Four seasons into Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” Meredith Marks is reminding herself to accept people for who they are.
After two tumultuous seasons surrounding the legal woes of Jen Shah, Season Four offers a refreshed look at life in Salt Lake City, as the ladies navigate the fallout of Jen’s departure from the group.
In 2021, as the group was about to leave for a cast trip during filming for Season Two of "RHOSLC," Jen received a call and left the scene as she said her husband was having a medical emergency. Several minutes later, police and Homeland Security agents arrived to the filming location looking for Jen, and soon after, she was arrested for conspiracy related to allegations of wire fraud and a telemarketing scheme.
After previously pleading not guilty to fraud in April 2021, in July 2022, Jen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after federal prosecutors said she was “a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims.” She was later sentenced to 78 months in prison and reported to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas on Feb. 17, 2023, to begin her sentence.
For Season Four of "RHOSLC," OGs Heather Gay, Whitney Rose and Lisa Barlow return with Meredith as full-time “Housewives,” as well as Angie Katsanevas, who was promoted from “friend of” the cast to full-time housewife for Season Four.
Mary M. Cosby returns as a “friend of” the cast after one season away, and Monica Garcia joins as “Housewife” — with quite the interesting connection to former “‘Wife” Jen Shah.
With Episode One out for viewers to see, TODAY.com has Meredith’s first take on all that went down during the premiere — and all that’s going on in her life.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
You’re coming off a weekend in Fire Island Pines: I saw you DJing at a party on Instagram! What was that experience like?
It was incredible. I have to say, there’s nowhere in this world like Fire Island. I’ve always wanted to go, but I’ve never been invited. I felt like it was something I should be invited to, not just show up. So I was invited to do a show there, an appearance there, and it was a lot of fun. There’s nothing like it, it’s like summer camp. It’s very cool. After the show, we went out, and I got the chance to be a DJ for a second.
You pride yourself on being a strong ally for the LGBTQIA+ community. In this stage of your life, why is that so important for you?
The easiest, obvious answer would be because of my son being part of the LGBTQ community. But the reality of the matter is it’s something that I’ve always been a supporter of. Since I was 16 years old, my best friend was Marcellas Reynolds, who you may or may not know, from “Big Brother.” I have a ton of friends in the community. It’s about equality, and it’s the same thing as supporting women’s rights. In my view, why wouldn’t I support? It would be crazy not to.
Let’s jump into Season Four of “RHOSLC.” Things start to progress between you and Lisa in Episode One. Is it easy for you two to get back on track, or are there bumps along the way?
There’s always going to be bumps in any relationship. Nothing is ever perfectly smooth sailing. I can say that we were in a better space than we were the year prior.
Outside of her personality, how does Jen not being on the cast change the show?
That’s a hard question, because you took away the big personality, which, quite frankly, is what everybody sees. The first thing is that she’s a big presence. So it’s interesting, because everybody in our circle fulfills a different role, so to speak. Everyone is very, very different. We are all extraordinarily different people with different views on the world, different morals, different everything, so any one of us not being there is going to change the dynamic. We saw the dynamic change with Mary gone last season, and now she’s back. ... It’s hard to know what to attribute to Jen being there versus Jen not being there.
Have you heard from Jen since you taped your confessional saying you hadn’t heard from her?
I have not heard from Jen herself. I’ve had messages through other people Jen’s in touch with coming to me.
The premiere included a bombshell about Monica being a witness in Jen’s legal case. Were you shocked to find that out? Or did you already know that prior to meeting her while filming?
I did not know that. I knew very little about Monica to be quite honest. Prior to the show, I knew that she was Jen’s assistant, and I had never met her. I had one conversation with her once when Lisa was upset about something and called me and tried to conference Jen. Monica answered the phone and said she was taking notes for Jen. It was unusual.
From the looks of the Season Four trailer, Monica seems to push gossip along in the group. Would you say she’s the “bone carrier” this season?
Yes and no. To some extent, yes. And to another, maybe not so much. Part of this, too, and this is an inherent issue with not just Monica, but a lot of women on the cast, is that they sit there and they love to try to discredit Jen based on her actions. That’s fine if that’s what you choose to do, but then you can’t flip the switch and your next statement is: “Well, Jen told me that.” Because if you don’t want to believe the stuff that you don’t want to believe, you can’t give credit to the stuff that you do want to believe.
Let’s hop over to Mary Cosby, who took a season off and now is back as a “friend of” the cast. What was it like seeing her come back and interact with the other women? Were you nervous to see how it would play out?
I was a little nervous about it, just because Mary really had not been in contact with everybody. I wanted it to go well, and I wanted Mary to want to be there. So yes, I was definitely nervous, but I was excited. I felt like she had the time and space that she needed to get to where she needed to be, and you see it all play out.
In the Season Four trailer, we see Mary again call Whitney a “bobblehead.” What was your reaction to that?
Mary and Whitney since Season Two have really had their ups and downs, and we’ll see that play out again. The saga continues.
Whitney said in Episode One that you wrap all of your stuff in plastic so you can get your security deposit back after your lease. What’s your response?
I don’t care. What’s wrong with that? So what, I rent luxury homes and live a beautiful life, so great.
You just made a cameo on “RHONY” at Erin Lichy’s anniversary party. How do you know her?
We were introduced through a mutual friend not all that long ago. So we don’t know each other that well, but I’ve had some really fun times with her. She seems absolutely spectacular.
You just launched a caviar line — what led you to want to launch that? What’s the experience been like?
I have a huge passion for caviar. It’s just incredible. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. I used to go on a caviar diet when I wanted to lose weight, and it works. (Laughs) I swear, because you can’t eat that much of it. I mean, there’s nothing better than diamonds and caviar, right?
What else is going on in your world?
Seth (Marks — Meredith's husband) and I are about to launch a podcast about relationships called “Hanging by a Thread,” and in a few months, I’ll be launching Plated by Meredith Marks, which is a fashion jewelry collection. It’s all played with no stones, which was something I’ve wanted to do for a while and just finally got around to designing and producing, so we’re getting close to that.
This year was the second time I was on the host committee for the GLAAD Awards, so you’ll see a little bit of that, and muscular dystrophy became a very important issue for me this season when I found out that a dear friend of mine’s grandchildren both were diagnosed with it. That was just a very near and dear thing.
What’s new with your children?
Brooks just launched his pants. They’re a collaboration with Friendly Blues, and it’s a unisex panel pant that comes in three colors. I’ve been wearing mine incessantly. They’re fun, they’re easy, they’re casual to moderately dressy, and I think everybody should buy a pair.
What’s it like seeing Brooks shine in the fashion world?
To me, as a mother, all you want to do is see your children thriving. I think we all know, a few years back he had a bit of a bumpy road. I’ve seen him just come out of that and just be on such an upward trajectory. So I couldn’t be happier. My daughter, Chloe, graduated this year, so she’s taking her first steps forward. She’s moving to New York, and I’m really excited for her.
As Season Four gets started, what’s your biggest takeaway from the latest era of your life that we’re about to see play out?
When people show you who they are, just accept it and move on. Note it, and move on.
"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
(Bravo and Peacock are part of our parent company, NBCUniversal).
