Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City is one of the most intriguing spin-offs of the Real Housewives franchise. It definitely stands out from the others. The spin-off’s fourth season recently kicked off, and Bravo fans are eager to see the drama that will ensue. While Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City pays homage to the original Real Housewives shows in several ways, several factors make this spin-off truly unique.
RHOSLC Explores Religion, Particularly Mormonism
One of the things that makes RHOSLC stand out is its approach toward religion. Obviously, the other Real Housewives shows do not address it as often. This is very interesting since the show’s dramatic nature often does not imply that the main cast members are religious.
With the show’s primary location being Salt Lake City, Utah, many of the cast members have a background in Mormonism. While Heather Gay and Lisa Barlow currently identify as Mormon, Whitney Rose was previously a Mormon before she was excommunicated from the church. Similarly, new cast member Monica Garcia was also a former Mormon. She was also excommunicated from the church later in life.
On the other hand, while some of the cast were raised Mormon, not all chose to stay with the faith. Former cast member Jen Shah revealed that while she grew up Mormon, she converted to Islam later in life. Meredith Marks is one of the only current cast members without a connection to Mormonism, who instead practices Judaism.
The Entirety of the Jen Shah Controversy
It cannot be said that RHOSLC would be what it is without the controversial Jen, for better or for worse. Jen was at the epicenter of the largest legal scandal in Real Housewives history. She was ultimately charged with conspiracy and fraud. Jen later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
Jen’s arrest was played out during RHOSLC Season 2, where it quickly became the season’s main plot. The other cast members were stunned to learn what Jen had done, as her money laundering scheme primarily targeted those of the elderly community.
Jen’s arrest made far more headlines, than that of Teresa Giudice from Real Housewives Of New Jersey many years earlier. Teresa spent less than a year in prison after she was also charged with mail and wire fraud. Jen’s sentence is much more hefty, as is the severity of the crime that she was charged with.
The only other recent legal scandal from the Real Housewives franchise comes from Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills and did not even directly involve a main cast member. Erika Jayne‘s husband, Tom Girardi, was accused of stealing millions of dollars from his legal clients throughout the years. Jen’s arrest was intriguing to viewers on a different level, as they had never seen anything of such a propensity from a Real Housewives show before.
The Drama on RHOSLC Is Next Level
Finally, there is no doubt that RHOSLC brings the drama more than most of its Real Housewives counterparts. Many of the other Real Housewives shows feature a dramatic group of women, although they still get along in the midst of all the chaos. However, almost every cast member on RHOSLC constantly embraces the fact that they are on reality television, which makes it so fun to watch!
The truth is that viewers don’t tune into reality television to watch people get along, which makes RHOSLC so enticing. The cast members often find themselves in petty arguments over things so silly that fans can’t help but laugh, aka the tequila beef between Meredith and Whitney in Season 3. The same women are currently arguing over a bathtub in Season 4, their drama never gets old!
RHOSLC has not had an easy run, after the drama with Jen in addition to the problematic Jennie Nguyen from Season 2. Nonetheless, RHOSLC has used its fan-favorite cast members to make a truly entertaining show, and Season 4 already looks promising!
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