Who would have thought that Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” would give viewers a glimpse inside the life of a local sports icon? Episode 10 shows us some of the pain that former University of Utah football star — and current assistant coach — Sharrieff Shah has gone through.
Sharrieff and Jen
Things are not great for the couple in the wake of the surprise birthday party Jen Shah threw Sharrieff in Episode 9 — which ended when Jen got drunk, got mad at Whitney Rose, threw both a glass and a fit, and demanded that Sharrieff take her home. (More on that below.)
The Shahs haven’t spoken in four days, and Jen is “kind of scared to talk to Coach Shah. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells. Like, is this like the last straw?”
Sharrieff says he waited because it was “probably not the best thing for me to start talking right when I’m angry.” And, he adds, “the thing that upset me the most is when you start to drink, you can’t control your emotions.”
She drinks to “numb” herself, Jen says, because Sharrieff leaves her alone due to his demanding job. “I’m numbing the pain because I’m depressed,” following her father’s death a year earlier, Jen says. “But I’m supposed to just suck it up and be OK. I’m not strong enough.”
“So please just help me, then,” Sharrieff says calmly. “What do you want me to do?”
“I need you to be here more!” Jen says, adding, “I was so angry at you … because you couldn’t even go to dad’s funeral” because of his job.
Sharrieff sighs. “I never, ever understood it like this. … I’ve never known the cause of why you were so mad at me. We can get better from here.”
He recalls when he suffered an injury his senior year at the U. in 1993, which ended his playing career. “You know when I lost football, when I hurt my neck, I went to a dark place that included alcohol. That included things that I wish I would have never done, but I did,” he says. “By me telling you that, are you ashamed of me? No, of course not. Just like I would never be ashamed of you.
“Baby, I love you. I’m sorry. And I’ll be better, too.”
(Courtesy of Bravo) Whitney Rose smiles while “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” describe themselves at a Met Gala-themed luncheon at Valter's Osteria.
Whitney is in denial
In the previous episode, we saw Whitney set off a bomb at Jen’s surprise birthday party for Sharrieff. In the middle of the festivities, she told Jen that — according to Mary Cosby — both Lisa Barlow and Meredith Marks said they are too afraid of Jen to confront her about how badly they believe Jen is treating Mary. Predictably, Jen got upset. Whitney remains convinced she did nothing wrong, and Heather Gay backs her up.
Even Mary, who doesn’t like Jen, is taken aback when she learns what Whitney did at the party. “You don’t do that. I mean, even I wouldn’t do that,” Mary says with a laugh.
Whitney spends much of the episode accusing Jen of refusing to take responsibility for her actions while she refuses to take any responsibility for her own. She invites Jen to join her and Heather at a spa hoping “she can find some Zen, humble herself out and have a conversation with me.”
Jen agrees, although she’s not excited when she arrives at the spa — Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe.
Described as “raw,” with “eclectic decor,” and partly “dilapidated ... but that’s part of the charm” by customers on its website, the resort says its mission is to create “an authentic environment which raises self-awareness by direct experience with nature, art, and antiquities.”
Jen’s take? “I think they brought me here to kill me … This place looks like the movie set of ‘Saw,’” she says, and she goes on to describe it as “Ted Bundy’s cabin.”
And Jen is not buying it when Whitney refuses to take any responsibility for what happened at the party.
“I didn’t throw the glass,” Whitney says. And, clearly, Jen is responsible for the way she reacted to Whitney’s behavior.
But Whitney continues to be obtuse, charging that Jen has “gotten away with and gotten used to being able to make everything everyone else’s fault.” She never seems to realize this is all based on allegations made by Mary, who can’t stand Jen.
Jen storms off, and Heather convinces Whitney to apologize. Whitney does when Jen returns, but her sincerity is questionable. As is Jen’s acceptance of Whitney’s apology.
“I’m accepting Whitney’s apology, but I’m not completely over it because my marriage is not OK,” Jen says in a confessional. “When you mess with my family, that is the worst thing you can do.”
(Photo courtesy of Fred Hayes/Bravo) Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow in “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
Heather’s motives laid bare
It becomes clear why Heather is siding with Whitney against Meredith and Lisa, who she refers to as a “mean girl gang.”
“It feels like Jen is doubling down on her friendship with Lisa and Meredith and completely discounting her friendship with me,” says Heather, who’s “terrified” of losing Jen to Meredith and Lisa. (Heather still harbors resentment because Lisa said she doesn’t remember her from when they were both at Brigham Young University.)
And, Heather says, she has “PTSD from my whole marriage” because the one time she stood up to her ex-husband, he left her. “And I’m assuming that when I do that with Jen, she’ll leave me too, and the friendship will be over.”
“You can tell me anything, any time. You can talk to me,” Jen says.
(Bravo) Mary Cosby pictured at Valter's Osteria in episode 5 of the first season of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
Is Mary lying?
There’s still no evidence that Mary’s allegation about Meredith and Lisa are true.
“Somebody’s lying, first of all,” Meredith tells Seth. “I never said that.”
“I have never said that to Mary,” Lisa says. “We never even talk about Jen.”
And, from what we’ve seen through 10 episodes, it’s really hard to believe that either Meredith or Lisa is afraid of Jen.
“I don’t say anything that’s not true,” Mary tells Whitney. Which would be more convincing if we hadn’t heard her make untrue statements in earlier episodes.
Lisa and Meredith vs. Whitney — and Jen?
Meredith says Whitney’s behavior at the birthday party was another “drama-filled, grade school moment”; Lisa says Whitney is “completely sophomoric,” adding, “Maybe she should work less on her dance moves and more on being an adult. … If I were Jen, I would have thrown the glass, too.”
For Meredith, the “bigger issue” is Whitney’s allegation that Jen has been “badmouthing” Meredith and Seth’s marriage. Lisa isn’t sure she believes Whitney, “But if it’s true that Jen’s talking about Meredith’s marriage, that’s awful.”
It’s sort of true. Jen hinted to Whitney about Meredith being involved with another man, but she didn’t really spell it out … except in a confessional aimed at “RHOSLC” viewers.
“Now that we’re reconciled and on a positive path, the last thing I need is someone running around spreading false rumors about my marriage,” Meredith says.
Later, Lisa hosts a “very small, intimate dinner with a very special VIP guest list,” including Meredith, at the Lodge at Blue Sky’s yurt. (James Beard Award-winning chef, Galen Zamarra, does the cooking.)
Lisa is particularly pleased with the A-list women who attend, “plus, they don’t throw glasses or punches.”
[Read more: Utah’s newest fine-dining restaurant is called Yuta]
Mary’s brief appearance
Once again, Mary is barely on the show — a total of two minutes and 40 seconds. And her only interaction with another Housewife is a phone call with Whitney. But we do get to see her and her unbelievable clothes collection.
“I love fashion for an escape,” says Mary, who adds that her closet “is like a department store.” And that a storage room and the two closets that were supposed to be for her husband are full of her clothes.
“I’m running out of spaces. I’m going to buy a place just to put my clothes. Like, an apartment.”
So … what is Mary escaping from? Hmmmm …
(Photo courtesy of Bravo) Seth and Meredith Marks make decisions about their marriage in Episode 8 of "The REal Housewives of Salt Lake City."
Meredith and Seth
The Marks’ reconciliation seems to be going swimmingly. “Being separated from Seth when we were not communicating with one another really made me recognize how much I truly love and need him in my life,” Meredith says.
Seth says that “sex with ski goggles” is on his bucket list. “How about ski goggles and high heels?” Meredith responds.
Meredith and Seth meet Lisa and John for dinner at Cucina Toscana in Salt Lake City and tell them their separation is over. “We’re very, very happy — like, 90% of the time,” Meredith says with a smile.
Lisa slams Utah — again
Lisa once again disses Utahns in general and Whitney in particular.
“Whitney’s a good dancer,” Lisa says. “But, you know, like in Utah, like, the girls are good at two things — breeding and dancing. And getting married really young.”
(Bravo) Jen Shah, Meredith Marks and Heather Gay speak at Toscano on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
Heather the businesswoman
For the second week in a row, we see Heather and her business partner visiting the new location they’re remodeling for Beauty Lab + Laser. And Heather says that, if her husband hadn’t left her five years ago, she would never have opened the business or made it successful.
Heather’s partner says that once they move into the new location, “I want us to be able to start taking a salary,” and Heather agrees. She wants to “make a lot of money” and says that, once that happens, she’ll stop taking alimony from her ex-husband because she “would just not want to double dip.”
Episode 11 debuts Wednesday on Bravo — 8 p.m. on Dish and DirecTV; 11 p.m. on Comcast.
