‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Season 4 Reunion, Part 1 Recap: Did Monica Garcia Steal Lisa Barlow’s $60,000 Ring?
Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” Season 4 Reunion Part 1.
It’s the moment “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” fans have all been waiting for. The first installment of Season 4’s three-part reunion is here, and the ladies are ready to address all the “ruumorss” and “nastiness” after last week’s explosive finale.
Sitting down in a Bermuda-inspired set is this season’s set of housewives: Lisa Barlow, Meredith Marks, Angie Katsanevas, Whitney Rose, and sitting in the hot seats next to host and executive producer Andy Cohen are Heather Gay and “RHOSLC” newbie Monica Garcia.
Just in its first segment, the reunion traced back to the beginning of Garcia’s relationship with Jen Shah, spotlighted Barlow’s expensive missing ring and touched on the rumors surrounding Katsanevas’ husband. While tensions stayed high following the finale’s shocking reveal that Garcia was behind the troll Instagram account Reality Von(Tease), the subject was not directly addressed during the first hour.
The reunion aired Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST/PST. Here’s everything you need to know from the eventful episode.
1. None of the cast was worried about taping a season without “RHOSLC” veteran Jen Shah, except for Heather Gay
Season 4 of the “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” was the first that didn’t feature longtime cast member Jen Shah, whose absence is due to her serving a nearly seven-year prison sentence for committing wire fraud in a telemarketing scheme.
While the majority of the ladies said they weren’t worried about filming a season without their fellow housewife, Gay felt differently, saying she thought people would miss the Jen-like energy in the cast.
“I was worried that, the effect that Jen had, that people would want that type of level of, like, drama and toxicity and just craziness and that they might tune out if they didn’t see it,” Gay said. “But, we’re excited to get free of all of that. We’re excited for a chance to prove ourselves. And show our friendships without that in the mix.”
2. Lisa Barlow never found her $60,000 ring
Moving on from Jen Shah was a discussion about Lisa Barlow’s $60,000 ring —correction: $58,000 — that went missing when Barlow went to the bathroom in the airport during the group’s trip to Palm Springs. Monica Garcia ended up being accused for stealing the ring, which she insisted was not true.
In the midst of the conversation, Garcia addressed what frustrated her about Barlow’s reaction to the ring’s disappearance.
“Lisa had every right to be upset about losing her ring. What I didn’t like was that it was, ‘$60,000, $60,000, $60,000, $60,000, $60,000” Garcia said, alluding to how many times she felt Barlow mentioned the price of the jewelry.
In correcting Monica about only mentioning the price of the ring “three times,” Barlow also explained the backstory of the ring.
“Henry [my son] almost died after I had him, and [my husband] John gave me that ring because I didn’t know if we were going to be able to have more kids. I don’t know if we’re going to have another kid,” Barlow explained. “That meant more than just what I wear on my finger.”
By the end of it, Barlow shared that the “ring is gone,” she’s never found it and after Angie Katsanevas got involved in the conversation, Garcia called the Greek businesswoman a “bench-warming b—h” who lacked a storyline the entire season.
3. Monica Garcia used to be Jen Shah’s assistant, but later assisted the FBI in their investigation of Shah
As the season finale of “RHOSLC” revealed, Monica Garcia has a long history with the girls that many folks — including the housewives — didn’t know about. Garcia said she became former “RHOSLC” star Jen Shah’s assistant during the show’s first season. At the time, Garcia said she didn’t know Shah was part of the show and was merely helping Shah as a “friend,” helping her with grocery runs and keeping her on track with business meetings.
In the midst of Garcia breaking down her past relationship with Shah, Heather Gay pulled out receipts that seemingly painted Garcia as an opportunist who used Shah to get closer to the show.
“Kim Kardashian was a f—g assistant and look at that b—ch now,” Garcia was heard saying in the recording. “I can fully admit that the reason why I was an assistant and putting up with that s—t was as a stepping stone, as a learning experience.”
Garcia said she never thought she’d actually make it on “RHOSLC” but did reveal that she wrote the show’s production team saying the “show sucks,” the “ratings are s—t” and claimed it would get canceled because the cast wasn’t up to par in her opinion.
A visual of Garcia’s real email read: “Reaching out in regards to your casting call! Would love more information on what needs to be done or how to move forward. You guys need a feisty excommunicated Latina on the show immediately!! I’m your girl!”
Monica Garcia then revealed she went to the FBI about what she knew about Jen Shah’s wire fraud scheme.
“I said, ‘I have information about your case,” Garcia told host Andy Cohen after he inquired about she became an informant.
Garcia said she felt it was the “right” thing to do, and thinks the other ladies should have followed suit in reporting Shah also.
4. Monica Garcia addresses her affair with her brother-in-law
At the very beginning of the season, Garcia was extremely open about her past sexual relationships, including the one she had with her ex-husband’s brother. She called the entire situation “painful” and shared that she underwent a second Baptism from the Mormon church in an effort to cleanse her sins. Wiping away tears, Garcia described the lengthy process, which has to be approved by leaders within the church, and explained she’s been bullied online over her controversial history.
Throwing in a glimmer of support was Whitney Rose, who consoled her by sharing her own experience having an affair.
5. The “ruumorss” and “nastiness” surrounding Angie Katsanevas’ husband Shawn Trujillo
Earlier in the season, Meredith Marks alluded to there being rumors about Angie Katsanevas’ husband Shawn Trujillo while at Lisa Barlow’s no ski party. The shift between Marks and Katsanevas initially started after Katsanevas refused to leave the group’s vacation after showing up without an invitation. This led to Marks blasting Katsanevas during a conversation with Barlow.
Monica Garcia, Lisa Barlow and Whitney Rose all shared that Marks told them off-camera about Katsanevas’ husband allegedly having an affair with men, though Garcia was given much of the blame for “spreading” the claim.
During the reunion, Marks said she spewed the rumors about as way to clap back at Katsanevas. The episode ended with Garcia and Katsanevas going at eachother, with Katsanevas making a dig about Garcia allegedly spending her children’s money on nonessential items like luxury bags.
“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” Reunion Part 2 airs on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. EST/PST. Former “RHOSLC” castmate Mary Crosby joins the party.
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