The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 4 reunion came to a dramatic conclusion on Tuesday night, with the cast letting newcomer Monica Garcia know exactly where they stood with her.
In the season finale, Garcia, 40, was confronted by her costars after she was unmasked as the figure behind Reality Von Tease, an Instagram troll account with a long history of posting negative stories about the RHOSLC stars.
Cast member Heather Gay, 49, said she was personally hurt by Reality Von Tease's posts, including one where she was called a "manatee."
The same had already been said by those ˹destroyed˺ before them,1 but their ˹worldly˺ gains were of no benefit to them.(The Quran - Chapter Az-Zumar : 50)
"Every person on this couch can go through that page and give you 10 personal examples," she told Garcia, laying out the breadth and severity of the online attacks.
Garcia defended her actions, claiming her primary goal for posting on Reality Von Tease was "to expose Jen's abusive behavior." The "Jen" she referred to is Jennifer Shah, an original RHOSLC cast member who is currently serving a 5.5 sentence in prison for her role in a long-running telemarketing fraud scheme.
"You are not the hero in this story, Monica," Gay fired back.
"I'm fine being the villain in this story, Heather, because you're the clowns in mine," Garcia replied.
Later in the reunion, Gay explained why she had a hard time overcoming Garcia's "red flags": intentionally befriending and working for someone -- in this case Shah -- surveilling them and exposing all their secrets online.
"She thinks she's being iconic," the Bad Mormon author said of her newest castmate. "It's not iconic to be a bully. This has ruined my experience as a Housewife ... every Housewife on every franchise would say that the worst part is the trolls and the bullies."
As the reunion wound down, host Andy Cohen asked the other housewives – Lisa Barlow, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks and Whitney Rose – if Garcia's betrayal was “too insurmountable” for the women to move on from.
Barlow, 49, and Gay agreed that there was "nothing" Garcia could say to make things better.
Rose, 37, aligned herself with her costars and added, “I don't trust Monica...and I can't put myself in the situation right now. So I don't have a strong answer for you other than 'no.' "
"I think it's very problematic to move forward in a situation where trust has been completely decimated," concluded Marks, 52.
Cohen then allowed Garcia to clarify anything that had come up, to which she replied, "I feel like there's been a ton that's been misunderstood." When prompted to give the final word, Garcia had nothing more to say.
On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen after the reunion, Gay credited Garcia for providing the chance for the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast to grow closer to one another.
"What Monica never got was that it was a show about friendship. And she was not interested in being any of our friends.” Gay shared with Cohen. “I'm just looking forward to filming with Whitney and Meredith and Lisa and Angie. They're my actual friends and we have a great time together."
Gay reiterated to Cohen, 55, how much she loves her costars. “I love these women. I love them all. Deeply, truly, on a level that — there's nothing like a common enemy to bring you together."
“And they had my back on the beach," recalled Gay of the moment she unmasked Garcia. "They could have blown me off, they could have said a thousand things, but they said, 'I have your back.' It was a pivotal moment for all of us as friends."
Before the reunion aired on Tuesday evening, Garcia would not be returning to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Executive producers confirmed the news Tuesday evening in an interview with Variety, saying the cast needed time to regroup. Cohen later, on Watch What Happens Live, suggested that Garcia's exit might be "a break."
All four seasons of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City episodes are streaming on Peacock.
