Jen Shah's co-stars dropped a bomb about the financial strain her legal battles have caused during part 2 of Bravo's Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion on Wednesday.
When host Andy Cohen asked Jen's "ride or die" BFF Heather Gay if she thought Jen changed her plea for her role in a telemarketing and fraud scheme from not guilty to guilty to protect her husband, she said she thinks it all came down to money.
"I really feel like it was financial and they saw something that was like, 'Listen, it's not worth rolling the dice because it's going to be so expensive and if it's not a clear win, we can't risk it," Heather, 40, said. "She said the cost of trial was astronomical. Just to get the transcripts it was $2000 a day and the cost was overwhelming."
But the biggest revelation came when Heather shared how Jen was allegedly trying to pay the bills.
"They solicited friends for money and a lot of our friends gave them money," Heather shared. "I did not give them money but I know people on this couch did."
She then clarified her comments and added, "Not right now."
Jen was arrested in March 2021 during filming for season 2 and subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering. She maintained her innocence to the ladies until shocking everyone by entering a guilty plea in July 2022.
On Jan. 6, she was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and is due to report later this month.
Jen and her husband, "Coach" Sharrieff Shah, were allegedly so desperate for help that they even tapped people they feuded with during the season.
Lisa Barlow was quick to admit to the ladies that she almost pitched in, too.
"They asked John," Lisa said of her husband. "They asked me. I didn't because our counsel said we probably shouldn't, otherwise, I would've."
For the Bad Mormon author and mother of 3, the choice to keep her coins in her own pocket was an easy one.
"It was very expensive and a lot of people came forward with money," Heather said of the Shah's stressful situation. "I can't. I can't do that to my family."
Andy continuously grilled the women if they thought Jen ultimately pled guilty to keep her husband from being implicated in any way.
"I thought about that," Whitney Rose said. "If that was true, that makes sense. Sharrieff is a lovely person and he's always so on, right? Sometimes that struck me like it was almost too good to be true."
"They have to file taxes together," Lisa added. "It's possible that he had knowledge."
"I don't know the first thing about their relationship," an emotional Heather continued. "I think that it's pulling on a thread. I don't think you could be so supportive if she was implicated because we were there with them and it was like he wanted to read everything."
Although Meredith Marks stayed mum on her feelings when it came to Sharrieff, the ladies weren't afraid to remind her about her comments that something was "up" with Jen back in season 2.
"Guilty, innocent, in between, I will always root for the underdog," Meredith, who joined Jen for her 2022 hearing, said on the reunion episode.
Luckily for Jen, she has at least one co-star who promises to check-in on her and her family when she reports to FPC Bryan Prison in Texas on Feb. 17.
"It depends on where she goes," Heather said of visiting Jen while she's incarcerated. "I will write her if she wants that and I will look in on [son] Omar and Coach and I don't know."
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 3 is now available to stream in full on Peacock and Bravo TV.
