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The women of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City seem like a tight-knit group. That’s because, in reality, they are! Before RHOSLC came to be, most of the women were friends with one another. Ironically, Jen Shah knew every housewife on the series before it aired — except for the two she ended up fighting with most this season. 

Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Jen Shah, Whitney Rose, and Meredith Marks
Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Jen Shah, Whitney Rose, Meredith Marks | Chad Kirkland/Bravo

Jen Shah and Lisa Barlow are best friends in real life 

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City depicts Shah as being closest with Heather Gay, but in reality, Shah says that’s not the case. Though she and Gay have been friends the longest and are still very close, the two aren’t as close as Shah is with Lisa Barlow. 

“Lisa and I are really close now,” Shah revealed to Showbiz Cheat Sheet over the phone. “We talk every day. Heather and I — because we have so much history together — [she’s] that friend that [I’ve] just gone back years with and so when [we] see each other, [we] kind of pick up right where [we] left off.” 

After filming season 1, Barlow and Shah got closer. She says today, Barlow is the one she’s the closest with and talking to daily. 

Jen Shah got heated with most of the women throughout ‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Season 1 

As the self-proclaimed “Queen Bee and MVP” of Salt Lake City, Shah isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Throughout the first season, there were many times Shah had an explosive reaction to something in her life. 

First, there was the drama between her and Mary Cosby. Both women spoke negatively about the other, with Shah saying Cosby “f*cked her grandfather” and Cosby saying Shah “smelled like hospital.” 

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Later in the season, Shah had a falling out with Whitney Rose, who got drunk at Shah’s husband’s surprise party and told Shah everyone was “afraid of her.”

Though Shah had words with many of her cohorts throughout season 1, she argued the most with Rose and Cosby — the two women she didn’t know before filming the Bravo series. 

Mary Cosby and Whitney Rose were the only housewives Jen Shah didn’t know before ‘RHOSLC’ 

Before The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City became a reality, the marketing mogul knew most of the women cast on the show. 

“I was good friends with Heather [and] friends Lisa because of [her work with] Sundance,” Shah shared. “I [also] knew Meredith [Marks] because she has a storefront in Park City, so I had been in there and met her a few times.” 

Shah shared how she hadn’t met Rose nor Cosby before the show. Shah was introduced to Rose through Gay and she met Cosby “maybe [five or six] months before the show” started filming.

During our conversation, Shah hinted at the forthcoming RHOSLC reunion special. When asked about her relationships with Rose and Cosby, all Shah could say was: “They ain’t healed up yet.” 

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