Jen Shah Breaks Silence on Her Fraud Crimes After Release From Prison
Not all of Jen Shah's relationships with her former costars became icy.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum revealed where she stands with the cast in her first interview since being released from prison after serving three of her initially six-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
As Jen noted, Meredith Marks and husband Seth Marks were there for Jen's husband Sharrieff "Coach" Shah while she was away.
"Meredith has been somebody that has been consistent throughout this whole journey," Jen told People in an interview published April 2. "While I was gone, she and Seth would reach out to Coach and just check in and send their love."
"So yeah, we've talked," she added. "I called her while I was gone and I spoke with her when I got home."
While she seemingly hasn't been in direct contact with any of her other former RHOSLC costars, the 52-year-old did share that she reached out to Mary Cosby following the death of her son Robert Cosby Jr. at the age of 23 back in February.
"I felt like that was the respectful thing to do," Jen shared, " so I mailed her a card and just told her how deeply sorry that I was to hear about the passing of Robert Jr., and that she's in my family's prayers every day."
She went on to explain that she viewed any past drama that she and Mary had on Housewives as water under the bridge and wanted her to know she still cared about her, especially at such a difficult moment in her life.
Instagram/Jen Shah
"I wanted to write to her and let her know that even though I hadn't talked to her obviously for a few years while I've been gone, that I care about her," Jen said, "especially right now, what she's going through."
"And I chose to reach out privately because I didn't want to be a distraction. I wanted it to remain about what Mary was going through and about her son and honoring his memory."
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As for Lisa Barlow, while Jen hasn't been in touch with her for a while, she does have some hope that their friendship could fall back into place at some point in the future.
"Gosh, it's so funny when you go through something like this that puts things in perspective," she reflected. "I don't even remember where we ended or the fights or whatever. Lisa Barlow is somebody that I'm sure I could pick up where I left off with her and talk to her."
And Jen feels the same hope for her friendships with other women on the cast like Heather Gay, Whitney Rose and Angie Katsanevas. On whether or not she thinks they'd be receptive to her reaching out to them, she said, "I would hope so. I would hope for that."
While Jen is no longer on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, she certainly made her mark during her time on the show. Keep reading to see where she ranks in the list of all-time Real Housewives...
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167-170. The Real Housewives of D.C.
Bravo's ill-fated attempt at highlighting our nation's capital brought together four women so forgettable you'd be forgiven for erasing them from your memory—though their names are Mary Amons, Lynda Erkiletian, Cat Ommanney and Stacie Scott Turner—and one so desperate for fame that she gate-crashed a party at the White House. More on her later.
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166. Kimberly Bryant, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Who?
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165. Tammy Knickerbocker, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Vaguely familiar, but...
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164. DeShawn Snow, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Once upon a time, DeShawn starred on the same TV show as NeNe Leakes. Surprising, we know.
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163. Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, The Real Housewives of Orange County
This one-season Housewife brought nothing to the Orange County table.
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162. Jennie Nguyen, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Utah's newest season two Housewife went out with a bang (and not in a good way). In January 2022, Jennie was fired after "offensive" and racially insensitive old Facebook posts resurfaced online. Jennie later apologized but the damage was done.
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161. Quinn Fry, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Her defining trait was "cougar."
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160. Jen Armstrong, The Real Housewives of Orange County
The Orange County doctor was never a source of drama during season 16 and her brief marriage troubles with eternally shirtless husband Ryne (or Ryan?) were less than riveting. However, we will never forget Dr. Jen getting absolutely wasted on wine during the Dubrows' insanely awkward—yet wildly entertaining—dinner party.
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159: Annemarie Wiley, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
The nurse anesthetist's flop first season can be summed up in one cringe-worthy word we hope we never hear again: Esophagus-gate.
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158. Katie Rost, The Real Housewives of Potomac
Katie loved to talk about her charity work, but...didn't do much else on screen. She was one and done, only to come back and not contribute much as a friend. Leaving the cast trip early? A Housewives no-no.
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157. Charrisse Jackson Jordan, The Real Housewives of Potomac
Her marriage problems were on full display the two seasons she was a full-time Housewife...that and her champagne room are the two memorable things about Charrisse.
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156. Shamari DeVoe, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
A one-and-done Housewife, Shamari was at least fun?
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155. Peggy Sulahian, The Real Housewives of Orange County
While it was nice to see some diversity in the lily-white O.C., Peggy ultimately proved to be a frustrating presence in season 12. The fights she chose to pick were bizarre, and often involving someone using a word she simply didn't understand, and her decision to simply hide out in her room for an entire day during the trip to Iceland proved that she wasn't really cut out for this Real Housewives life.
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154. Nneka Ihim, The Real Housewives of Potomac
Instead of bonding with fellow Nigerian costar Wendy Osefo during season eight, Nneka's first season storyline centered entirely around her allegedly accusing Wendy's mom of being a witch (yes, seriously). We wish we could have seen the two bond over their shared culture rather than fighting with no resolve.
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153. Noella Bergener, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Noella spun through season 16 like a tornado of frantic energy. While her personal struggles were somewhat compelling (her husband James up and left the country and asked for a divorce right before filming started), it was her constant drama with queen bee Heather Dubrow that helped her not land completely at the bottom of the list. Maybe with more time and another season, we'll warm up to Mrs. Bergener.
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152. Siggy Flicker, The Real Housewives of New Jersey
From peacekeeper in her first season to unrelenting complaints about a thrown cake and unfounded claims of anti-Semitism in her second (and last) season, we're not sure we've ever seen a quicker Real Housewives fall from grace than this one.
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151. Amber Marchese, RHONJ
Everything Amber and her husband Jim did seemed to reek of desperation. Plus, he was involved in more of the drama than she was. Not a good look.
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150. Karent Sierra, The Real Housewives of Miami
All we remember about Karent is that she was a dentist and none of her co-stars seemed to like her at all. Next!
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149. Cristy Rice,The Real Housewives of Miami
This was a real person with a show on Bravo. We promise.
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148. Jules Wainstein, The Real Housewives of New York City
As one of RHONY's more recent one-and-dones, Jules' tenure was too brief to rank any higher. However, she sure did deliver her fair share of drama.
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147: Amanda Francis, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Hate is a strong word, but it's hard to remember anyone who was as swiftly disliked by Bravo fans as RHOBH's season 15 newbie Amanda Francis.
The author, financial advisor and self-professed "Money Queen" rubbed not only her castmates the wrong way, audiences were also put off by Amanda's obsession with material things and questionable career advise.
But it was her refusal to engage in any sort of confrontation with her castmates that truly signaled she wasn't made out to be a Housewife. It's a hard job, and not everybody is meant to do it.
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145-146. Teresa Aprea and Nicole Napolitano, RHONJ
So unnecessary they couldn't even get individual taglines.
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144. Nina Ali, The Real Housewives of Dubai
Much like co-star Sara Al Madani, Nina exemplified a multidimensional, successful Arab woman who is blending modern life with centuries-old cultural traditions. She avoided most of the season one drama and was sometimes overshadowed by her co-stars' bigger, louder personalities.
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143. Taleen Marie, The Real Housewives of Dubai
Taleen was a nice addition to RHODubai's sophomore season, but we only have one season to judge her on.
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142: Angel Massie, The Real Housewives of Potomac
To say Angel failed spectacularly at being a Housewife would be an understatement. With one miss after another, the WAG and wife of retired NFL star Bobby Massie fumbled her way through season 10 as her more seasoned and shadier costars relished in her unsuccessful attempts to fit into the friend group.
Despite her shortcomings, it is pretty epic that her Colorado glamping excursion ended with the cast lost in the wilderness and eating fast food from a roadside gas station.
Definitely a first for the Housewives.
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141. Eva Marcille, RHOA
The America's Next Top Model veteran picked up a peach for seasons 11 and 12, but never really made an impression in the world of RHOA, aside from being pregnant for what felt like her entire tenure. Points for that epic read of Marlo Hampton while in Tokyo, though.
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140. Katie Ginella, The Real Housewives of Orange County
Per usual, we typically need to see more than one season to place a first-time Housewife higher on our list. But Katie came in swinging during RHOC's 18th season, immediately going up against veteran Housewife Heather Dubrow. It takes a brave woman to call B.S. on Ms. Fancypants.
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139. Stephanie Shojaee, The Real Housewives of Miami
We'll be honest: Stephanie is not our cup of tea. While her vast wealth had the makings of a great Housewife, the fact that she continuously used her private jet as leverage to hold power over her new costars during season seven left an icky raste in our mouth.
Maybe Steph can redeem herself if she returns for season eight.
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138. Sara Al Madani, The Real Housewives of Dubai
Sara's positive, enlightened outlook on life was certainly pleasant, but didn't provide for much drama (besides that one time she offered co-star Caroline Brooks some not-so-well received parenting advice). However, the tech entrepreneur shattered stereotypes of what it means to be a modern Muslim woman in the Middle East and for that we applaud her.
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136-137. Rachel Fuda & Danielle Cabral, The Real Housewives of New Jersey
RHONJ's season 13 newbies certainly fit the mold of your typical Garden State Housewife and quickly found themselves in a season-long fight over literally nothing that Andy Cohen deemed pointless at the reunion. The former friends unfortunately didn't bring much more substance during season 14.
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