been accused of defrauding elderly and other vulnerable populations with her telemarketing business. Marks also stated:
They can't be so stupid to think that in a jewelry store, we don't have security cameras. They know we know it's missing. Obviously, we're going to pull the footage. It shows him walking out with this clutch in his hand. It was not bagged. It was not paid for. It was literally picked up, taken out of the store.
Unexpectedly, their Real Housewives of Salt Lake City co-star, Heather Gay, seemed to confirm confidence in Meredith Marks’ story, despite previously throwing support behind Jen Shah. She shared on the After Show that the alleged thief was actually a former employer of her own at Beauty Lab. Apparently, he was caught receiving tips against the company's policy from Shah before being let go. Gay continued:
But that's another cog in the wheel, you know? Of, Jen is employing people that she turned into me [for wrongdoing]... It says a lot.
The bombshell theft account is just a sliver of the gossip that erupted after the RHSLC star's arrest. Meredith Marks – who has since been speculated to be involved in tipping off the feds in the case – also claimed to have heard that Jen Shah was red-flagged by Louis Vuitton for using cash at their stores, with the implication that she was hiding her money trail. Salt Lake City castmate Whitney Rose insinuated as well that she always had her suspicions about Shah’s lavish lifestyle, although she thought that Shah must've had a sugar daddy that was not her husband.
Suffice to say, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's sophomore season is already gearing up to be even more intense than Erika Jayne’s recent Beverly Hills one. At least Erika Jayne was able to suspend her co-stars' disbelief longer than one episode… (Meredith Marks’ store is even making some profit off the whole debacle.)
