When Bravo’s Andy Cohen announced the locale of the tenth installment of the Real Housewives franchise, during BravoCon in November 2019, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City wasn’t a place that many people expected. Salt Lake City? As in Utah? As in Mormons? As in Donny and Marie, Utah? Yes, that Utah. But if you’re thinking this new franchise would be some kind of old-school Mormon-based Sister Wives version of the Real Housewives – with plain Janes frolicking in Mormon Temple dresses, ironing temple garment underwear – you don’t know the franchise.
“You didn’t see it coming, but I have to tell you in Utah, you’ve got the majesty of the mountains, you’ve got the majesty of the Mormon religion, you’ve got an exclusive community of people who have very successful businesses, who live in their own universe,” exclaimed Andy Cohen, when he announced the new city at BravoCon, during his Ask Andy panel. “They hob-nob with Hollywood stars who come to Sundance. It is gorgeous and I think you’re going to be really surprised, intrigued and titillated by the group of women that we have chosen in Salt Lake City, for the next Real Housewives.”
Indeed, the women who were selected as cast members on the Real Housewives of SLC, are far from what you’d imagine. Their glam rivals their franchise sisters on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and their career accomplishments rival their franchise cousins on the Real Housewives of Potomac. So who are these seven new women? Although Bravo has not released an official list of cast members, Utah.Ai has a tentative list.
Lisa Barlow is originally from New York, but now resides in Utah where she works with her husband, John Barlow, in their tequila distillery, Vida Tequila, and restaurant. Both Mormons who are active in their church, they are parents to two sons named Jack, 15, and Henry, 7. The couple’s sons are equipped with the same entrepreneurial spirit as their parents. The two young boys own Fresh Wolf Product, which is a luxury men’s grooming line.
Heather Gay is the co-owner of a cosmetic medical practice named Beauty Lab, and also co-hosts a podcast called Live Love Lab. There are major unknowns with Ms. Gay, like her marital status or if she may have a 16-year-old daughter.
Another Utah native is Jen Shah, who owns a marketing agency called the Shah Squad. She’s married to the University of Utah’s cornerback and co-special teams’ coordinator, Sharrieff Shah, Sr. He also was a starter safety on U of U’s football team during his college days back in the 1990s, until he suffered a neck injury that cut short his playing days. The couple has two children, a young son named Omar, and Sharrieff Jr., who played linebacker at the University of Utah and is now pursuing pre-med studies.
An award-winning jewelry designer who runs in Hollywood circles making baubles worn by many celebrities, is Meredith Mark. Her clientele runs the gamut from luminaries including Rihanna and reality TV twinklers Tinsley Mortimer, of the Real Housewives of New York, and The Bachelorette’s Hannah Brown. Mark’s designs are featured at Neiman Marcus and in high-end boutiques around the world. In 2013, her necklaces were showcased in Oprah’s 2013 issue of her magazine. She is a mom to three children named Brooks, Chloe and Reid. Brooks has entrepreneurial instincts as well. He has already unveiled a fancy jogging set and his YouTube channel has more than 60,000 followers. Mark is supposedly still married to Seth Mark, who is the CEO and chief merchandising officer for Hilco Wholesale Solutions. Though Mark is in Utah, her husband lives in Chicago.
Whitney Rose is a skincare aficionado and mother of five children. She is the proprietor of her own natural skincare line called Iris+Beau. She and her husband, Justin, who is the chief sales officer of a supposedly ‘controversial’ Mormon MLM (multi level marketing) company named LifeVantage, have five kids. And though the couple is believed to have married in 2009, their three eldest children are well into their 20s. Sons Austin, who is married, is 27; McCade is 24; and Trey is 21. Their youngest kids are son Brooks, 6 and daughter Bobbie, 9.
Angie Harrington is a wife and mom to an infant son, as well as a fashion blogger who runs FashionFuse.com. Harrington also is mom to two older children, Rome, 14, and Cole, 12, she had with her ex, Brett Engermann, who has an interesting pedigree. Engermann’s father is a former Capitol Records vice president. He also managed the Osmond family and talk show host, Larry King, his former son-in-law. King was married to the senior Engermann’s daughter, Shawn. Sara McArthur-Pierce is an interior designer who opened her own business named Sara McArthur Design. Her side interests include advocating for mental health and being a life coach. Her husband, Kaleb Pierce, is a co-owner of DAS Labs Supplements.
Noah Samton, senior vice president of current production at Bravo, told The Daily Dish podcast in December that Salt Lake City, admittedly, was an unexpected choice. “When it was announced at BravoCon, I sort of flipped through Twitter to see how people were reacting and I can tell you that there was sort of an outcry about what people expected it to be and what they thought it was gonna be, and it’s not that,” Samton said. “It’s one of the reasons that we moved forward with the show is because it feels unexpected. It feels different than what you would think when you just picture in your head, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” Samton believes the show will have legs and will be compelling to watch. He also said they have tremendous faith in the show and added, “You don’t earn that Real Housewives title… you know, we don’t give that out lightly. So, we have a lot of—it’s very early in the process, but we all have a lot of faith that it’s gonna be a great show.”
While it may seem surprising that Bravo selected Salt Lake City, Cohen said catching viewers a little off guard is part of the grand design. “We’ve always tried to choose cities that have completely unique personalities and we also try to throw a little curveball now and then, pick somewhere that you maybe weren’t expecting.” Though there’s no firm date given for the debut of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, it is expected to roll out this year. In the meantime, start the guessing process as to which city could be the next site for an 11th Real Housewives franchise. Nothing says curveball more than Juneau, Alaska.
Sources: The Sun, BravoTV’s The Daily Dish, Utah.ai, RealHousewives.net
